Customer Reviews

Sony Music 100 Years: Soundtrack for Century

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This collection represents the last 100 years of virtually all main genres of music. The quality, packaging and performances are outstanding. I've been smiling ever since I opened the box. I believe I will enjoy this collection for many years. What a way to close out this millenium!

This is an impressive collection-- a century's worth of great music. 26 discs, covering many different genres.

And while there is plenty of variety here, it is very much weighted to the modern era. Only eight of the 26 discs contain pre-1950 material, and of those eight, most contain only about half-a-disc's worth of pre-1950 material. It is certainly true that fewer recordings were made in the early days of the technology, but to call it a "Soundtrack for a Century" and ignore half the century seems very misguided.

What would have made a much more interesting collection would have been a set that looked at the most popular recordings of each era and genre. Since there are six discs of "pop" music here, why not divide the discs into roughly equal spans of time (1900-1915, 1915-1930, 1930-1945, etc.) and include the top-selling records of that era? The same with classical, jazz, r&b, and so on. This would make for a much more balanced collection.

I recommend this set only if you find it for an incredibly good price. There is a lot of fascinating music here, but the collection is not good enough to warrant the extremely high price tag.

I listened to these CDs and they were representative of all styles of music through the last 100 years. It was fantastic and there were songs I had forgotten about that just knocked my socks off!! Wow...Swing, Big Band, Country, Jazz, it was just great and if you love music, this is THE set to buy and you'll never regret it. You can't beat the value, either. Check it out at local music stores to see what I mean.

The packaging is amazing - a coffee table style book summarizing the highlights of the last 100 years of music with 26 CD's of great music from virtually every genre. A must have for all music collectors - pricey but worth every penny.

When it comes to box sets it is really hit or miss. And any box set that is over $100 has a bigger chance of sitting on the shelf for years than a cheaper one. Sony should have sold the disks individually. I think they would have made A LOT more revenue off this unit. I ended up getting a lot of the songs I wanted (20s, 30s, 40s) from iTunes. Just because selling it as a box set makes it convenient doesn't mean it will set. There are 5 or 6 discs that I would buy. But I can't afford nor want it ALL. Check it out on iTunes before you buy. It was a great idea and effort on Sony's part. I wish more studios would do these kinds of compilations!

This set is so complete. If you like every kind of music this is the perfect gift. I started playing the discs the moment I got it and still have quite a few to go. All the good songs.

The sample tracks are actually the first five tracks on disc 25 (even though they are next to the first 5 tracks of disc 1. There are over 400 hundred tracks- but only 5 sample tracks we can listen to- doesn't seem right.
Many good songs- but the collection is way to pricey. If you don't have any of these songs, or not too many, maybe it is a good deal, but most people already have a fair amount of these songs.

Yeah, its a magnificent summary for the music of this century --- by one record company. I just wish all the record companies (including the indies) could put their differences aside, come together and just release the most definite music boxed set for this whole century. I'd say there should be 100 cds - one for each year. (There may be trouble filling complete cds for the early years, but they can work something out.) And considering the price for the companies to make cds nowadays, it should be relatively inexpensive! This could be their penance for corrupting billions of souls with the work of the devil.

Yes, there is some great music on this set. That is undeniable. No, I wouldn't even dream of buying it. Basically, to sum it up, anything set that places work by Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong next to the "work" of Will Smith or Mariah Carrey is an abomination that must be scorned at all costs. By placing art beside garbage, the attempt is to elevate the garbage, but the result is that it defames the art. The existence of this set insults me. I could just see the vapid Sony Music suits pieceing together this monstrosity--- This set, in a word, disgusts me. By placing the sublime beside the profane, Sony has insulted serious music fans everywhere. At best, this could serve as a thesis about the Kamikaze-decline of popular music over the years. Revolting. Go build your own record collection, don't let some dim-wit corporate tool do it for you.

Yes, this collection has a great variety- but it could've been so much better. A series for the whole century shouldn't be held to one label, like most have already said. Maybe make it a 20 CD set, but 100 is ludicrus! I don't think many people are willing to cough up a few grand for a ton and a half of CD's which will take them a whole month to listen to!