“A Life Less Lived: The Gothic Box”
$58.49 AT AMAZON.COM
Nothing says yuletide like more than five hours of moribund music from goth icons such as Bauhaus, Joy Division, The Cure and Ministry.
$18.98 alternative: “Goth Anthology–Underground Anthems from Rock’s Dark Side”
“Sublime–Everything Under the Sun”
$41.99 AT AMAZON.COM
The title of this three-disc, one-DVD set’s a misnomer. The band’s hits (“What I Got,” “Santeria”) aren’t here. But you get a lot more remixes and radio interviews.
$27.49 alternative: “Sublime: Greatest Hits”
“Robert Plant–Nine Lives”
$79.88 AT AMAZON.COM
An engrossing DVD documentary summarizing Plant’s 25-year solo career is the perfect capper to nine CDs, each containing a Plant solo album and bonus tracks. Sorry, no live Zeppelin covers.
$22.99 alternative: Robert Plant’s “Sixty Six to Timbuktu”
“The Doors–Perception”
$119.97 AT AMAZON.COM
Aside from the dreadful post-Jim Morrison Doors albums and his poetry, this is all a fan will ever need–all six albums, cool rarities and false starts, tons of video footage.
$52.47 alternative: “The Doors Box Set”
“The Clash–The Singles Box Set”
$55.97 AT AMAZON.COM
This is the set you own just to say you own it. All the music’s already out there, so it’s the detail-oriented packaging which recreates the artwork of all of the band’s singles arranged on 19 CDs, and the fact that each set is numbered that make this a true collector’s item.
$34.99 alternative: “Clash on Broadway”
