Best Boxed Sets, Collections & Reissues of 2025

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Just when you think there can’t possibly be any more unreleased vintage music remaining in the record labels’ and artists’ vaults…surprise! This year, it seems, there are more archival goodies than ever making their way to our ears for the first time, including rarities from heavyweights like Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead and others. In addition, a slew of Super Deluxe Editions—classic albums bolstered with rare demos, outtakes, etc.—are among the most coveted historical releases of 2025.

So, here we go! It’s that time of year again (yes, already!), when we look back at the bounty of music from the classic rock era that has somehow taken this long to find its way to us, the fans who still love the sounds from decades gone by. In our 2025 roundup of rock music boxed sets, reissues and compilations, we focus on newly released sets, including those Super Deluxe Editions, compilations and anthologies, and especially those lavish multi-disc boxed sets, some also including hardcover books and other goodies. Many have tons of previously unreleased recordings, some include live recordings—all of them are, in our opinion, worth adding to your collection.

The list is arranged alphabetically by artist, from the Beatles to Yes—no rankings here because they’re all worthy. We’ve also included a number of “also released” titles.

Hope you find something you like. We sure did! And please stay tuned for parts two and three of our annual holiday guide, featuring new classic rock-related albums and books!

[Note: In most cases, if you click on the album title, you’ll be taken to our original coverage of the release, complete with ordering links.]

The Beatles—The Anthology Collection—Originally curated by George Martin in 1995, the upgraded and expanded Anthology is now remastered by his son Giles Martin, in the form of three double albums of rare material, a shadow story to the one told in the related documentaries. They are an enthralling insight into the early development of songs that became the recorded masterpieces that resonate just as loudly today as they did when they were first recorded. (Also available is the double-disc Anthology 4, not part of the original issue.)

David Bowie—I Can’t Give Everything Away (2002-2016)—The sixth and final release in a series of anthologies stands apart from the others in at least two ways. First, it covers a longer timespan than any of the previous collections. Second, it focuses on a period when Bowie released relatively few full-length studio LPs—just four in the 15 years covered by this anthology—though they include some of the best work of his career. All were co-produced by Tony Visconti, who also co-produced several of Bowie’s classic late-1970s LPs.

Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks—Buckingham Nicks—The only studio album by Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks as a duo, prior to them joining Fleetwood Mac, was originally released in 1973 and unavailable for decades. The album has been sourced from the original analog master tapes and is available for the first time on CD.

Deep Purple—Made in Japan—The new Super Deluxe Edition features new stereo and Dolby ATMOS mixes by acclaimed producer Steven Wilson, all three 1972 concerts newly remixed by Richard Digby Smith, and several rare single edits. The performances capture Deep Purple at full throttle, powering through songs from their then-new album Machine Head, along with classic rock favorites like “Child in Time,” “Strange Kind of Woman,” and “Speed King.”

Dire Straits—Brothers in Arms 40th Anniversary Edition—The expanded edition is available as a three-CD set and as a five-LP collection. The original album has also been reissued as a single LP. As Best Classic Bands wrote in its Album Rewind of this huge seller, “With their fifth album, Dire Straits vaulted from platinum respectability to the commercial ionosphere.”

Bob Dylan—Bootleg Series 18: Through the Open Window 1956-1963—The eight-CD, 139-song set tells the story of Dylan’s emergence and maturation as a songwriter and performer, from Minnesota to the Greenwich Village bohemia in the early 1960s. It includes rare Columbia Records outtakes, recordings made at club dates, in tiny informal gatherings, in friends’ apartments, and at jam sessions in long-gone musicians’ hangouts.

Genesis—The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway 50th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition—Created with input from all of the band members, Lamb… is available as five-LP/Blu-ray Audio and four-CD/Blu-ray Audio. The original album mix was remastered at Abbey Road Studios from the 1974 analog tapes. A Blu-ray audio disc includes the remastered 96kHz/24-bit high-resolution audio and Dolby ATMOS mixes of the studio album. The set includes a memorable concert: The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Live at the Shrine Auditorium from January 24, 1975.

