Help -- I need suggestions for a good box set of early country singles. Something by MCA/Nashville or Rhino, maybe? I've never really seen such a thing so I wonder if one has ever been pieced together.

Any suggestions?

I'm having some trouble coming up with a good box set that covers country in general. For older folk stuff, you can't go too wrong with the Harry Smith Anthology or the Sounds of the South set, both of which are really good. There is a western swing box set that I've got that is pretty good called 'Doughboys and Playboys' or something like that. Yo might do better picking up sets from individual artists. I have the Columbia sets from Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins and George Jones (I think this is Columbia) and all of them are excellent. I've also had my eye on two box sets from JSP that compile a ton of early Carter Family music for dirt cheap. Also, there is a set that collects the three Nitty Gritty Dirt Band albums from there 'Will the Circle be Unbroken' series, which is a pretty impressive summary of country music, that might be something to look into.

I'm not sure how far back you want to go, when I think of early country, I usually think late 50's through early 60's. There isn't a lot out there as far as boxed sets go, but there are some good compilation discs. The Billboard Top Country Hits series(Rhino) starts with the late 50's, the latest one I own is 1967. You can piece together a pretty good collection with these cd's. Also worth mentioning is From the Vaultsecca Country Classics Box Set(MCA). I bought it for my dad a few years ago, and it's still in his CD changer. I bought the set on Ebay, as Amazon and all of the other major retailers no longer carry it.

Correction on that last post. forgot I was posting in a board. It gave me a smiley. It would be From the Vaults: Decca Country Classics Box Set.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll defintely check out the Billboard Top Country Hits (I had forgotten about those).

I'm mainly aiming for the "Hank Williams era" through the mid 60's, you pretty much nailed it.

I already have several things on my list of "to buy" that sort of supplement the lack of an all encompassing box. Hank Williams set, Patsy Cline set, Loretta Lynn set, Marty Robbins set, Merle Haggard set. I also have early country/rockabilly (specifically The Sun Records box from Rhino).

Thanks again for the suggestions I'm going to check them all out.

Columbia Records put out a five-CD series under the Columbia Country Classics banner that would serve as an admirable cornerstone to any collection.

Volume 1: The Golden Years features essentials from The Carter Family, Roy Acuff, Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys, and Bill Monroe. It may be just a few years earlier than you're looking for right now.

Volume 2: Honky Tonk Heroes starts to zero in on exactly the sides you're looking for including Little Jimmy Dickens, Lefty Frizell, and Floyd Tillman. It's a fine compliment to any Hank Williams collection.

Volume 3: Americana may be the least historically cohesive of the collection, but is the sing disc I reach for most. With several of Marty Robbins best ("El Paso," "Big Iron"), Jimmy Dean's "Big Bad John," Johnny Horton's "The Battle of New Orleans," The Statler Brothers "Flowers on the Wall," and one of my favorites Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard's cover of Townes Van Zandt's "Pancho and Lefty," to name only a few, this may be one of the most satisfying and entertaining single discs in my collection.

Volume 4: The Nashville Sound pretty much picks up where Volume 2 leaves off and should serve as a good bookend for the period you were asking after. There are a lot of crossover hits on this one including Tammy Wynette's "Stand By Your Man" and Charlie Rich's "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World." Mid-50s and 60s country-pop starts to take on a level of polish that is off-putting for purists, so this single volume might wrap up the whole period nicely for you depending on your taste.

Volume 5: New Tradition is a good arguement for tracking down these CDs individually, rather than as a set. The performances are uniformly the best that Columbia had to offer through the late 80s, but that doesn't mean they're all that essential. Ricky Skaggs small-label return to bluegrass is better sought out than his track here and almost any Willie Nelson collection is a better picture of his career. The only truly essential track is George Jones' tear-jerker "He Stopped Loving Her Today," which you'd just as well own on the excellent Epic/Legacy collection I've recommended elsewhere.

Happy listening!

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Wow, for once I was helpful. I'm used to seeking advice rather than giving it. A note on the Billboard CD's, a lot of them are no longer being published. I tried to track down 1963 on Amazon today, after reading your post reminded me that my collection was lacking, and they don't have it. I can buy it through amazon, just not directly, but it might cost an arm and a leg. I managed to track down a copy at a friend's pawn shop for $3, much better than the arm and leg I'd pay on Amazon. Might I suggest scouring local pawnshops, you'd be surprised at what you might find. I've found compilation CD's that I didn't even know existed. My dad has a lot of country classic compilations that haven't been sold in stores in years, and he didn't pay over $3 for any of them. You just have to have a lot of spare time and patience to look through every CD. It can be worth it though, I've found a number of rare import CD's and bought them just to sell on E-bay for a huge profit.

Another outstanding box set is "Portraits" by Emmylou Harris... check it out!