Various Artists

Bear Family (who else?) has the ultimate, 10-CD celebration of The Bakersfield Sound - that back-to-basics, honky-tonk country style popularized by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard out of Bakersfield, CA.  The Bears' box also features luminaries like Don Rich, Ferlin Husky, Dallas Frazier, Wynn Stewart, Jean Shepard, David Frizzell, Clarence White, The Gosdin Brothers, and many others to comprehensive chronicle the city's towering legacy in music.  A 200-page book accompanies the 307 tracks, including demos, radio recordings, and previously unreleased live and studio recordings.  In short - a must-have!