End of the Beginning: The Best of Eddie & the Hot Rods
Artist: Eddie & the Hot Rods

A nearly flawless collection, End of the Beginning documents the band's golden period of 1976-1979 with the infectious singles, inspired live workouts, album tracks and a rarity or two for the collectors. This is an important, though unfortunately overlooked, part of British punk rock's roots that shouldn't be missed. ~ Chris Woodstra, All Music... Read More

The Brian Setzer Orchestra
Artist: Brian Setzer Orchestra
Community Score: 7.00

Who'd have thought that former rockabilly bad boy Brian Setzer's fondest dream was to lead a swinging big band? Setzer and his 17-piece band strut through a set of standards and originals, all featuring his growling guitar and vocals. The disc kicks off in high gear with screeching trumpet and a quintet of sweet saxes before Setzer fills up the... Read More

Latin Playboys
Artist: Latin Playboys

These are hardly "songs" in the conventional sense; more like eccentric sketches that create haunting moods. The players bounce back and forth between scratchy traditional Latin music, free-associating blues numbers, and spaced-out honky-tonk. Grounded in roots music, the lyrics and song structures are almost impressionistic in tone, creating an... Read More

The Buddy Holly Collection
Artist: Buddy Holly
Community Score: 8.00

Given the reluctance of MCA to release a CD version of the complete Buddy Holly recordings (due to either legal issues or a skepticism of its commercial worth), the double-disc 1993 set The Buddy Holly Collection stands as the most comprehensive and greatest CD-era retrospective of the legendary rock & roller. Though it contains all the big... Read More

All I Want Is Everything: The Best of Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes
Artist: Southside Johnny & the Asbury Jukes

The companion to Epic's Best Of, this 14-song compilation traces the Jukes' career through their stints on Mercury/Polygram, Mirage/Atlantic, and Impact/MCA. These were not their best years, but on each album they managed a few worthy cuts, and this set chooses the best of each period, making for a collection that nearly matches the Epic years.... Read More

The Anthology (1968-1990)
Artist: Dave Edmunds
Community Score: 10.00

A double-disc set covering Dave Edmunds' entire career, the 41-song Anthology (1968-1990) does a fine job of capturing his musical evolution, even if it is not without its faults. To a certain extent, Anthology is a definitive compilation, since it begins with Love Sculpture's infamous "Sabre Dance" and runs through his early solo recordings ("I... Read More

It Came from Nashville
Artist: Webb Wilder
Community Score: 5.00

Rock & roll at its heart, with gimmicks on its shoulder. Lots of fun. ~ Robert Gordon, All Music Guide Read More

Wipe Out! The Best of the Surfaris
Artist: The Surfaris

Decent 18-track distillation of their 1962-65 work, including several album tracks and non-LP singles. "Wipe Out" is by far the best cut, of course, but the instrumentals, packed with reverbed guitars, honking saxes, and high-end drums aplenty, usually have an admirably sleek power. Two of the vocal surf tunes were co-written by Gary Usher, who... Read More