AllMusic 2014 Year in Review
Favorite Box Sets
Box sets seem tailor made for the gift-giving season, so our list of our favorites from 2014 couldn't come at a better time. From the Beatles finally throwing a bone to the audience that grew up on the U.S. versions of their albums to Dylan's Basement Tapes getting their most complete release yet to a deep look into CSNY's 1974 stadium tour, there's a lot of history to be gleaned from this year's finest box sets.
Complete Collection Part One: 1951-1959
Collection that brings together eight of the innovative jazz pianist's earliest and best-loved albums.
Complete studio recordings made during the lifespan of this beautiful and restrained Dallas slowcore quintet.
The Album Collection:1973-1984, Vol. 1
Long-overdue overhaul of the Boss' catalog, containing revelatory remasters of his first seven albums.
Sun Zoom Spark: 1970 to 1972 contains remastered versions of Lick My Decals Off, Baby; Clear Spot; and The Spotlight Kid -- along with a bonus disc of outtakes.
Rock and Roll Music: Any Old Way You Choose It
All of Chuck Berry's studio and live recordings are rounded up in this essential and mammoth 16-disc box set.
Four albums from Martin Newell's homemade pop project reissued in this box set, including the superb Living with Victoria Grey.
Brownie Speaks: The Complete Blue Note Recordings
Must-have anthology of the influential jazz trumpeter's albums for Blue Note in the 1950s.
CSNY's legendary 1974 tour finally gets an official live document in this sprawling box.
The Texas honky tonk hero rounds up three full albums of truck-driving songs into one high-octane package.
Thanks to its expansive track listing and reverse sequencing, this three-CD set presents a new perspective on Bowie's career.
Just Between You and Me: The Complete Recordings 1967-1976
The complete recordings of Porter & Dolly chronicled on this massively entertaining -- and simply massive -- Bear Family box.
Live album/quasi-soundtrack that captures Elvis Presley's 1970 stint at the Las Vegas International Hotel.
All of Harrison's six albums for Apple are remastered and boxed in this handsome set that contains bonus tracks.
The Classic Blue Note Collection 1955-1961
Five-disc box of pure hard bop from the influential saxophonist.
The Warner Bros. Years 1969-1972
A collection of essential recordings, not only for any Hancock fans but for lovers of '70s electric jazz.
The Complete 45s Collection: Invictus, Hot Wax, Music Merchant 1969-1977
Massive 14-disc box set containing all the A- and B-sides of the singles released on Invictus, Hot Wax, and Music Master.
Sideman: Trane's Blue Note Sessions
Three-disc anthology of Coltrane's Blue Note sessions as a sideman for other artists in the '50s.
All of My Memories: The John Denver Collection
The iconic American singer/songwriter is covered in detail on this 90-song, career-spanning box set which shows why he so endeared himself to fans.
True to the Blues: The Johnny Winter Story
A career-spanning look at an iconic whirlwind albino electric blues guitar player from Texas with a brilliant slide style.
Love Has Many Faces: A Quartet, A Ballet, Waiting to Be Danced
Four-disc box set offers the celebrated singer/songwriter's own unique take on her extensive catalog of music.
Rad Gumbo: The Complete Warner Bros. Years 1971-1990
All of the Feat's albums from 1971-1990, plus a disc of rarities, are affordably boxed up.
Collection of four of the composer's finest works, augmented with worthy bonus material.
Complete Albums, Singles and BBC Collection
Exhaustive and inspiring collection of the fiery left-wing indie poppers' complete works, including all their BBC sessions.
From His Head to His Heart to His Hands
Produced and curated by longtime collaborator Al Kooper, this set is the first overarching survey of Bloomfield's woefully short career.
Miles Davis at the Fillmore 1970: The Bootleg Series, Vol. 3
This complete and superb document of the trumpeter's four-night Fillmore East stand includes 135 minutes of unreleased music.
