Well, you can call me a box set newbie because I only own 12 box sets. I own:

- The Complete Bitches Brew Sessions by Miles Davis
- At The Close of A Century by Stevie Wonder
- It's Your Thing by The Isley Brothers
- Forever Diana: Musical Memoirs by Diana Ross
- The Supremes Box set by no other than the Supremes
- The Ultimate Collection by Michael Jackson
- The Master 1961-1984 by Marvin Gaye
- Star Time by James Brown
- Message In A Box: The Complete Recordings by The Police
- Just For The Record by Barbra Streisand
- The Chrome Collection by The Spinners
and now for my biggest one

- To Be Continued... by Sir Elton John

So, if there are any box set fans out there, what box sets do you own?

I only own the MJ one

I don't own too many

Police - Message In a Box
Hittsville USA - Motwon Singles Collection '59-'71
Complete Stax/Volt Singles '59-'68
Ray Charles - The Birth of Soul
Nirvana - With The Lights Out

Motown singles box set
Hank Williams: The Complete Singles collection
James Brown: Star Time
Nick Drake: Fruit tree
Emmylou Harris: Portraits
Al Green: A deep shade of green
Curtis Mayfield: People Get ready The curtis Mayfield story
Lee "Scratch" perry: Arkology
The velvet underground: peel off slowly and see
Johnny cash: Unearthed
Nirvana: The singles collection

I have a few:

* ZZ Top - Chrome Smoke & BBQ
* Elvis - 18 uk #1's
* MJ - The ultimate collection
* J5 - soulsation
* Martin scorsese presents the blues
* Johnny Cash - unearthed
* David Bowie - outside, earthling, hours (2disc reissues box)

I have three box sets off the top of my head and they are Stevie Nicks, Michael Jacksons and Ozzy's and they all have problems (Stevie's is the least flawed)!

The problem with most boxsets is that they are self indulgent and yet the fan has to pay $50 (give or take 10 or maybe more depending) on what the artist/label considers their best work. Too many missing tracks most of the time. That being said, for some artists that I don't have anything from, I'm always tempted to get box sets of their work (Johnny Cash comes to mind and he has like 100 of them).

kev1n said:

I could never find that.

But Diva was kind enough to hook me up with the individual sets.

GangstaFam said:

I actually bought it twice, one still sealed...cause I kinda expect this to be a collectors item in a few years. Not that I'm gonna sell it then.

Stevie Nicks
Richard Pryor
ONA
Rolling Stones

fleetwood mac - the chain - 25 years
stevie nicks - enchanted
police - message in a box
duran duran singles box sets ('81-'85) and ('86 - '95)
[Edited 4/10/05 15:26pm]

Message In A Box

silverchild said:

Just those. plus Soulsation! - Michael Jackson with the Jackson 5ive.

I keep thinking of buying a Jimi Hendrix one that's been out a good few years, but i always end up buying something else. They're a big commitment, though it's nice to see prices coming down.

I got

Led Zeppelin - remasters
Led Zeppelin - box set 2
Bob Dylan - Biograph
Bob Dylan - Bootleg Series vol 1-3 (as well as vol 4 - 6 but do they count?)
Stevie Wonder - At the Close of a Century
Bob Marley - Songs of freedom (as well as all the legacy reissues)
Frank Zappa - Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar (3 cd set)
Nirvana - With the Lights Out
Prince - ONA (of course)
Stone Roses - 10th Anniversary
Jeff Buckley - 10th Anniversary Grace

I actually thought I had more

Yeah...I'm a sucker for a good box set. Plus, I can compile 'em like nobody's business.

Here's what I've got -

Joy Division - Heart & Soul

Absolutely stunning and perfect in every way. I bought it in the late 90's knowing virtually nothing about them and not knowing any of their music. That's rare for me to go out on a limb like that, spending so much money on something I know nothing about. But I'm so glad that I did. Within no time, they became my favorite band. The sound quality, the organization and the layout are flawless. Plus, just about everything you'd ever want is included. Couldn't live without it.


The Cure - Join the Dots

A virtual godsend for Cure fans. Their b-sides on average are just as interesting and vital as their better known singles and album tracks. In some cases, such as with Wish and Wild Mood Swings, those albums get a much needed boost from this extra material. Bob went all out with this and seems to be doing the same with their album remasters. The liner notes and the photographs are gorgeous. And hearing a song like "A Chain of Flowers" for the first time is enough to bring a tear to your eye. It all kicked off what's turning out to be the best time to be a Cure fan.


New Order - Retro

A perfect companion to the Joy Division set, although slightly flawed. I love how the first 2 discs have distinctly their own feel. And the remix disc has a lot of goodies on it, although I don't understand some of the inclusions. I could've done without the live disc though. It doesn't really have any continuity, instead going for a chronological order. Their recently released live dvd's do a much better job at capturing their live show. I would've much preferred another disc of singles and album tracks, because so many important songs got the shaft. I've made my own Retro that's much tighter.

"Message In A Box" by The Police is a great Boxset. I also own Pink Floyds "Shine On"-Set, which is beautiful. "Join The Dots" by The Cure is nice, too. That´s all I have

Roxy Music - The Thrill of It All

Fabulous! I could just stare at that cover all day long. The organization is well thought out and almost everything you'd want is included. Each of the first 3 discs captures roughly the different periods in their career. The first covering their wildly experimental Eno phase, the 2nd their magnum opus superpower phase, and the 3rd their more subdued and lush phase. The 4th disc gathers together all of their non-album singles, remixes and b-sides. Good to have as most of this stuff isnt' available on CD anywhere else. Go to your local Tower Records and pick up a copy. They're getting harder and harder to find these days.

