By Scott Munro
published
If you're rediscovering CDs after years of streaming, a veteran of the compact disc or a newcomer to the format, I've picked out a selection of CD box sets that'll sound great on your player
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- The best CD box sets
In recent years, the humble CD has been largely forgotten about, with music fans seemingly more content with the resurgence of vinyl and the continued domination of music streaming services. However, in my opinion, CDs shouldn’t be consigned to the historical musical dustbin as the best CD box sets have so much to offer. First, they’re much cheaper to collect than vinyl and can often be found at car boot sales, charity shops or going for a song at record fairs.
They don’t take up much space and although sacrilegious to some music fans, you could do what I do and simply fling the jewel case in the recycling bin and store your collection of CDs and covers in a CD wallet and keep everything neat and tidy (I do the same with video games, DVDs and Blu-ray… sorry!).
There’s also something rather lovely about actually owning a piece of music rather than storing a digital file on your laptop, phone or tablet. It’s just a more personal thing.
With these factors in mind and on the back of our guide to the best CD players, I’ve highlighted a number of CD box sets that should be in your collection and these will also serve as a great place to start if you’re a rock fan taking your first steps on your CD journey.
There are, of course, thousands more artists and CD packages to discover, but what follows are my essential picks.
The best CD box sets
1. Guns N’ Roses: Use Your Illusion I & II CD box set
This massive Guns N’ Roses CD box set is spread across 7CD and a single Blu-ray and features a total of 97 tracks - 63 of which were previously unreleased. Kicking things off are remastered versions of Use Your Illusion I & II - two albums that include classics such as November Rain, Civil War and You Could Be Mine alongside GNR’s famous covers of Wings’ Live And Let Die and Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.
Elsewhere you’ll find a live 1991 performance from New York’s Ritz Theatre and a 1992 live show from the Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas. The Blu-ray features the full 1991 New York concert in HD with surround and stereo audio.
And as if all that wasn’t enough, the box set also includes a 100-page hardcover book, replica Conspiracy Inc fan club newsletters, 10 double-design litho prints, four Use Your Illusion cloth backstage passes, a replica ticket from the Ritz Theater gig and a 24” x 35” band poster.
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2. Def Leppard: Hysteria CD box set
I remember buying Hysteria on cassette back in 1987 after hearing lead single Animal on the Tommy Vance Friday Rock Show on Radio 1 - but I’ve never owned Def Leppard’s fourth studio album on CD. But if you’re looking to pick up the classic record, this is definitely the box set you need in your life.
This expansive super deluxe edition spans 5CD/2DVD and has everything you could ever want from this era of Sheffield’s finest. First up, it features the 2017 remaster of the 12-track album and it also contains a bunch of b-sides, live cuts, remixes, and the live audio for the VHS/DVD In The Round In Your Face.
The first DVD titled Visual Hysteria features Def Leppard’s many TV appearances from the time, including Top Of The Pops, and promo videos for all the album’s singles. DVD 2 features all the Classic Albums series about Hysteria including an acoustic performance of Pour Some Sugar On Me.
But there’s more in the shape of a replica Hysteria tour programme, tour poster, a book charting the history of the album, a Ross Halfin photo book and a band discography.
3. Iron Maiden: Somewhere In Time CD box set
Unlike the box sets above, this Iron Maiden CD box set only features a single disc - the 2015 remaster of the band’s brilliant 1986 album Somewhere In Time. But there’s more - of course there is.
Not only will you get (in some Maiden fans’ minds) their best-ever album, thanks to bona fide bangers like Wasted Years, Heaven Can Wait, Stranger In A Strange Land and the sprawling Alexander The Great, but the gatefold package also contains a brilliant menacing model of Cyborg Eddie and an awesome Eddie patch. Somewhere In Time also features Derek Riggs’ Easter egg-strewn, Bladerunner-inspired cover art which is simply amazing.
The only thing wrong with this is perhaps the lack of B-sides from the singles pulled from the album - in particular the ridiculously catchy Reach Out featuring Adrian Smith on lead vocal duties, and Maiden’s cover of FM’s That Girl. For those tracks and more, you’ll need to dig out the band’s Best Of The B-Sides CD - complete with Eddie mooning out the front window of a tour bus. Yes, really!
And if this tickles your fancy, you can also get Iron Maiden, Killers, The Number Of The Beast and Piece Of Mind on CD with optional Eddie figure and patch.
