Hit parade — Box sets and greatest hits

It's the holiday season, and like moths to a light, we rush to the stores to find that special gift for a special someone.

However, sometimes shopping for a gift is difficult.

Music is always a good place to start. And this year's box sets and greatest hits have something for everyone.

The box sets range from expanded versions of new and classic albums — Billy Joel's "The Stranger," Johnny Cash's "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" and Cheap Trick's "Budokan." And some, like the Less Than Jake "GNV FLA Deluxe," which features the full length CD, a DVD and three vinyl records filled with rarities and novelties, are a collector's dream.

The hits range from career retropsectives of such diverse artists as Sarah McLachlan, Neal McCoy and Mott the Hoople, to remixed and reissued CDs from Maroon 5 and salsa pioneer Tito Puente.

The following are reviews of various box sets and greatest hits written by the Deseret News features staff.

BOX SETS

BLACK SABBATH; "The Rules of Hell" (Warner Bros./Rhino) ***

The debate continues — who was the better frontman for Black Sabbath — Ozzy Osbourne or Ronnie James Dio? At any rate, each era now has a complete box set. "Black Box: The Complete Black Sabbath, 1970-1978" was released in 2004 and covered the Osbourne years. This time around Dio is the subject. And "The Rules of Hell" features all past Dio fronted CDs — "Heaven and Hell," "The Mob Rules," "Live Evil" and "Dehumanizer." Each CD has been remastered for more volume, and each has extensive liner notes. Regardless if listeners listners prefer Osbourne or Dio, the fact of the matter is, this box set is part of Black Sabbath's on-going ongoing saga, which, as of late, has changed its name to Heaven & Hell to accommodate Dio's return while Osbourne takes a rest. — Scott Iwasaki

JOHNNY CASH; "Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison" (Columbia/Legacy) ****