The best & the rest — New CD sets range from Black Sabbath to Sinatra to the Temptations

Columbia/Legacy has gone series crazy.

The recording label has teamed with VH1 Classics to release a line of "We Are the '80s" album compilations. The Bangles, Loverboy and Rick Springfield are also part of the project.

In addition, BMG/Sony Records — the parent company of Columbia/Legacy, RCA, Epic, Windham Hill and RCA Victor — has released a series of new-age artists compilations on its Windham Hill label, under the title "Pure." Windham Hill founder Will Ackerman, along with Jim Brickman, Liz Story and Shadowfax are all a part of this series.

Other record companies have also released greatest-hit collections. Warner Bros. and Rhino Records — which is home to Elektra, Atlantic and Reprise Records — have unleashed another Black Sabbath set, as well as one each for P.O.D., Roberta Flack and Little Feat, just to name a few.

As for box sets, The Doors have released "Perception," a project that includes remastered versions of all six of the albums featuring the late lead singer Jim Morrison, along with a bonus DVD for each album. Tori Amos has also finally released a box set, and Rhino has collected a bunch of dark tunes for a goth set.

All of these — and many more — are included in our annual greatest-hits and box-sets reviews by Deseret Morning News staffers, which we hope will help guide you through the CD morass as you try to find that right musical something for that very special someone this holiday season.

Box sets

Greatest hits

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E-mail: scott@desnews.com