The Best of Classic Rock

Black Sabbath's classic 1970s output has been repackaged countless times over the years, but undoubtedly one of the best collections to surface is the aptly titled Best of Black Sabbath on Sanctuary. Comprised of 32 tracks on a pair of discs, Best Of focuses primarily on the "Ozzy years," but does include a small sampling of the short-lived Ronnie James Dio and Ian Gillan eras. What makes this collection such an appealing one is that it manages to include all the favorites, as well as a multitude of oft-overlooked (but just as strong and classic) album cuts…

Sown from the seeds of two midlands bands, Finders Keepers, featuring Mel Galley (guitar/vocals), Dave Holland (drums) and Glenn Hughes (bass/vocals), plus the Montanas’ John Jones (vocals/trumpet) and Terry Rowley (keyboards/guitar/flute), Trapeze were discovered by 60s beat supremos The Moody Blues, and snapped up for their own label, Threshold Records.

Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band which recorded and performed from 1968 to 1972. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, rhythm guitarist Tom Fogerty; bassist Stu Cook; and drummer Doug Clifford. These members had played together since 1959, first as the Blue Velvets and later as the Golliwogs. Creedence Clearwater Revival's music is still a staple of U.S. classic rock radio airplay. Twenty-eight million CCR records have been sold in the United States alone. Rolling Stone ranked them 82nd on its 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Edward Raymond "Eddie" Cochran was an American musician. Cochran's rockabilly songs, such as "C'mon Everybody", "Somethin' Else", and "Summertime Blues", captured teenage frustration and desire in the late 1950s and early 1960s. He experimented with multitrack recording and overdubbing even on his earliest singles, and was also able to play piano, bass and drums. His image as a sharply dressed and good-looking young man with a rebellious attitude epitomized the stance of the 50s rocker, and in death he achieved an iconic status. Cochran died aged 21 after a road accident, while travelling in a taxi in Chippenham, Wiltshire, during his British tour in April 1960. In 1987, Cochran was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His songs have been covered by a wide variety of recording artists.

Assembled with the cooperation of the band, Styx's entry in Universal's 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection series of discount-priced best-of's, surveys the group's tenure at A&M Records, where they scored most of their popular success…

Recollections of Britain's arch-glam gods generally inspire two theories of their producers, Mike Chapman and his partner, Nicky Chinn. Either they knew just what they were doing and calculated accordingly, or blindly hit pay dirt, following toothless early singles like "Funny Funny" (none of which grace this disc). By this reckoning, Sweet was a '70s-era pinup band or a closeted hard rock quartet who only got their due after breaking the Chapman/Chinn combination…