Okay, let’s face it. You blew it. You didn’t order the CDs I recommended the last time — or you did, and found out that they were so cool that you decided to keep them for yourself! (That’s quite understandable). So here it is almost Thanksgiving (and it will be soon enough) and you haven’t bought a single Christmas present yet. Oh how I envy you! You get to go to the shopping mall and try to find a parking space, and then go into a zoo of people to shop for something you can’t find or is out-of-stock! Folks, what are you doing?
Why go through that torture every year?
Okay, so today, I have lined up 8 winning CD box sets that are sure to please that special someone on your list. Not only that, I have listed the prices and how many CDs are in each box set. This music is all top quality and the sound is superb (I work at a radio station — I know sound quality).
“But Mike, you are kind of strange… I’m afraid if I order a CD that you recommend, they might not like it!”
Fear not! For today, I have made a list of “can’t miss” CD’s that are not “Cool & Strange” they’re just “Cool!” And they will make the perfecto Christmas gift and, since they are box sets, not only will you not feel like a cheapskate; you’ll be saving money. So what have you got to lose?
History of Pop Radio 1920—1951 [15 CD BOX SET — German Import] Various Artists $65.98
There cannot be a music lover who doesn’t want this CD box set. Can’t be. The History of Pop Radio from 1920 until 1951. Do I even need to give you a sales pitch? Okay, these are the originals all mastered from the original tapes. Now any audiophile will tell you that the best sound in the world comes from Germany. Why? They are collectors. Now how it is that folks in Germany got their hands on these original masters is a mystery to me, but this sound quality will make your jaw drop. Remember these tunes?
- Charleston — Paul Whiteman Orchestra
- Toot, Toot, Tootsie, Goodbye — Al Jolson
- Louise — Maurice Chevalier
- Falling in Love Again — Marlene Dietrich
- Sweet Georgia Brown — Bing Crosby
- Night and Day — Fred Astaire
- On the Good Ship Lollipop — Shirley Temple
- Begin the Beguine — Artie Shaw
- You Must Have Been a Beautiful Baby — Dorothy Carless
- Whispering Grass (Don’t Tell The Trees) — The Ink Spots
- Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar — The Andrews Sisters
- Tuxedo Junction — Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
- Yours — Vera Lynn
- Honey in the Honeycomb — Lena Horne
- For Me and My Gal — Judy Garland
- Brazil — Xavier Cugat
- It Could Happen to You — Jo Stafford
- Choo Choo Ch’Boogie — Louis Jordan
- Buttons and Bows — Dinah Shore
- I Wish I Didn’t Love You So — Betty Hutton
- Rag Mop — Johnnie Lee Wills
- Some Enchanted Evening — Ezio Pinza
- Mister and Mississippi — Patti Page
- Come On-A My House — Rosemary Clooney
- Music! Music! Music! — The Ames Brothers
And there are many, many more! Folks there are 300 songs on these CDs! $65.98 for 15 CDs. That’s $4.39 per CD! And you can get free shipping!!! There are tens of thousands of people who will read this article. This item will sell out soon. Don’t waste another minute. This will probably be your loved ones favorite CD of all time! It is one of mine. Go to the link above and just look at all the songs on these CDs. And it comes with an 80-page booklet letting you listen and read about all those great memories. You’ll all say:
“Where were you when this song came out?”
Lounge De Luxe [3 CD BOX SET — UK IMPORT] Various Artists $18.99
This is a 3 CD Set Featuring Roy Budd, Tony Hatch, John Schroeder, Harry Roche Constellation, Les Reed, Alan Tew Orchestra, etc. Not only is this very cool bachelor pad-type of lounge music, but I think even folks who don’t like Lounge will love this CD. This was the only CD that I have ever found that had Tony Hatch doing “Music to Watch Girls By” on it. And believe me, I’d looked for that song for a very long time. 60 songs total on this box set works out to $5.69 per CD. Is that a deal or what?
Masters Of Classical Music, Vols. 1-10 [10 CD BOX SET] Various Artists List Price: $26.98 on sale now for $24.49
Everything you wanted to know about Classical music, but were afraid to ask. 10 CDs each one featuring the music of: Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Chopin, Schubert, and Verdi all performed by the Classical Masters.
From these CDs you’ll be able to tell who is who in Classical music. I’d recommend this set to anyone who wants to get started listening to classical music, or just wants to have it around in case the mood strikes you (or in case the need for mood music strikes). It is diverse and wonderfully priced at $2.50 per CD!
The Instruments of Classical Music [10 CD BOX SET] Various Artists List Price: $26.98 on sale now for $24.49
This is another fantastic performance and wonderful recording quality by mostly German musicians with their versions of the classical masters. There’s the: German Bach Soloists, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Mozart-Blaser, Dresden Baroque Soloists, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Strings, Burkhard Glaetzner and many more. This is a more “pastoral” mood of music so I find this quite nice for relaxing in the mornings and for afternoon tea. Excellent music for making a mood. This box set also works out to $2.50 per CD and if you go to the Masters Of Classical Music link above you can buy them both and get another discount!
Classic Disney: 60 Years of Musical Magic [5 CD BOX SET — AUSTRALIA IMPORT] Various Artists List Price: $42.99 on sale now for $29.99
So your friend had a baby. How wonderful! But you went out and blew it by buying them something that they don’t really need (unless you bought them a few packs of Pampers! — very practical, but tacky!) Or you bought them something that the kid won’t be able to wear in 3 months. What to do? Well your problems are solved! How about a present that the child can enjoy for 10 years or more? I got for you right here!
