Life's Like Poetry
Artist: Lefty Frizzell

Life's Like Poetry is a gigantic, 12-disc box set that includes all of Lefty Frizzell's recordings for Columbia and ABC, plus early demos, a session with Jay Miller, and several radio transcriptions -- everything he recorded between 1950 and 1975. Certainly, the box is designed for collectors -- no one but the most devoted fan could listen to... Read More

Satisfaction Guaranteed - BOX
Artist: Carl Smith

Every song that Carl Smith recorded during the '50s is included on Satisfaction Guaranteed, a five-disc, 143-track box set that stands as the most comprehensive retrospective of the honky tonk star's peak period. During the era that Satisfaction Guaranteed covers, Smith scored more Top 10 hits than either Hank Williams or Lefty Frizzell, and... Read More

Hank Thompson & His Brazos Valley Boys (1946-1964)
Artist: Hank Thompson
Community Score: 5.00

It's 12 CDs, 321 tracks, and lists for over $300, but for those with the budget or the discipline to save up for it, this box set is it -- not only every record that Hank Thompson cut for Capitol between 1947 and 1964, but also his ultra-rare, never-before-reissued sides for Globe and Blue Bonnet from 1946 and 1947. Disc One opens with those... Read More

Real McCall
Artist: Darrell McCall

Darrell McCall was a hardcore traditional country singer, keeping the flame of pure, gritty honky tonk alive during the country-pop crazes of the '60s and '70s. Though he never had many hits -- only his debut single, "A Stranger Was Here," broke the Top 20 -- he gained a dedicated cult following among fans of traditional country, which... Read More

The Melody Ranch Girl
Artist: Jean Shepard

The five-disc box set The Melody Ranch Girl collects all 151 tracks that Jean Shepard recorded for Capitol Records between 1952 and 1964. Shepard's recordings for Capitol were undeniably her best -- by and large, this is fiery, passionate honky tonk. All of her hits from this era, from "A Dear John Letter" and "A Satisfied Mind" to "Beautiful... Read More

The Best of Hank Thompson: 1966-1979
Artist: Hank Thompson

Hank Thompson didn't stop recording or having hits when he left Capitol Records, although given the lack of attention paid to his Warner and Dot albums (along with their scarcity on CD), it sometimes seems that way. Fact of the matter is, Thompson continued to chart steadily into the early '70s and as late as 1979 he had a Top 30 country hit.... Read More

That's the Way Love Goes: The Final Recordings of Lefty Frizzell
Artist: Lefty Frizzell

After two decades, Columbia Records dropped Lefty Frizzell in 1972, a move that, according to all reports, hit the singer very hard. He signed with ABC by the end of the year, and, over the next two years cut 23 songs with producer Don Gant, enough material for two albums. Varese's 1996 compilation That's the Way Love Goes: The Final Recordings... Read More

Vintage
Artist: Hank Thompson

Twenty songs, containing nearly all of the essential items from Thompson's history with Capitol Records from 1947 through 1961, from "(I've Got A) Humpty Dumpty Heart" through "Oklahoma Hills." In addition to containing all of the expected hits, such as "The Wild Side of Life," there are a few nice bonus tracks, such as the Brazos Valley Boys'... Read More

Walking the Floor over You - BOX SET
Artist: Ernest Tubb

Okay, it's eight 70-minute-plus CDs and over $200 retail, and that would dissuade even loyal fans from springing for this set. But there's not a bad cut here, nor more than a dozen tracks that have been heard in 50 years, or are ever likely to be heard elsewhere. And most of the 200+ songs, covering 1936 until early 1947, never showed up on LP.... Read More