4. The Metallica Blacklist
Metallica marked the 30th anniversary of their all-conquering “Black album” back in 2021 with a massive vinyl box set containing a jaw-dropping 26 discs which included live cuts, interview clips, tracks from James Hetfield’s “Riff Tapes”, demos and more.
That was all well and good, but for me there was a more exciting release celebrating the record - and that was The Metallica Blacklist: a 54-track collection of “Black album” material performed by artists from a number of genres, who each put their own spin on a selection of their favourite Metallica songs.
This 4CD box set features artists including Ghost, Weezer, St. Vincent, Biffy Clyro, Corey Taylor, The Hu, Phoebe Bridgers, Dave Gahan, IDLES and Kamasi Washington.
Giles Martin handled production duties on the collection and the 4CD come housed in a 10-panel Digipak with a David Turner-designed booklet.
If you know the “Black album” inside out, this is a rare opportunity to get a different take on all those famous songs which catapulted Metallica into the 1990s and is a compilation that comes highly recommended.
5. The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
No list of CD box sets would be complete without the Beatles getting a mention. While many of their albums have been reissued on CD, my pick goes to the 4CD/Blu-ray of the timeless Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
As you’d expect, this collection has enough content to keep you entertained for days and it all kicks off with a new stereo mix of the 1967 album by Giles Martin. What follows over the next 3CDs is a collection full of studio takes, instrumentals, remixes, overdubs and more than 100 minutes of audio from the studio which gives you an insight into the creation of the record.
The Blu-ray has the fully restored 1992 documentary of the making of the album alongside interviews with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. There’s also footage from inside the studio, promo films and a 5.1 surround sound mix of Sgt. Pepper’s.
Aside from the music, the CD box set also includes a 144-page book which takes a deep dive into the album sessions.
6. Pink Floyd: The Early Years 1965-1972
If you’re looking for a comprehensive collection of Pink Floyd’s early work all under one roof, then this humungous CD box set should have you covered. It’s bursting with psychedelic goodness and spans the band’s work between 1965 and 1972.
The collection is spread across a whopping 27 discs and contains more than 25 hours of music. It’s split into six separate collections: Cambridge St/Ation (1965-1967), Germin/Ation (1968), Dramatis/Ation (1969), Devi/Ation (1970), Reverb/Ation (1971) and Obfusc/Ation (1972) and features outtakes and demos from Pink Floyd’s early records, includingThe Piper At The Gates Of Dawn,A Saucerful Of Secrets,MeddleandAtom Heart Mother.
The Early Years box set contains a mix of CDs, DVDs and Blu-rays and has 20 previously unreleased tracks including Vegetable Man and In The Beechwoods from 1967, BBC Sessions including live footage and TV appearances, demos, a 5.1 mix of Live At Pompeii, five replica 7-inch singles and more.
For an extensive history of the band’s early years, this is pretty much essential if you love all things Pink Floyd shaped.
7. Marillion: Misplaced Childhood
Marillion’s Misplaced Childhood was the first-ever vinyl I bought with saved up pocked money back in the summer of 1985, and it remains one of my all-time favourite albums. It’s been a constant with me over the last 39 years and it’s pretty much ingrained in my being after thousands of listens over almost four decades.
Sure, some might argue the finest of that era was to follow with 1987's Clutching At Straws, but Misplaced Childhood remains my favourite from the Fish era of the band.
This deluxe 4CD/Blu-ray edition was release back in 2017 and is a lovely package, full of glossy pictures from the era, interviews and extensive writing on the history of the album by rock writer Dave Everley.
As for the music, CD1 has a remastered edition of Misplaced Childhood, CDs 2 & 3 have a live show recorded in Utrecht in 1985, while the fourth CD is packed with alternative versions and demos. The Blu-ray contains a Steven Wilson remix of the record in 5.1 Surround Sound, the 2017 96/24 stereo LCPM remaster, the documentary Childhood Memories and promo videos of the album's singles.
Fish and Marillion would part ways a few years later, with both the band and vocalist going on to enjoy brilliant new career paths, but Misplaced Childhood marks a very special time in the band’s history.
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Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor
Scott has spent 35 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott keeps Louder’s buyer’s guides up to date, writes about the best deals for music fans, keeps on top of the latest tech releases and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more for Louder. Over the last 10 years, Scott has written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, The Tragically Hip, Marillion and Rush.
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