I could listen to these old rockabilly comps all day long. Your current fave tape/CD/vinyl compilations to listen to.

yeah, i would buy that if i saw the CD. i should look when i'm in an appropriate store.

just a great overall listen.
related -- the guy who put that comp together started a podcast recently with a bunch of similar sounding material (and other deep cuts as well): http://dogpatch.libsyn.com/

Let's not of course forget the Musicophilia comps that Ian M. shares here via his thread. Everyone really should get those! They may not be physical releases but they are discrete units, not endless playlists.

There's lots of configurations of Chess Records' rockabilly output, but it always makes for a good one-volume listen: "Suzie Q", "Save It', "Love Me", etc.

My all-time favorite comp is "Stars of the Apollo Theatre", which seems to have stayed in print since 1973, speaking to how well it flows without sticking to any particular genre ("sepia music", I suppose), as it shifts from sentimental to hilarious to perverse.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Stars-Of-The-Apollo-Theatre/release/2831186

That it's all from the Columbia archives probably helped, too. It has that proto-mixtape personality of the Harry Smith anthology.

that looks awesome, thanks for the tip

Just got a box set of the first four volumes of Profile Records' Best of House Music series in the mail today. I had the first one in high school, on cassette; unfortunately, two songs had to be shaved off to fit on a single CD, and one of them was one of my favorites from the tape. Oh, well.

Also, those Cherry Red sets Ned mentioned upthread are great - I'm going to be reviewing that European electronic one when it shows up here.

Punk 45 several volumes
Those Were Different times
Pebbles 1st 3 volumes, not sure what that translates to in cd terms cos I think they were reconfigured. i would avoid the Trash Box though since it whacked up the treble and whacked down the fidelity.

Loads of Souljazz compis.
Most of the Trojan ones when the label was through Sanctuary.

Mojo did a load of themed ones of quality notably the psych , garage, heavy mod ones and several others.

African Scream contest
Kenya Special
Ghana rock

I'm a freak baby
Let's Go down & Blow Our Minds
Love iS the Song We Sing.

Death To Trad rock

i remember when they came out thinking that volume 2 of best of house music was vastly inferior to volume 1 but we were all young once. maybe just because it started with that natalie cole track. it is the set that introduced me to "a day in the life" and "can you party" after all.

stevolende, tell us what you hear now though. i want to stay current. there are probably lots of comp threads.

Was thinking about those Profile sets myself. Stellar stuf.

what does it say about me that i have probably bought 20+ numero comps over the years and i have sold all of them. that i'm a sucker for a pretty cover? that i probably should have bought them on cd and maybe i would have listened to them more? that i am a disgusting savage?

I still have an iPod playlist of all the Kompakt Total compilations 1-15 (there's no #13) and a couple of other compilations they put out - Kompakt 100 and 20 Jahre Kompakt Vols. 1 and 2 - I put it on shuffle in the car sometimes.

i don't think i've ever heard the volume 4 of that house series. or even seen a copy? probably all tribal-brit-acid by then. the 3rd one i remember not buying because i had the 12-inches of the stuff i liked on it.

i have never stopped listening to my total comps. and i play the newer ones on spotify when i'm playing my PS4 video game. i would buy them for sure on CD if i ever went anywhere that had them.

every kompakt mix and cd i own has been played at least 50 times or more. still some sort of gold standard. definitely way up on a mountain as far as cd sound goes.

Yeah the Kompakt runs are pretty incredible. My girlfriend is a Pop Ambient fiend in particular.

need to hear more of those

been playing that Soundworks 2CD "best of cumbia" set a lot, also some of the Mississippi Records mixtapes. and the Soul Jazz "Saturday Night Fish Fry" comp, I love that thing.

http://tristeshumanistes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/va-this-wine-is-good-but-i-miss-my.html

not compilations per se, but the mixtapes hosted on this blog are very well curated and have been really doing it for me recently; found a ton of stuff through this guy

Current favourite compilations are these:

Garage Trax - The Sound of New York Garage 1, 2, 3
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Garage-Trax-1-The-Sound-Of-New-York-Garage/release/349025
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Garage-Trax-2-The-Sound-Of-New-York-Garage/master/232402
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Garage-Trax-3-The-Garage-Sound-Of-Easy-Street-Records/master/97768

Not sure how authentic they are to club sounds in NY in the mid-late 80s but they contain some great tracks. The compilations have been put out on a UK label with no notes. many recognisable production names: Blaze, Paul Simpson, Marshall Jefferson, Timmy Regisford.