David Bowie - Sound & Vision

I still don't have the new and improved version. I got this when Rykodiscs were the most recent set of Bowie remasters. And I was just getting into him, so I really didn't know the layout of his career yet. So I didn't know any better. All I knew is that there were several inclusions that weren't on the albums. It is a nice grab bag/smattering/overview of his career, but too scattered for me. All of those singles, album tracks, rarities, live songs and demos don't sit comfortably together. With ChangesBowie and The Singles also released by Rykodisc, I would've preferred an all rarities box from them. There are so many other interesting things they had to choose from. It just comes across as messy and unorganized. But still, I like having anything extra so I still consider it essential.

Nirvana - With the Lights Out

Well, no one can fault the compilers for not giving the fans what they wanted. Most of the worthwhile Nirvana leftovers can be found here. Not as essential as any of their albums, but it does offer almost everything you'd need to fill in the gaps. The Sessionography is hugely helpful. Thurston Moore's essay is quite touching. The way each disc mirrors their proper albums is a nice breakdown. It's a painful reminder of how impactful they truly were and how short of a time Kurt had. Feels like the final nail in the coffin for good and for bad.

[Edited 4/11/05 8:32am]

I've got:

Garth Brooks - Limited Series
Prince - ONA (but my daughter accidently broke my It ain't over disk any idea where to get one?)
Prince - Prince in Rock
DooWop Box 1
DooWop Box 2
Bon Jovi - 100,000,000 million Bon Jovi fans can't be wrong
Nirvana - With the Lights out
Nirvana - Singles Box
Led Zepplin - Remasters
Rocky Horror Picture Show Box set
Eric Clapton - Crossroads
Rod Stewart - Story teller
Oldies But Goodies (15 disk set)
Elvis - 50 disk box set
Johnny Cash - Unearthed
Aerosmith - Pandoras Box
Monkees - Listen to the Band
Stevie Nicks - Enchanted
Black Crowes - Sho' Nuff
Ozzy - Prince of Darkness
Black Sabbath - The Ozzy Years
Smashing Pumpkins - Aeroplane Flies High....
Grand Theft Auto - Vice City
Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas

Got a ton.

ZZ top-Chrome,smoke,BBQ
JB-Star Time
Winwood-Finer Things
Isley Bros-It's Your Thing
Eagles-Selected Works(72-99)
P-Hits/B-Sides
The Philly Sound-Various(Gamble & Huff....GENIUS!)
Deep Purple-Shades(4cd)
Police-(4cd)
Ac/dc-Bonfire
Tina T-Collected Recordings
Steve Miller-3cd box
Stones-Singles Collection
Zeppelin-Complete recordings
Miles-Bitches Brew(4cd version)
Disco Box(Rhino RECORDS)
Funk Box(4cd set..GREAT
John Lennon-Anthology
Steely Dan-Citizen Steely Dan(72-80)
The Who-Maximum R&B
Black Crowes-Sho Nuff'
Alice Cooper-Life and Crimes(Great booklet!)
The Cult-Rare Cult(7cd version)
Dylan-Bootleg Series & Biograph
Taj Mahal-In Progress & in Motion
Aerosmith-Pandoras Box(brilliant)
Alice in Chains-Music Box
Cheap trick-Sex,America(4cd set)
The Doors-Box set & Complete recordings(7cd)
Queen-Crown Jewels
Joe Cocker-Long Voyage Home
Clapton-Crossroads 1 & 2
Allman Brothers-Dreams
Judas Priest-Metalogy
Velvet Underground-Peel slowly and see
Lou Reed-Between thought & Expression
Creedence-Complete Recordings(6 cd)
Stevie Nicks-Enchanted
Fleetwood Mac-199292 4cd set & Complete Blue Horizon Sessions
Marley-Songs of Freedom
Stevie Ray-Srv(3cd,1dvd set)
Rod Stewart-Storyteller
Scorpions-Box of Scorpions
Chess Blues 4cd set(Excellent blues primer)


That's all I can remember

13inchshoe said:

I forgot:
Marvin-The Master 61-84
Clash-On Broadway
EWF-Eternal Dance
Janis J-Box set(3cd's)
Aerosmith-Box of Fire(13 cd's)

silverchild said:

Oh, I forgot The Hits/The B-Sides box set by Prince. I have that one also.

greatdj1 said:

What you need is a new daughter

When Message In A Box by The Police came out I thought that was the best thing ever. A collection of all the recordings of an artist: whole albums plus in between tracks and b-sides.
I think that was the first and the last box set to do that.

Now someone decides there are tracks that don't deserve to be there.
Hey, if I don't like them I'll skip them but let me decide. It's like buying a dictionary with no four letter words, ****

PANDURITO said:

The Jam's box set (as mentioned in my post above) does do just that, ie all albums and singles plus rareties - rendering all my Jam albums redundant now! I think it is the way to go - why buy a box set and get three quarters of each album and still have to buy the albums and singles to get B-sides and stuff?

Aerosmith - Pandoras Box
freddie mercury - solo colection
Prince - one night alone

How is that Birth Of Soul boxset?

I have MJ's and Nirvanas boxsets.

BillieSparks said:

I borrowed the Ray Charles Birth Of Soul box set a while back from a friend and this just covers his 1952-59 peak at Atlantic Records. I think if you want a more complete collection that covers every thing, then I would personally recommend the Genius & Soul box set, but let me tell you that it would cost you up to $100 dollars. Both box sets are excellent, but Genius & Soul just takes it up a notch.