By Michael Shilling
Special to MSN Music

If you have a music completist or collector on your list this holiday season, you will find plenty of great box sets to choose from. From R&B favorites and jazz legends to master songcrafters and country crooners, take a look at these sets that are sure to please.

Various Artists: "The Heavy Metal Box"
With an emphasis on the lesser-known acts of the genre, Rhino's "Heavy Metal Box" is an excellent gift for that friend of yours who thinks Krokus never got their due, Iron Butterfly ranks with Zeppelin, and Loudness were the best thing to happen to Japanese music, like, ever. For those of us less inclined to make such bold statements, this four-CD set, which comes in the shape of a Marshall pre-amp, stands as a fine primer of a musical style that, for too long, has unfairly suffered critical derision. 
 
Various Artists: "Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets"
Interested in the long and winding road of American psychedelia? This collection mines the alternately glorious and creepy corpus of the San Francisco music scene from 1965 to 1970, when the City by the Bay was synonymous with the hippie dream state, in all its bright hues and dim, shady nooks. Listening to long-forgotten acts such as Ace of Cups and the Mystery Trend create a fascinating soundtrack for this unique cultural moment and serve as powerful testimony to the optimism and flat-out weirdness of the time. 
 
Tom Waits: "Orphans: Brawlers, Bawlers & Bastards"
Listening to this career retrospective is a crash course in Tom Waits' singular, haunting, gravel-voiced brilliance and an intense and unforgettable reminder of his attention to songcraft. What's most interesting about "Orphans" is the range of the music; Waits is unfairly pigeon-holed as the chronicler of the very down-and-out, set to a slow torch-song dirge. But if "Orphans" proves anything, it's his ability to work in, and successfully blend, disparate styles, from Celtic ballads to rock 'n' roll to lullabies. 
 
Radiohead: "In Rainbows" (discbox)
On Dec. 11, Radiohead will follow up their revolutionary pay-what-you-like strategy for their new record, "In Rainbows," with a boxed set called the "discbox." In it, fans will find "In Rainbows" on CD and vinyl, as well as a second CD of eight new songs, a lyric booklet and a whole lot of original artwork. Arguably, they are the only band that could pursue such a strategy and have it received as a major cultural event/paradigm shift/shape of things to come. And good for them. 

Led Zeppelin: "Mothership"
Strange as it may sound to anyone older than 30, there is a younger, deeply troubled generation of kids who aren't really all that sure why Zeppelin is, well, Zeppelin, dude. This boxed set will fill that tragic gap in musical understanding. Full of newly remastered tracks, these three discs show off the power, the subtlety, the utter riff-tasticness that earned Page, Plant, Jones and Bonham their rightful place as a major constellation in the rock-'n'-roll firmament.
 
Robert Plant: "Nine Lives"
Though he will always be primarily known as the voice that launched a million air guitars, Robert Plant has also cultivated a solo career of surprising range and risk. "Nine Lives" captures the best of these efforts, from the experimentation of 1985's "Shaken 'N Stirred" to the bluesy covers of 2002's "Dreamland." In addition, the boxed set comes with a DVD containing 20 videos, a wealth of performance footage and interviews with Plant and other luminaries, including Phil Collins. 
 
James Taylor: "One Man Band"
One of the greatest of American singer/songwriters, James Taylor is simply not well-known among Generations X, Y and Z. "One Man Band," a CD/DVD set that combines recent performances from the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Mass., with fascinating commentary from Taylor on the inspirations behind his music, and the composition of his songs. Complete with home footage and photographs from Taylor's personal collection, "One Man Band" is a great introduction to a man who penned some of the most heartbreaking love songs, ever. 
 
Various Artists: "Stax 50th Anniversary Celebration"
Straight out of Memphis, Tenn., Stax was the single most important (if not the most commercially successful) R&B label of the '60s and '70s. They put out Otis Redding. They put out Sam and Dave. They put out Isaac Hayes. This two-CD set is truly stunning in quality and scope, one brilliant track after the next without a second of filler. Lesser-known artists such as Jean Knight, the Dramatics and the Astors round out the collection, showing the breathtaking range of this legendary label's offerings. 
 
Emmylou Harris: "Songbird: Rare Tracks and Forgotten Gems"
Spanning four decades, few singers have had the staying power, innovation and timeless ability of Emmylou Harris. "Songbird," which came out in September, collects Harris' finest moments in a career of fine moments. Featuring collaborations with Dolly Parton, Daniel Lanois and Mark Knopfler, and sporting previously unreleased live material and demo tracks, this four-CD set acts as the clearest evidence yet of Harris' place in the pantheon of popular music and comes with a DVD retrospective of numerous stirring television performances. 
 
Keith Urban: "Greatest Hits" (Special Edition) 
 Keith Urban: During the past decade, Keith Urban -- New Zealand's best-known contribution to country music -- has amassed a rather impressive string of stateside hits, often topping the country charts, and "Greatest Hits" catalogs just about all of them. There are No. 1s such as "Better Life" and "Somebody Like You," as well favorites such as "Days Go By" and "You'll Think of Me." The special edition comes with a DVD of a dozen videos, showing off Urban's stage presence and musical chops.

Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, Jack De Johnette: "My Foolish Heart: Live at Montreux"
Three of jazz's living legends team up for this amazing live double-CD, recorded in 2001 at the Montreux Jazz Festival. The trio shines and buzzes on every track; standouts include their take on Miles Davis' "Four," Fats Wallers' "Ain't Misbehavin'" and an amazingly supple version of Rodgers and Hart's "You Took Advantage of Me." You might consider getting "My Foolish Heart" for your punk-loving cousin who thinks this sort of thing is boring. Music this stunning transcends stylistic prejudice and will make a believer out of a great many jazz haters. 
 
Pink Floyd: "Oh by the Way"
A massive offering, "Oh by the Way" catalogues the entire Pink Floyd oeuvre. Starting with the Swinging London psychedelia of 1967's "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn," and rounding off with the Roger Waters-less pop dirges of 1994's "The Division Bell," this collection displays the utter brilliance of Pink Floyd's music, with a wealth of ever-blooming sonic subtleties and dramatic melodies. The set also comes with beautiful reproductions of each album's original vinyl artwork.

Michael Shilling is a frequent contributor to MSN Music. He is a novelist and short story writer who teaches writing at the University of Michigan.

Movies | TV | Music: DVD | Music: CD | Kid's Stuff