As for current comps, this is what I've listened to most in the last year. Starts off with the saddest song I have ever heard, "I Concealed Myself".

http://www.folkways.si.edu/uzbekistan-echoes-of-vanished-courts/world/music/album/smithsonian

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA_n9MX5zCM

"He Suffered", "Andiojoni Listening to God", "Uyghur Fantasy" the whole thing is pretty kvlt.

anything Bob Stanley touches turns to gold afaict, i've got most of the Saint Etienne comps and those UK folk comps from a few years back as well (Early Morning Hush and Gather In the Mushrooms.) plus Velvet Tinmine.

the Young Marco-curated comp Welcome to Paradise: Italian Dream House 1989-1993 is ridiculously good.

THis was quite good, heard it for the first time today. Playlist of turn of the 790s heavy stuff by the Guerssen label
https://open.spotify.com/user/guerssen/playlist/0bILp8nIeIGr0pvgQiKiKl?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open&play=true

my favorite right now is probably this 100% silk comp from 2015
https://100percentsilk.bandcamp.com/album/sunset-silk

i'm not sure if it's out on disk/tape though

a couple months ago i realized my grounding in pre-beatles rock was really weak and went looking for some chart rock that went beyond the standard time-life stuff. wound up listening to a series on ace records called "the golden age of american rock 'n roll". those germans know what the hell they're doing. bear family does good stuff too. the doo wop comps i have are from the "explosive doo-wops" series on buffalo bop - yes, yes, yes, germans.

Usually at least one Rough Guide among each year's constants---the ones to African Disco and Ethiopian Jazz, for inst. This year I'm getting schooled by Rough Guide To Jugband Blues, with much wider and deeper musical and emotional range than expected.

The Golden Era of Doo-Wops series kills

I only have one of these but it's completely glorious in every way

off and on, compilation CDs are my favorite things in the world. I would say for about four months out of every year they are my favorite thing.

Rhino's Doo-Wop boxes (the "101" series) were my gateway drug for that stuff, I still listen to those

this old harlem doo-wop comp is urgent and key and highly recommended if you ever see it while digging through the stacks. one of my favorite things that Collectables ever put out.

https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Doo-Wop-Era-Harlem-NY/release/10305925

along with the rockabilly stuff i got this week i also got several doo wop and vocal best-ofs and comps and i will definitely be playing them this week. even vocal group bootlegs with generic 12-inch covers! hardcore stuff. i got great blues comps too. some nice yazoo stuff. a feast of records.

I have had Rhino's Legends of Guitar Surf Vol. 1 and Rock Instrumental Classics Vol.5 Surf since they came out new and have listened to them boodles of times over the years. Don't think but there are a couple of songs overlap on them.

I have The Very Best of Red Bird/Blue Cat Records - labels founded by Leiber & Stoller. 15 prime cuts from 1964-1966 that hit the spot when I get that girl group jones.

And there are lots of great trucking song comps. There was one from the mid-90s called Rig Rock Deluxe that had a mix of oldies and remakes. Great stuff.

Rhino's two rockabilly/'50s rock 'n' roll boxes, Loud, Fast & Out of Control and Rockin' Bones, are amazing. I wrote about Rockin' Bones for the Voice years ago.

I picked up a lot of those Charly single artist compilations when they were reissued or repackaged about 5 years ago and have several bits of that in the mix on my walkklman.
Trying to think what the full length various artists R'n'r/Rockabilly set I got back in 2010 was, not sure where it would be either. Some cool alternative r'n'r label anyway with a lot of great stuff on.
Also really liked the Proper HIllbilly Boogie box as well as Bebop Spoken Here, Farewell To Ireland both of which I have bits of on that walkman so get to hear frequently.

That is there wasa series of rock'n'roll compilations taht I think were already out with different covers, included Sonny Burgess, Warren Smith, Billy Lee Riley Jack Scott,Johnny Burnette and most of the usual suspects. I think I got their Gene Vincent set as well.

Been meaning to pick up recent compilations of Charlie Feathers and Jody Reynolds but keep not doing so when i have money.

That reminds me -- easily one of the best compilation series of the 21st century was the "Lux and Ivy's Favorites" compilations, created by Kogar the Swinging Ape over the years

https://www.reddit.com/r/vintageobscura/comments/2jzmf4/lux_and_ivys_favorites_17_volume_compilation_of/

Eschews genre focus for sheer appreciation and range.

oh yeah, those are so much fun

^^^ yeah, I've listened to those a lot. Lux and Ivy had great taste.