Grateful Dead—Enjoying the Ride, The Music Never Stopped, Blues for Allah—A busy year as always for the Dead archivists (and deep-pocketed Dead Heads). Enjoying the Ride is a sweeping 60-CD boxed set (yes, 60, and mostly previously unreleased!) that maps an epic cross-country road trip with stops at storied venues. It spans 25 years of legendary live performances from 1969 to 1994. The Music Never Stopped is an abridged version of that box, a journey through the music that shaped the band’s live legacy. The collection was released by Rhino on three CDs or six LPs. Finally, the Grateful Dead’s 1975 album, Blues for Allah, one of the most forward-thinking, sonically adventurous albums of their career, received a 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition, available as a three-CD set and on vinyl.

Jethro Tull—Still Living in the Past—Originally released in 1972, the album, expanded to a five-CD/Blu-ray set, is a collection of singles, album tracks and outtakes that charted across the world. The newly expanded edition features Steven Wilson remixes, edits, demos, Live at Carnegie Hall 1970 (another Wilson remix) and four promo films.

Led Zeppelin—Physical Graffiti—The 50th anniversary edition of 2015’s Physical Graffiti Deluxe Edition three-LP set features a companion audio disc and a new bonus replica album promotional poster. The original Physical Graffiti, from 1975, immediately achieved platinum sales status and has recently been certified 17x platinum. A new live EP is also available.

[Note: In most cases, if you click on the album title, you’ll be taken to our original coverage of the release, complete with ordering links.]

John Lennon and Yoko Ono—Power to the People—This massive box—the Super Deluxe Edition includes nine CDs as well as three Blu-rays—has two related centerpieces. One is material from Lennon and Ono’s Some Time in New York City LP of 1972. The other is the two sold-out “One to One” benefit shows for children with disabilities that the couple performed at Madison Square Garden that same year. Lennon’s only full-length post-Beatles concerts, the shows featured backup by the Plastic Ono Band and Elephant’s Memory and embraced many of the songs from the album.

Little Feat—The Last Record Album Deluxe Edition—Released as a four-CD set and on two LPs, both formats include the newly remastered 1975 album along with rarities and previously unreleased studio material. The CD set also features an unreleased recording of the band’s concert at Boston’s Orpheum Theatre on Halloween night in 1975.

Joni Mitchell—Joni’s Jazz—The career-spanning collection features recordings chosen by the legendary musician that reflect jazz’s profound influence on her music. The passion project, years in the making, arrived as an eight-LP boxed set and as a four-CD edition. Spanning 61 tracks, Joni’s Jazz includes studio recordings, live performances, rare alternate takes and material drawn from multiple decades and record labels. Among them are two previously unreleased 1980 demos, for “Be Cool” and “Moon at the Window.”

Alan Parsons Project—I Robot—Often regarded as one of the great concept albums of all time, I Robot has been reissued in a variety of formats. Originally released in July 1977, the album draws conceptually on author Isaac Asimov’s science fiction Robot stories, exploring philosophical themes regarding artificial intelligence. The Super Deluxe Edition includes four CDs with a whopping 70 bonus tracks, a Blu-ray, HD remaster of the original album, a 45 rpm two-LP audiophile pressing, a hardcover book and replica press folder.

Pink Floyd—Wish You Were Here, At Pompeii MCMLXXII—Wish You Were Here is being re-released for its 50th anniversary in multiple formats including three-LP, two-CD, Blu-ray, digital and a Deluxe Box Set. (A digital version includes the original 1975 album, featuring a new Dolby Atmos mix.) It also includes 25 bonus tracks made up of nine studio rarities and 16 live recordings captured at Pink Floyd’s Los Angeles Sports Arena concert on April 26, 1975, now receiving its first official release. The soundtrack to Pink Floyd at Pompeii—MCMLXXII, the groundbreaking 1972 film, is available now on Blu-ray, CD, and for the very first time, in Dolby Atmos and on vinyl.

Doc Pomus—You Can’t Hip a Square: The Doc Pomus Songwriting Demos—The hit versions of songs written and co-written by Doc Pomus—recorded by Elvis Presley, the Drifters, Ray Charles, Dion and others—are widely available on many albums. What has not been accessible before are the original demos of these tunes, nearly all of which date from the mid-1950s through the 1960s. That changes with the release of this fascinating six-CD set.

