Jerry McCain

You don't have to hate CDs to dig this trove of 45 singles from Norton Records' eclectic archive. The digital-only comp spans 50 years of music history in two hours of listening time. And for those about to geek, the New York label has preserved the warm crackle and hiss of analog vinyl. This makes it sound like you're listening to the Readymen's 1964 trashy, surf-stomping take on "Shortnin' Bread" on an old record player from the Sears catalog. Don Covay's boogaloo piano-pounding, wife-swapping anthem "Switchen in the Kitchen" is another true gem, as is Jack Starr's "Chicken."