Music / Compilations / Compilations & Box Sets

Compilations & Box Sets

The Band's catalog has been repackaged and reissued more than most groups from their era, reflecting steady demand from listeners who never followed the original vinyl releases closely enough to buy all ten studio albums individually.

The Best of The Band (1976)

The group's first hits compilation, released on Capitol the same year as The Last Waltz concert, drawing from the first six studio albums.

To Kingdom Come: The Definitive Collection (1989)

A three-disc retrospective spanning the group's full studio output to that point, marketed at the time as the definitive word on the catalog, a claim later compilations would supersede.

Across the Great Divide (1994)

A three-CD box set assembled to coincide with the group's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction that year, mixing familiar album tracks with a selection of rarities and live material.

Greatest Hits (2000)

A single-disc, streamlined introduction to the catalog, aimed at casual listeners rather than collectors.

A Musical History (2005)

The most substantial of the box sets: five CDs and one DVD, put together under Robbie Robertson's supervision, containing 37 previously unreleased tracks and filmed performances. Spans the group's full arc, from early Ronnie Hawkins-era recordings and Basement Tapes material through to the Islands period, including a previously unheard 1971 live recording from the Royal Albert Hall and a 1974 live version of "Highway 61 Revisited" recorded with Dylan. Widely regarded as the strongest single entry point into the group's non-album material.

The Bootleg Series Vol. 11: The Basement Tapes Complete (2014)

Not a Band compilation in the traditional sense, since it's credited to Bob Dylan, but essential to the group's own recorded history. Covered in full on the Basement Tapes discography page.

Notes

Song selection across these releases overlaps heavily; "Ophelia," "The Weight," and "Up on Cripple Creek" appear on nearly every one of them. Collectors generally point newcomers toward A Musical History for depth and Greatest Hits for a quick, uncomplicated introduction, with the original studio albums still the recommended starting point for anyone who wants the songs in their intended context.