Wanted to mention the two "Cosimo Matassa Story" collections on Proper. Essential New Orleans R&B.

I agree that Cherry Red has taken over the mantle of chief compiler from Rhino in terms of broad box sets (the new "Action Time Vision" punk oddities box is great). Labels like Soul Jazz are fantastic for the more specialized comps.

I find I have two distinct uses for comps:
- Overviews of scenes, eras, styles or genres are extremely useful and those are the ones I keep.
- Overviews of labels, radio station comps, and give-aways are typically used for R&D and are disposed of after picking out the artists I want to investigate further.

Some of my favorites:

Swing Jazz:
Swing That Music (Smithsonian 4CD box): http://www.allmusic.com/album/swing-that-music-smithsonian-mw0000103793
The Swing Era (Charly Records 4CD box): https://www.musik-sammler.de/media/482625/
Very little overlap between these two, they capture the big names, the best tunes and a great overview of the era

Pre-rock:
The First Rock And Roll Record: a fascinating companion to the similarly titled book
The Roots of Rock'n'Roll: a much more linear overview of the jump blues and hillbilly songs that melted into the rock'n'roll pot

50's rock:
Loud, Fast & Out Of Control: includes rockabilly staples as well as r&b and ballads
Rockin' Bones: focuses on the wildest up-tempo rockabilly
Essential Rockabilly (10 volumes): 2CD sets each covering one label: Capitol, Columbia, Decca, Dot, Imperial, King, Mercury, MGM, RCA, Sun, a hell of a lot cheaper than the Bear Family "That'll Flat Git It" series which takes a similar approach

60's garage & psych:
Nuggets: the mother of all modern compilations, the box set expands the original LP very well
Nuggets II: I like this even more as it adds more psych and expands coverage to a global view (though really mostly UK)
Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: the best psych overview without getting too silly or jammy for my tastes
Insane Times: a nice companion to "Acid Drops"
Uptight Tonight: a nice companion to the "Nuggets" box, a little overlap but outstanding selections

70's pop fluff:
Have A Nice Day (25 volumes!): Brings back many childhood memories as my mother had the top 40 station on all day

Krautrock:
Deutsche Elektronische Musik
Deutsche Elektronische Musik Vol. 2: two 2CD sets from Soul Jazz covering most of the big names (but not Kraftwerk) with a handful of second tier artists
Kollektion 01 - Sky Records
Kollektion 04 - Bureau B: two different looks into the genre, the first from Tim Gane and the second from Richard Fearless. An excellent breadth and depth overview.

Punk - I've got a ton of these, the absolute best are:
1-2-3-4 - Punk & New Wave: A great overview of the UK scene and how things changed very quickly from 1976 to 1979
DIY: 9 volumes covering the US and UK punk and power pop scenes, these are what got me started digging deeper
No Thanks! The '70s Punk Rebellion: a more focused set similar to the individual DIY volumes
Punk 45: 7 volumes and counting from Soul Jazz, leans towards the obscure but totally worthy

Power Pop:
Poptopia!: 3 volumes, one each for the 70s, 80s and 90s.
The Roots Of Power Pop: compiled by it's greatest advocate, Greg Shaw.
Yellow Pills - Prefill: my favorite Numero release, the nuggets of power pop.

New Wave:
Just Can't Get Enough: 17 volumes covering almost everything you'd want
New Wave Club Class-X: 8 volumes plus particularly cool sets dedicated to the Belgian and German scenes, plus some other reconfigurations of all of these
NDW (3CD set): covers the Neu Deutsche Welle scene about as well as I've found

Ska:
The 2 Tone Collection - A Checkered Past: stonkin' classic ska-punk

Indiepop:
NME C86 (3CD box): Cherry Red's expansion of the classic C86 a-la Rhino's expansion of Nuggets
Scared To Get Happy: another great box from Cherry Red full of twee goodness

Postpunk - this is my favorite period to pan for gold, way too many to list but there's everything from label comps to local scenes to country overviews. My favorites:
7" Up: a bakers dozen of wonderful obscurities, all killer no filler
Ambition - The History Of Cherry Red Records: two discs showing the labels' 80s best
Avon Calling: one of the best single city (Bristol) comps ever
From Brussels With Love
Fruit Of The Original Sin
Ghosts Of Christmas Past: 3 comps from the Les Disques Du Crépuscule label that showcase an incredible range of creativity - spoken word, solo piano, ambient, punk + whatever-strikes-yer-fancy style postpunk
In The Beginning There Was Rhythm: early Soul Jazz comp covering dub punk
Messthetics Greatest Hits: there are 10 volumes in this series but this is the most consistent
Movement - BBC 1 Radio Peel Sessions 77-79: what it says on the tin
Nao Wave
The Sexual Life Of The Savages: two comps covering the Brazilian scene
Perfect Unpop: a great dive into obscure Peel favorites
Seeds (5 volumes): classic vinyl-only sets covering Pop, Art, Rock, Punk & Electric
So Young But So Cold: the best French cold wave collection
Wanna Buy A Bridge: another classic postpunk primer