The Complete Aristocrat & Chess Singles A's & B's: 1947-1962
The template for classic Chicago blues, collected in a four-disc, 98-track set.
Numero packs up everything they've got by the songwriter in a deluxe slipcase box with his first solo single.
Massive nine-CD/one-DVD set that tells Lofgren's full story, complete with two discs of unheard rarities.
Covers the arc of Redding's career through 92 tracks arranged chronologically over four discs.
There may not be as many big hits as there were on Weller's first singles comp, but this new millennial overview is arguably a better collection.
![Live at the Rainbow '74 [Deluxe CD/DVD Set]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0004216908/front/400/hdK15va41MXdJ_wV6WHusj6KsMttLlyBmmVTZ6_CLs0=.jpg)
Live at the Rainbow '74 [Deluxe CD/DVD Set]
Early live set from Queen showcases the band testing their limits on the verge of becoming great.
The recorded legacy of the great Australian rock band in one jam-packed eight-disc box set. Yeah hup!
Live 1976-1998: Tonight's the Night
Surprisingly consistent collection of 58 unreleased live performances from 1976-1998.
All 21 of the albums Milsap released on RCA between 1973 and 2006 are collected on this hefty, pleasurable set.
Deluxe, limited-edition vinyl set gathering all seven of the band's groundbreaking albums.
Celebrating the 50-year career of the original Tuff Girl in 82 songs; includes her major glam rock hits and lots of creative detours.
Soul & Swagger: The Complete "5" Royales 1951-1967
Definitive portrait of one of the best and most influential R&B acts of the '50s, from early gospel sides to final singles.
The Complete Albums Collection
All ten of the APP's studio albums are boxed up and the scrapped 1981 LP The Sicilian Defense is added for good measure.
The 1971 Fillmore East Recordings
Exhaustive six-disc set featuring all of the unedited performances from the legendary 1971 concert album.
The Bootleg Series, Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes - Complete
Long-awaited official release of all of the legendary Basement Tapes recorded by Dylan and the Band in 1967.
The Bats, Vol. 1: Compiletely Bats/Daddy's Highway/The Law of Things
Collection of the earliest output from one of kiwi pop's brightest and best acts.
All of the Beatles' U.S.-only releases for Capitol are boxed up in this 13-CD set.
Filled with sharply selected album tracks, outtakes, B-sides, and alternate mixes, this is an excellent box of the Kinks' '60s heyday.
![The Velvet Underground [45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition]](https://fastly-s3.allmusic.com/release/mr0004298854/front/400/Q_bdZ1guFDJz1eDWs5xYdYAf7E_1E-2MlBBPmPAXRBU=.jpg)
The Velvet Underground [45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition]
The art rock masterpiece, in a super deluxe edition that tops out at six discs, packed with concert recordings and new mixes of contemporary work.
Third in a series of retrospective box sets of this Northwestern post-punk trio, this volume focuses on their mid-'90s output.
Second in a series of box sets reissuing the entire catalog from these essential '90s indie punk legends.
Various Artists
Calypso Craze: 1956-57 and Beyond
Enormous and entertaining box chronicling the Harry Belafonte-fueled Calypso fad of the '50s.
Various Artists
Chicago Hit Factory: The Vee-Jay Story 1958-1966
A wealth of important doo wop, blues, R&B, soul, and jazz from the influential Chicago label.
Various Artists
Millions Like Us: The Story of the Mod Revival 1977-1989
Lovingly compiled, fun and exhaustive look at the highs (mostly) and lows (few) of the '70s and '80s mod revival scene.
Various Artists
Expanded version of landmark NME cassette adds two more well-chosen discs of well-known and obscure indie pop, noise pop, and off-kilter post-punk.
Alpha Mike Foxtrot: Rare Tracks 1994-2014
Features 77 rare non-LP tracks that follow how Jeff Tweedy's band grew and evolved during its first 20 years in the studio and on-stage.