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As we enter the 2019 holiday season it’s time for our annual best classic rock box sets article. Every year we take a look at the best box sets released by the great classic rock artists of the last 50 years. The entire music industry has been destroyed by streaming, so box sets have become the one exclusive item that still sells because of all the extras included within the box set. One cannot just wrap their hands around a digital file like they can with posters and booklets filled with photos that are included in these lavish box sets.
Record companies have been releasing box sets since the 1970’s. Of course during that time, they were all lavish huge boxes filled with vinyl albums. The CD era launched an entire new style of box sets. The huge capacity of CDs allowed record companies to publish box sets filled with hundreds of songs covering an artist’s entire career. Early box sets like Eric Clapton’s Crossroads
and Bob Dylan’s Biograph
were huge sellers. Elton John’s To Be Continued…
box set contained such a huge lavish beautiful book, fans went nuts over it. Sadly, many of those great box sets shrunk in size as record companies fought for shelf space in retail stores. None of that matters now, as most record stores are gone and big chain retailers like Best Buy no longer give any space to music.
Over the past few years consumers have seen a change in box sets. Since most of the major artists have had multiple box sets issued covering their entire careers, record companies are now focusing on box sets that cover specific albums. What we are also seeing over the past few years is that every year fewer box sets are being released. It’s just a sign of the times. Nonetheless, there were some great box sets released in 2019. Here are our choices for the best Classic Rock Box Sets of 2019.
# 9 – Beth Hart – War In My Mind – Limited Edition Box
We open up our Classic Rock Box sets of 2019 article with one of rock and roll’s most underrated singers. Beth Hart may be your modern day blues singer, but she has the heart and soul of a classic rock artist from the 1960s and 70s. Her new 2019 album War In My Mind is fantastic. Her record company also released a deluxe edition box set that featured extra tracks, coasters (which is a new one), postcards and stickers. You don’t get any of that in a digital file.
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# 8 – (OMD 40th Anniversary) SΟՍVΕΝΙR
This fantastic box set from OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark) stands as a career spanning anthology ranging from the years 1979 to 2019. The box set features 5 CDs and 2 Dvds. The box set is available as a U.K. import.
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# 7 –The Atlantic Singles 1967 5x Single RSD Exclusive 2019
Aretha Franklin’s box set of vinyl singles is a spectacular very rare record store day release that showcase 5 double sided 7 inch vinyl singles. We don’t usually list items this rares because of their limited availability, but we could not pass this one up. Its a must for vinyl collectors because record companies rarely reissue 7′ vinyl singles.
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# 6 -The Cure – 40 Live Curaetion 25 + Anniversary
Who doesn’t love the Cure. 2019 was their year as they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This box st showcase two live 2018 Cure concerts on Blu Ray disc. There are variations of the box sets with one version also containing four audio CDSs
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# 5 – Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire
The Kinks box set Arthur or the Decline and Fall of the British Empire is a four Cd set containing stereo and mono versions of the classic Kinks album. The box set also contains four 7′ vinyl singles of the albums original single releases. There are also many outtakes included on the CDs . The box set also comes with a beautiful 60 page booklet.
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# 4 -Rolling Stones LΕΤ ΙΤ ΒLΕΕD Deluxe Box Set
ABKCO celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Rolling Stones album Let It Bleed with a great box set. The Let It Bleed 50 h anniversary edition
includes 2 180 gram Vinyl Lps in both stereo and mono, 2 SACDs and an 80 page booklet. The box set also includes a 7′ vinyl single of “Honky Tonk Women” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” which was originally released in mono.
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# 3 – Pink Floyd – The Later Years
If there is one band you can count on to release great box sets every year it’s Pink Floyd. This year’s Pink Floyd box set is an 18 disk packages that chronicles the Pink Floyd era from 1987 and on. The box set contains five CDs, six Blu Rays, 2 DVDs and a pair of 7′ vinyl singles. There are also a pair of books, stickers and cards. The music focuses on the albums A Momentary Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell and The Endless River which were all studio releases. Multiple live shows are also included not counting the cds Pulse and Delicate Sound Of Thunder which are also in the box set.
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# 2 – Paul McCartney Wild Life Deluxe Edition
Paul McCartney’s early Wings album Wild Life get the box set treatment on this wonderful deluxe version. The set contains 3 CDs and one DVD. A 128 page booklet is also included along with a 48 page scrapbook. The CDs contain 25 unreleased tracks. It’s amazing the kind of box set a record company can get out of one album.
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# 1 – Abbey Road Anniversary Super Deluxe
3 CD Anniversary Edition
One of the most important criteria for placing a box set on this list is obviously the original source material must be great in the first place. It doesn’t get much better than when a record company chooses the Beatles’ Abbey Road album for a box set. It’s been 50 years since Abbey Road was released in 1969. This box set featured 3 CDs and one Blu Ray disk. The set features forty tracks including a new stereo mix of the original album. Alternate takes along with a 100 page hardbound book fill out the rest of this amazing reissue and box set of The Beatles final album Abbey Road.
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