The Essential Santana
Carlos Santana (Columbia/Legacy, $24.98)

Two CDs span 18 journeyman years (pre-Supernatural), showing off all that is Hendrix, Coltrane and Marley about the Latin rock guitar god. Essential indeed.

The Herbie Hancock Box
Herbie Hancock (Columbia/Legacy, $69.98)

Hancock's music—from his acoustic work with VSOP to 1983's hit "Rockit"—balances innovation with animation, as the jazz pianist explains in the booklet accompanying this splendid four-disc retrospective. But does Herbie know how to open the transparent Rubik's Cube-like box it comes in?

Like, Omigod! The '80s Pop Culture BOX (Totally)
Various Artists (Rhino, $99.98)

Like the decade itself, this seven-disc, 142-song box of '80s hits veers toward excess (Buckner & Garcia's "Pac-Man Fever," anyone?), but that's what makes it so terrifically gnarly.

Reprise Please Baby: The Warner Bros. Years
Dwight Yoakam (Warner/Rhino, $59.98)

Yoakam's musical resemblance to Merle Haggard is apparent on these four CDs, surveying the years 1981-2002. Especially worthy are a sensational live rendition of "Suspicious Minds" and a fun duet with Sheryl Crow on Sonny & Cher's "Baby Don't Go."

Capitol Records: 1942-2002
Various Artists (Capitol, $259.98) At one time or another Nat King Cole, the Beatles, the Beach Boys and Pink Floyd all recorded on the Capitol label. This six-CD set, which also includes such modern acts as Radiohead, Coldplay and Kylie Minogue, blankets the label's storied six-decade history in 96 eclectic tracks.

The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux 1973-1991
Miles Davis (Columbia/Legacy, $249.98)

This stunning 20-disc collection documents every performance by the trumpeter at the Swiss jazz festival, including forays into hot funk, sonic guitars and '80s pop tunes. Here is a master reinventing himself.

The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac (Reprise, $24.98)

Featuring '70s hits like "Rhiannon" as well as '80s ones like "Gypsy," this 36-track, two-disc set also intersperses a few outtakes from the band's 1997 reunion tour.

The Essential Collection: 1965-1997
The Carpenters (A&M/UME, $59.98)

Since his sister Karen's 1983 death, Richard Carpenter has kept the Carpenters alive with best-of sets. On this four-CD package he goes all out, including all the '70s-heyday hits as well as rarities like Karen's TV-special medley with Ella Fitzgerald.

Frank Sinatra in Hollywood
Frank Sinatra (Reprise, $119.98)

This six-CD box of Sinatra's movie music is so comprehensive it even includes five songs from The Kissing Bandit—his universally reviled 1949 film—in addition to selections from his later, more artful musicals Guys and Dolls, Pal Joey and High Society.

In a Word: Yes (1969- )
Yes (Elektra/ Rhino, $69.98)

Will fans of the classic progressive rock outfit be able to resist this expansive five-CD set? In a word: No. Covers early hits like "Round-about" to later ones like "Owner of a Lonely Heart."

Family Tree
Björk (Elektra, $59.98)

Culling odds and ends from her 25-year career (including her stint with the Sugarcubes) on six discs, the Icelander ignores hits like "Human Behavior" in favor of personal faves like the spacey "Venus as a Boy."

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KELLY CLARKSON'S Favorite Holiday Albums

Merry Christmas Mariah Carey "Best Christmas album ever."

Christmas with Bing Crosby Bing Crosby "Classic goodie."

Joy: A Holiday Collection Jewel "I love what she does with traditional favorites

8 Days of Christmas Destiny's Child "Lovely voices, beautiful harmonies."

A Rosie Christmas and Another Rosie Christmas Rosie O'Donnell and various artists "Rosie is so cute, and they're fun CDs."