Honky Tonk Girl: Collection
Artist: Loretta Lynn

Loretta Lynn's three-disc box set Honky Tonk Girl: Collection has the requisite rarities, but the real strength of the set is how it offers all of her essential tracks -- from 1960s "I'm a Honky Tonk Girl" to 1988's "Who Was That Stranger" -- in one place. Not only are her classic hits like "Fist City" and "Coal Miner's Daughter" included, but... Read More

George Jones & Gene Pitney
Artist: Gene Pitney

When George Jones left United Artists to join Musicor in 1965, it was decided to start off with a duet recording session with teen idol (and labelmate) Gene Pitney. The session resulted in two duet albums -- George Jones & Gene Pitney and It's Country Time Again -- as well as a solo country album by Pitney, The Country Side of Gene Pitney. Bear... Read More

The Honky Tonk Years (1950-1966)
Artist: Ray Price

The Honky Tonk Years (1950-1966) is an accurate title for this mammoth ten-disc set. Tracing Ray Price's career through his heyday in the '50s and stopping in the late '60s, just as he abandoned honky tonk for country-pop, the set documents one of the finest singers and bandleaders in country music. During this era, Price had a long, impressive... Read More

The Essential Eddy Arnold
Artist: Eddy Arnold

The Essential Eddy Arnold contains the majority of Eddy Arnold's biggest hits, including "Make the World Go Away" and "Cattle Call." It's the only single-disc retrospective that offers a reasonably thorough overview of his hit singles, making it an ideal introduction and -- considering that the two-disc box set Last of the Love Song Singers... Read More

Vintage Collections Series
Artist: George Jones

Vintage collects nearly all of George Jones and Melba Montgomery's duets for United Artists. These songs, originally released on What's In Our Hearts and Bluegrass Hootenanny, illustrate how well-suited the pair was for each other -- there may be a couple of weak songs, but there are no weak performances. In fact, Vintage makes a good argument... Read More

Country Hall of Fame - RCA
Artist: Hank Locklin

Country Hall of Fame is a terrifically entertaining tribute to not only the institution of the Country Music Hall of Fame (the hit title song is a corny but strong tribute to the foundation) but the performers that grace its halls. Over the course of the LP, Hank Locklin sings standards like "High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me)," "Four Walls,"... Read More

Please Help Me I'm Falling - BOX SET
Artist: Hank Locklin

Please Help Me I'm Falling is a four-disc box set containing every recording Hank Locklin made between 1955 and 1964. It traces his evolution from a hillbilly balladeer to a smooth country-pop crooner, although Lockin's performance style, and the kinds of songs he sang, didn't change dramatically. The instrumentation, however, changed in a big... Read More

At His Best - PSM
Artist: Roger Miller

PSM's Roger Miller collection At His Best does include many of his best, most popular songs like "King of the Road," "Dang Me," "You Can't Roller Skate in a Buffalo Herd," and "Engine Engine #9." At only 11 tracks though, there doesn't seem to be enough room for classics like "Do-Wacka-Do," "Chug-a-Lug," and "England Swings." Instead the... Read More