Here are some of the major box sets and deluxe multi-disc sets from last year.

      Let's get started with reissues from Legacy. Easily the best box set of the year is The Singles from the Clash. This numbered, limited-edition set includes the original 19 U.K. singles released from the Clash with the original sleeves. As was the case with U.K. vinyl singles of that time, many of the singles include more than just two tracks. In the case of these specially prepared discs, many previously unreleased tracks, interviews and alternative mixes are also included.

      Each disc is annotated by the likes of Pete Townshend of the Who, novelists Nick Hornby and Irving Welsh, and film director Danny Boyle. The box includes a 44-page color booklet. This is the defining punk box.

      Changing gears entirely, Intersections [1985-2005] from Bruce Hornsby is a four-CD box that includes 53 tracks, 26 of which were previously unreleased, and a DVD with 23 performances, 21 of which have never been released before. Can't Quit the Blues from Buddy Guy covers 50 years of the influential blues guitarist's career. There are three CDs, with six previously unavailable tracks, a DVD with 11 never-before-seen live performances and a 90-minute documentary. There is also a 48-page color booklet. Although the set contains only six of his legendary Chess sides, this package focuses more on Guy's lasting appeal and relevance.

      From the jazz-fusion supergroup Weather Report is a three-CD career overview that includes a 100-page booklet and a DVD with a two-hour concert from the group's 1978 Birdland tour. Another great jazz box is If You Got To Ask You Ain't Got It! from legendary jazz pianist/songwriter Fats Waller. This three-CD box includes 66 tracks that span the years 1926 through 1943 and a 100-page booklet.

      The final Legacy box is Johnny Cash at San Quentin. The two-CD box includes the entire concert with guests Carl Perkins, the Carter Family and the Statler Brothers. There is also a 40-page booklet and a DVD that includes the original hour-long, 1969 British documentary of the concert. Also from Legacy is a two-CD set from Johnny Cash entitled Personal File that includes 49 previously unreleased tracks from 1973 of Cash singing with just his guitar, recorded at his own studio.

      Another two-CD set is Santana III, a Legacy Edition release of the group's 1971 album and the July 1971 final Fillmore concert with nine additional previously unreleased live and studio tracks.

      One of the most obscure, yet extraordinary box sets of the year is The Fuzzy Warbles Collectors Album (Ape House), a nine-CD box from Andy Partridge of XTC. The box contains the original eight CDs from Partridge's archives, which were released individually, along with a bonus disc (Hinges) of nine songs and artwork too eccentric and cool to go into here.

      Somehow, in the face of countless musical trends, Yes endures. The latest from the prog-rock giants is Essentially (Eagle), a five-CD box that includes the group's four previous studio albums and a live concert recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2003.

      To coincide with the release of Cat Stevens' first album since 1978, his excellent new album, An Other Cup (YA/Atlantic), released under the name Yusuf, Universal has reissued Cat Stevens, a four-CD box set from 2001. Arranged thematically and including many previously unreleased live and studio recordings, the box is a reminder of the blazing talent of this artist who first emerged in the 1960s.

      This is a great year for blues reissues. Along with the Buddy Guy box come two must-have boxes from John Lee Hooker and Big Bill Broonzy. Hooker (Shout Factory) from John Lee Hooker is a four-CD box. Including rare recordings recorded under other names, live tracks, collaborations with the likes of Canned Heat, Robert Cray, Van Morrison, Carlos Santana and others, this is now the definitive Hooker box. Amsterdam Live Concerts 1953 (Munich) is a two-CD box of previously unissued concerts recorded in Amsterdam in 1953 from Big Bill Broonzy. These historic concerts were recorded by Louis Van Gastern. These concerts began Europe's great love affair with American blues that subsequently ignited the British blues explosion.

      At long last, the Bee Gees catalog is about to go through a major overhaul. Before you discount the group as overplayed pop pabulum, or simply judge them based on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, check out Bee Gees The Studio Albums 1967-1968 (Reprise/Rhino). This six-CD set draws from the group's first three albums and has more in common with the best of the British Invasion than with pop-disco from the 1970s. The set is comprised of the group's first three albums (Bee Gee's 1st, Horizontal and Idea). Each album is represented by a two-CD package that includes the original album in mono and stereo on one disc and another disc of previously unreleased tracks of various versions, singles, Christmas songs and other oddities. While the practice of including both stereo and mono versions, obviously borrowed from the concept behind the two Beatles U.S. Capitol boxes, is questionable, the quality of the music, the abundance of rarities and the sequencing of their early hits in the context of the original albums make this one of the more surprisingly successful boxes of the year.

      From American/Rhino is The Lost Crowes, which includes The Tall Sessions and The Band Sessions from the Black Crowes. This two-CD set essentially includes two very distinct lost albums from a band that, although it has been playing live again after temporarily calling it quits, has not released a new studio album since 2001. The Tall Sessions from 1993 includes some tracks that would surface on the group's more rock-oriented Amorica, while The Band Sessions exudes the roots feel of Three Snakes and One Charm. Hearing these "lost" sessions gives one a sense of how some of the group's songs and recordings have evolved. Also released this past year was Freak 'n' Roll ... Into The Fog (Eagle), a live two-CD set recorded at the famed Fillmore East in San Francisco in 2005.

      Fans of San Francisco music will love Live at the Warfield (Cygnus) from Phil Lesh and Friends. The two-CD set was recorded at the famed San Francisco venue and includes a bonus DVD filled with interviews, backstage footage, a jazz jam and more.

      Another excellent package from an icon of the San Francisco music scene is Fly Like An Eagle - 30th Anniversary (Capitol) from Steve Miller. This special limited-edition package includes three previously unreleased tracks and bonus two-hour DVD which includes a live concert and a documentary.

      Finally, from Universal are five reissues that should not be missed. From the Moody Blues come three two-CD Deluxe Edition sets (Days of Future Passed, To Our Children's Children's Children and In Search of the Lost Chord). All three have an SACD disc and a bonus disc that includes previously unreleased historic live radio performances from the BBC. Two other Deluxe Edition releases are Eric Clapton, which includes previously unreleased material and the original mix of the album, and Car Wheels On A Gravel Road from Lucinda Williams, which features three extra tracks and a 1998 radio concert from WXPN.