Best Sets Don’t Always Come in a Big Box

The record industry has done such a good job of conditioning us to think in terms of boxed sets during the holiday season that it’s easy to forget that these costly, multidisc packages aren’t our only album gift alternative--or even always our best buy.

There are some sets by favorite artists that you’ll likely deem essential, but you can often satisfy your needs just fine with one of the old-fashioned single discs that were popularized in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

One of the knocks on the single-disc CDs is that the format was pioneered in the vinyl record era, when albums were technically limited to lengths that fall far short of the 75-plus-minute capacity of CDs.

Typically, early greatest-hits CD collections contained only 10 or 11 songs, giving us only 25 to 30 minutes of music. The packaging was equally skimpy, offering little if any of the exhaustive liner notes or photo-filled booklets that you associate with the boxed sets.

But don’t be guided by packaging and quantity. It may be that 25 or 30 minutes of music is all you really want of a particular artist, and you’ll certainly like the price of a single-disc album, which usually ranges from $10 on many budget-priced or sale albums to a retail top of around $18. If you can find them in a used CD bin, the price drops further.

And the bonus is that many major labels these days have begun updating their greatest-hits packages by increasing the number of songs and adding at least modest booklets.

A notable example is MCA’s new “Essential Hendrix: The Best of Jimi Hendrix.” The 20-song album runs more than 70 minutes and includes a 24-page color booklet, complete with an essay that talks about the music track by track.

And the song lineup is outstanding--from “Purple Haze” and “All Along the Watchtower” to “Cross-town Traffic” and the “Star-Spangled Banner.” The album, normally $18, was on sale this week at one Los Angeles retail chain for $14.

Because of extensive repackaging, there may even be a variety of greatest-hits options for some artist. So shop carefully.

Here are some of the tempting items from artists who came to prominence in the ‘50s--albums found during a stroll through one larger record chain store and one store specializing in used CDs.

These individual CDs don’t look as impressive as one of the boxed sets when gift-wrapped, but a batch of them might be quite a treat--and provide more ultimate listening pleasure than a poorly chosen set limited to a single artist.

Chuck Berry, “His Best, Vol. 1” (MCA). Part of MCA’s excellent “Chess 50th Anniversary Collection,” this disc, which was released in 1997, contains 20 Berry songs, including “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Sweet Little Sixteen” and “Brown Eyed Handsome Man.” Berry was rock’s first great songwriter-performer, and the music still radiates its unusual brand of energy and optimism.

Johnny Cash, “The Sun Years” (Rhino). Cash is one of the most influential and rewarding figures in modern country music. His impact on both rock and country was so profound that he is one of the few musicians elected to both the country and rock halls of fame. Most of his hits were on Columbia, but these 18 recordings from the start of his career on Sun Records have a remarkable vitality after all these years. The disc include such signature numbers as “Folsom Prison Blues” and “I Walk the Line.” For a look at the Columbia years, there’s “Johnny Cash’s Greatest Hits, Volume 1” (featuring “Ring of Fire” and “The Ballad of Ira Hayes”).

Sam Cooke, “The Best of Sam Cooke” (RCA). This is an example of the old vinyl album transferred intact to CD. It offers just 13 songs (about 32 minutes) and no booklet. The price was also no bargain in the store sampled ($18). Ah, but the music. . . . Cooke was one of those who defined soul singing, and the selections here include “Bring It on Home,” “You Send Me” and “Wonderful World.”

Bobby Darin, “Splish Splash: The Songs of Bobby Darin, Volume One” and “Mack the Knife: The Songs of Bobby Darin, Volume Two” (Atco). The packaging is solid (21 songs in each volume plus booklets), but the division between Darin’s rock side in Volume 1 (“Early in the Morning,” “Simple Song of Freedom”) and what might be described as his more adult side in Volume 2 (“Mack the Knife,” “Beyond the Sea”) leaves us without a complete picture of Darin in either album. Though it may be hard to find, a better solution is “The Ultimate Bobby Darin” (Warner Special Products), which has only 17 songs and offers no booklet, but mixes the two sides of his artistry better.

Bo Diddley, “His Best” (MCA). Another in the Chess anniversary series, this salute to one of rock’s most enduring guitarist-songwriters features some of the tunes, including “Mona” and “Who Do You Love?,” that have been part of rock’s most active repertoire for decades. Diddley, whose real name is Ellas McDaniel, didn’t have as many hits as Chuck Berry, but he gave us a sound--that fast, super-charged rhythm--that may be as copied and as distinctive as Berry’s guitar rave-ups.

The Everly Brothers, “Cadence Classics--20 Greatest Hits” (Rhino). This marvelous, country-based duo made some of the most inviting records of the early rock era--including “Bye Bye Love” and “Wake Up Little Susie”--while at tiny Cadence Records before moving on to Warner Bros. Records, where they had more hits--and, predictably, generated more greatest-hits collections.

Little Richard, “The Essential Little Richard” (Specialty). There are a lot of Little Richard compilations available, but this one contains all of the classic hits, including “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Slipin’ and Slidin’.” The Georgia native, whose real name is Richard Penniman, also didn’t have as many hits as Berry, but for lots of young rock fans he was the most exciting figure to emerge from the R&B; side of rock during the ‘50s.

Elvis Presley, “Elvis’ Golden Records” (RCA). Presley has been repackaged so much that you could spend the better part of an afternoon trying to decide which collection is right for you. This was his first greatest-hits album. Issued in 1958, it contained the landmark early hits, including “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Don’t Be Cruel” and “Hound Dog.”

Next Vaults: Single-disc greatest-hits of note from the ‘60s.

Robert Hilburn, The Times’ pop music critic, can be reached by e-mail at robert.hilburn@latimes.com