This Aussie exclusive box set features a collection of 101 of Disney’s best-loved songs. 60 years of musical magic from ‘Snow White’ to the ‘Lion King’, from ‘Mary Poppins’ to ‘Toy Story’. On sale now for $29.99!? $6.00 a CD for original Disney Recordings? Try to beat that at Wal-Mart — if you can!
Hillbilly Hero [4 CD BOX SET — UK IMPORT] Hank Williams Sr. List Price: $24.98 on sale now for $22.99
It’s Hank. What else needs to be said? 76 classics by the greatest country singer/songwriter who ever lived on 4 superb sounding CDs. Just some of the great songs featured on this set are, ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’, ‘Lovesick Blues’, ‘Hey Good Lookin” & ‘Long Gone Lonesome Blues’. Also included are six “Health & Happiness” radio transcription recordings from late 1949. There’s a 52-page booklet that includes track details, rare photos & this man’s remarkable story. All at $5.75 per CD plus a booklet!? Are you kidding me?
Strictly for Music Lovers [4 CD BOX SET] Spike Jones List Price: $24.98 on sale now for $22.99
All of Spike Jones’s musical madness on 4 CDs for a total of 95 vintage musical comedy tracks. I love Spike Jones. The first time I ever heard Spike was when a friend and I were digging through our parents’ old records. What a find! This CD box set sets the record straight for Spike: Not only was he a hilarious parody comedy musician, but he was a mighty fine straight-up musician too!
In the 1930s and ’40s, when American dance and jazz orchestras were just finding main-stream popularity, Jones was there to sabotage their efforts with great playing, and hilarious parody tunes. This set features all of Spike the musician that you’ll ever need, but its super-cheap price, nice liner notes, and great music (that still sounds hilarious after all these years) make it a steal at $5.75 per CD!
Great Moments of the 20th Century [3 CD BOX SET] Various Artists — Miscellaneous $49.98
Highly recommended for kids from 10 to 100 years old! This is a beautiful and comprehensive history book cleverly disguised as a CD. The spoken word as the way to help you re-live historical moments and, in the process, make history come alive. In an incredible 100-page, spiral-bound book package, the audio moments are numerically documented with concise, track-by-track explanations. Reading and listening to these snapshots in time provide a perfect way to memorialize this remarkable century. Geeks and history buffs will just love this history book and CD… Hey! I’m a geek and proud of it! I must warn you though, that there are many tracks on these CDs that will not only fascinate, but they can horrify you — because, by listening to this CD, you are there. Several tracks just give me goosebumps (and not for joy, either). Here’s a sample of a few of the tracks:
- Inventor Marconi Talks About Sending the First Transatlantic Radio Transmission
- Survivor Gives Harrowing Account of the R.M.S. Titanic Disaster
- Aviator Charles Lindbergh Reflects on the First-Ever Transatlantic Flight
- As the Threat of War Once Again Looms over Europe, Winston Churchill
- Louisiana Senator Huey Long Criticizes the Current Roosevelt Administration
- News Coverage of the Hindenburg Airship Disaster
- Nazi Germany Mounts Blitzkrieg Invasion of Poland
- British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain Declares a State of War
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt Announces the First Peacetime Draft Lottery
- President Franklin D. Roosevelt Declares War on Japan
- Report of German Army’s Unconditional Surrender in Italy
- Adolf Hitler Commits Suicide
- Report of the U.S. Having Dropped the Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima
- White House Issues Statement That Soviet Union Has Atomic Bomb
- Baseball Great Joe Dimaggio Announces His Retirement
- Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin Dies at Age 73
- Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower Officially Announces End to Korean Conflict
- Senator Joseph McCarthy Presides at House un-American Activities Committee
- Ensure Your Safety With the Purchase of This Nuclear Survival Course
- Hungarian Revolt Crushed by Soviets
- Presidential Candidates John F. Kennedy and Richard M. Nixon Square Off
- President Dwight D. Eisenhower Delivers Military Industrial Complex Farewell Speech
- President John F. Kennedy Is Assassinated
- North Vietnamese Vessels Attack U.S. Navy in Gulf of Tonkin
- Riots Break Out at 1968 Chicago Democratic Convention
- Secretary of State Henry Kissinger Announces Peace Is at Hand in Vietnam
- President Richard Nixon’s Resignation: I Have Never Been a Quitter
- Elvis Presley Dies at 42
- Soviets Down Korean Airlines Flight 007
- Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
- President Ronald Reagan Denies Allegations of Secret Deals With Iran
- Report of Chinese Government Response to Student Revolt from Tiananmen
- Operation Desert Storm Begins
- FBI Tactical Briefing Concerning the Branch Davidians’ Compound in Waco
- Diana, Princess of Whales, Dies in Car Crash
- President Bill Clinton Testifies His Explanation Was Legally Accurate
And many more! Almost 200 of the most memorable and chilling moments of the 20th century all in one place. Like I said, this CD is for history buffs and geeks (like me). But it is one heck of a roller coaster ride that anyone can enjoy — and learn from!
Well, that’s it for this time. Really folks, I can’t stress this enough: Christmas will be here before you know it, so do yourself a favor and buy something that that special someone will really love and treasure like any of the CD box sets I mentioned above.
Click on the links and go to the Amazon page and see how you can get free shipping plus more discounts than I have even mentioned here. I guarantee that everyone will love the above-mentioned CDs. I do own them all and I have listened to them all and they have my approval…. And that’s hard to get! And I have never once had Amazon mess up my orders and I do order from them every month… Sometimes over a few hundred dollars at a time (for work). So you can depend on them.
Merry Christmas… Now get shopping!