[Note: In most cases, if you click on the album title, you’ll be taken to our original coverage of the release, complete with ordering links.]

Elvis Presley—Sunset Boulevard—The set chronicles Elvis’ 1970-1975 recording sessions and rehearsals at RCA’s legendary Los Angeles studios. The five-CD set spans 89 rarities, over half of which have never been released in the United States. It also features rare alternate studio versions of late-period gems like “Separate Ways”—widely seen as the most autobiographical song Elvis ever recorded— and the rollicking “T-R-O-U-B-L-E,” which channeled the groundbreaking signature vocal style from his earlier years.

The Rolling Stones—Black and Blue—The 1976 release returns in a remixed and expanded Super Deluxe package, available as a five-LP vinyl box set and a four-CD box set. Both editions include a Blu-ray disc, a 100-page hardback book and a replica tour poster. The 2025 reissue includes a six-track disc of previously unreleased recordings, including the Jagger/Richards composition “I Love Ladies,” plus a high-energy take on Shirley and Company’s “Shame, Shame, Shame.”

Bruce Springsteen—Tracks II: The Lost Albums, Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition—Seven previously unheard Springsteen albums were released on the long-anticipated Tracks II: The Lost Albums nine-LP or seven-CD sets. A boxed set spanning 83 songs, the massive collection fills in chapters of the rocker’s expansive career timeline, while offering invaluable insight into his life and work as an artist. Springsteen’s sixth studio album, 1982’s Nebraska, meanwhile—the subject of the new film Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere—is explored with more context and depth than ever before with the release of a five-disc box set featuring many never-before-heard and previously undiscovered recordings. Nebraska ’82: Expanded Edition includes the E Street Band’s fabled “Electric Nebraska” sessions and solo outtakes from the era.

Cat Stevens—Saturnight: Live From Tokyo—Yusuf/Cat Stevens’ little known 1974 concert album, Saturnight: Live From Tokyo, has been released in the U.S. in multiple formats for the first time ever. Saturnight includes many of his greatest hits from the early ’70s.

Talking Heads—More Songs About Buildings & Food—The first part of this three-CD/Blu-ray or four-LP expanded reissue presents a remaster of the original 11-track album, while the second offers alternate versions of nine of its tracks, four of which are previously unreleased. Here, too, is an instrumental version of “Electricity,” a song that Talking Heads sometimes performed in concert. Disc three serves up an animated, heretofore unavailable 1978 show at New York City’s Entermedia Theatre.

[Note: In most cases, if you click on the album title, you’ll be taken to our original coverage of the release, complete with ordering links.]

Various Artists—England’s Cherry Red Records, and related labels such as Grapefruit and Strawberry, have been putting together some of the most inspired and comprehensive thematic various artists collections for some time. This year, they included I Shall Be Released: Covers of Bob Dylan 1963-1970; I Wanna Be a Teen Again: American Power Pop 1980-1989; Feelin’ Alright? Mod Rock, Funky Prog and Heavy Jazz 1967-1972; Jingle Jangle Morning: The 1960s Folk-Rock Explosion; When Will They Ever Learn? A Story of U.S. Folk Music 1963-1969 and Too Far Out: Beat, Mod & R&B from 304 Holloway Road (1963-1966).

The Who—Who Are You—The Who have issued a Super Deluxe Edition of 1978’s Who Are You, the band’s eighth studio album, and final one released with their founding drummer Keith Moon. The release includes a suite of formats including the SDE, with over 70 previously unreleased tracks featuring never-before-heard mixes, alternate takes, newly mixed live tracks from their first tour without Moon and candid recordings of the band rehearsing in 1977 and 1978. Many of the original takes for the songs feature lead vocals from their composer, Pete Townshend.

Yes—Close to the Edge—This definitive version of Yes’ fifth album features what many consider to be the band’s classic lineup of Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman and Bill Bruford. The set comprises five CDs, one LP and a Blu-ray. A bevy of rare and previously unreleased recordings for the Super Deluxe Edition is featured on disc 3, with a 1972 live show from London’s Rainbow Theatre on discs 4 and 5.

And don’t forget about these, also released in 2025. (Click the album title for our earlier coverage where applicable, including ordering links.)

Gregg Allman—One Night in DC, 1984

Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe—An Evening of Yes Music Plus