Australian rock:
Do The Pop!: wonderful overview of the Detroit-via-Melbourne sound of the late 70s
Tales From The Australian Underground (2 volumes): 2CD sets covering obscurities from the late 70s and 80s

New Zealand rock - my single favorite scene ever, there's also a ton of these with any Flying Nun comp being good. The best:
Flying Nun 25th Anniversary box set: 4 discs covering one-off singles, obscurities and the biggest names on the label
It's Bigger Than Both Of Us: covers the pre-Flying Nun underground years
Shrew'd: a unique set of new material by Flying Nun women
Xpressway Pile-Up: the noisy underbelly of the Flying Nun jangly scene

Alt-country - I'll rep for almost any comp on Bloodshot but these are my faves:
Down To The Promised Land
For A Decade Of Sin: 5th and 10th anniversary 2CD sets full of great covers, spectacular one-offs and sampling the best of the label
Pine Valley Cosmonauts - The Executioner's Last Songs (3 volumes): more fun covers and originals all about DEATH!

Single best tribute compilation:
Whore (Wire tribute): no duds, all interesting interpretations, some wildly different!

There's plenty more, of course. I quite like the two volumes of "Rogue's Gallery" where underground artists do sea shanties!

Many of these came to my attention via some excellent ILM threads. Hurrah for all y'all!

columbia country classics compilations are great
so is the smithsonian classic country set

Thanks guys! Speaking of post-punk, this Razor & Tie collection was my intro to several bands:
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Totally-Wired/release/925941

The Best of Music and Rhythm: 80s pop world music + Afropop

https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Best-Of-Music-And-Rhythm/release/3258034

keb darge/cut chemist vs jump blues

https://www.discogs.com/Keb-Darge-And-Cut-Chemist-Present-Lost-And-Found-Rockabilly-And-Jump-Blues/release/1614344

it is of course rather wonderful ...

Going to be searching for a few of these, especially those in music I'm unfamiliar with. I know next to nothing about Brazilian music but I picked up these four comps and they supply a soundtrack to hot weather:
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Bossa-Nova-Brasil/release/5789146
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Samba-Brasil/release/8292034
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Afro-Brasil/release/5789124
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Nordeste-Brasil/release/5790854

Several Sublime Frequencies of vintage Southeast Asian pop-rock-folk-countryoid, and Subliminal Sounds' Thai Beat A-Go-Go trilogy: Vols. 2 and 3 have more good tracks, but Vol. 1 has more great tracks. Def. rec. to those who think they know every possible permutation of mid-60s garage yadda-yadda.

xp mmmm, also check out a bunch of comps on Luaka Bop.

'nother xpost to mmmm - this thread is a goldmine: EXPRESSO 2222: the semi-official BRAZILIAN MUSIC LISTENING CLUB.

i like this one a lot :

https://www.discogs.com/Keb-Darge-And-Cut-Chemist-Present-Lost-And-Found-Rockabilly-And-Jump-Blues/release/1614344

oh, i also like "wolf's at the door: lost recordings from the spirits of the south".

digging the Franklin Mint country comps so far, lots of obvious stuff and light on the deep cuts, but that's what I needed!

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Women-Of-Rembetica/release/5510026

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Dont-Trust-Your-Neighbors-Early-Albanian-Traditional-Songs-Improvisations-1920s-1930s/release/3225034

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Excavated-Shellac-Reeds/release/7611170

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Hell-Broke-Loose-In-Georgia-Georgia-Fiddle-Bands-1927-1934/release/4035946

https://www.discogs.com/Various-The-Early-Days-Of-Bluegrass-Volume-1/release/3692930
^ this entire series

current compilation listening: Ego Trip's The Big Playback, on a remarkably clear vinyl copy, lots of great Old Skool hip hop; Andy Smith's The Document, which is a mix but the vinyl copy (very battered but plays fine) I picked up for £1 in a charity shop is unmixed, more hip hop and funk; and Phil Mison's Out of the Blue, Balearica loveliness and a nice vinyl edition.