The Essential Collection has scanned 6,000 units in USA

[amit1234]

Thanks to Sagan for this information.

Here are the biggest Box Sets in the US according to Soundscan (March 1991 - December 2003).
A Box Set must contain at least 3 discs. The list is not comprehensive, especially for the first few years of the Soundscan era, when it tracked only about 75% of the sales.

Highest sales (sets)

(rank, sales in '000s, artist, title (label, year) - discs)

01 780 Jimmy Buffett Boats, Beaches, Bars and Ballads (MCA, 1992) - 4
02 645 Bob Marley Songs of Freedom (Island, 1992) - 4
03 548 Metallica Live $#!^: Binge & Purge (Elektra, 1993) - 5
04 426 Aerosmith Pandora's Box (Legacy, 1997) - 3
05 294 Eagles 1972-99 Selected Works (Elektra, 2000) - 4
06 279 Bruce Springsteen Tracks (Legacy, 1998) - 4
07 229 Bob Dylan The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3 (Legacy, 1997) - 3
08 221 Led Zeppelin Complete Studio Recordings (Atlantic, 1993) - 10
09 194 Various Ken Burns' Jazz (Legacy, 2000) - 5
10 185 Patsy Cline Collection (MCA, 1991) - 4
11 178 Doors Box Set (Elektra, 1997) - 4
12 177 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Playback (MCA, 1995) - 6
13 166 Stevie Ray Vaughan SRV (Legacy, 2000) - 3
14 163 Jimi Hendrix Experience Jimi Hendrix Experience (MCA, 2000) - 4
15 122 Kiss The Box Set (Mercury, 2001) - 5
16 119 Various The Doo Wop Box (Rhino, 1994) - 4
17 118 Grateful Dead So Many Roads (Arista, 1999) - 5
18 118 John Lennon Anthology (Capitol, 1998) - 4
19 118 Stevie Wonder At the Close of a Century (Motown, 1999) - 4
20 117 Beach Boys Thirty Years of ... (Capitol, 1993) - 5
21 102 Alice in Chains Music Bank (Legacy, 1999) - 3
22 097 Monkees Music Box (Rhino, 2001) - 4
23 092 Who 30 Years of Maximum R&B (MCA, 1994) - 4
24 079 Fleetwood Mac 25 Years: The Chain (WB, 1992) - 4
25 072 Aretha Franklin Queen of Soul (Rhino, 1992) - 4
26 070 Simon & Garfunkel The Columbia Studio Recordings (Legacy, 2001) - 5
27 069 Phil Spector Back to Mono (Abkco, 1991) - 4
28 063 Elvis Presley Today, Tomorrow & Forever (RCA, 2002) - 4
29 062 Santana Dance of the Rainbow Serpent (Legacy, 1997) - 3
30 056 Aerosmith Box of Fire (Legacy, 1994) - 13
31 056 Elvis Presley Artist of the Century (RCA, 1999) - 3
32 052 Various Nuggets Vol. 1 (Rhino, 1998) - 4
33 049 Grateful Dead The Golden Road (Rhino, 2001) - 12
34 049 Janis Joplin Box of Pearls (Legacy, 1999) - 5
35 045 Various Have a Nice Decade (Rhino, 1998) - 7
36 045 Otis Redding The Definitive (Rhino, 1993) - 4
37 044 Enya Only Time: The Collection (Rhino, 2002) - 4
38 036 Doors Complete Studio Recordings (Elektra, 1999) - 7
39 036 Alice Cooper The Life and Crimes of ... (Rhino, 1999) - 4
40 035 Genesis Archive #1 (Atlantic, 1998) - 4
41 035 Pat Benatar Synchronistic Wanderings (Capitol, 1999) - 3
42 033 Grand Funk Railroad Thirty Years of Funk (Capitol, 1999) - 3
43 032 Jefferson Airplane Loves You (RCA, 1992) - 3
44 031 Cream Those Were the Days (Polydor, 1997) - 4
45 031 Buffalo Springfield Box Set (Rhino, 2001) - 4
46 030 Temptations Emperors of Soul (Motown, 1994) - 5
47 026 Various Beg, Scream & Shout (Rhino, 1997) - 6
48 025 Isley Brothers It's Your Thing (Legacy, 1999) - 3
49 024 Cat Stevens Box Set (A&M, 2001) - 4
50 024 Ray Charles Genius & Soul, 1949-1993 (Rhino, 1997) - 5
51 024 Police Message in a Box (A&M, 1993) - 4
52 024 Al Green Anthology (Right Stuff, 1997) - 4
53 022 Various 80s Pop Culture Box (Rhino, 2002) - 7
54 022 Various The Disco Box (Rhino, 1999) - 4
55 020 Various Loud, Fast and Out of Control (Rhino, 1999) - 4
56 020 Various Cowabunga: The Surf Box (Rhino, 1996) - 4
57 019 Various Nuggets, Vol. 2 (Rhino, 2001) - 4
58 018 Iron Maiden Eddie's Archive (Legacy, 2002) - 6
59 018 Various Hot Rods & Custom Classics (Rhino, 1998) - 4
60 018 Doobie BrothersL ong Train Runnin' (Rhino, 1999) - 4
61 016 Hank Williams The Complete (Mercury, 1998) - 9
62 016 Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy, 2001) - 6
63 016 Herbie Hancock The Herbie Hancock Box (Legacy, 2002) - 4
64 016 Kenny Rogers Through the Years (Capitol, 1991) - 4
65 015 Various The Funk Box (Hip-o, 2000) - 4
66 015 Everly Brothers Heartaches and Harmonies (Rhino, 1994) - 4
67 014 Yes In a Word (Rhino, 2002) - 5
68 014 Electric Light Orchestra Flashback (Legacy, 2000) - 3
69 012 Various The '70s Soul Experience (Rhino, 2001) - 6
70 012 Supremes Supremes (Motown, 2000) - 5
71 011 Deep Purple Shades: 1968-1998 (Rhino, 1999) - 4
72 010 Linda Ronstadt Box Set (Elektra, 1999) - 4
73 007 Rod Stewart Reason to Believe (Mercury, 2002) - 3
74 006 Carpenters Essential Collection (A&M, 2002) - 4
75 005 Various Supernatural Fairy Tales (Rhino, 1996) - 5
76 004 Frank Sinatra The Complete Reprise Studio Recordings (Reprise,1998) - 20
77 002 Miles Davis Complete Montreux 1973-1991 (Legacy, 2002) - 20
78 001 Elvis Presley The Collection (RCA, 1999) - 30

 

[andywithaz]

It could have done better with better promotion form Universal !

 

[Harry]

I don't think that's so bad considering the lack of promotion and the fact that it's a REPLACEMENT box set. Many die-hard fans, even here, haven't bought the ESSESNTIAL COLLECTION, being satisfied with the old FROM THE TOP.

Harry
...TGIF, online...

 

[phoenixfan4]

Good evening all ! I just love this Carpenter's website - you people just rock !

First of all - happy Friday the 13th.

I was given the "Essential Collection" for Christmas this year and I agree- the old box set of "From the top" is just as good, however it is nice to hear the cleaned up recordings of "Mr. Guder" and "Love is surrender". Rich did a great job tightening up the sound. Other than that it was a waste of $50.00 (Or whatever it cost ). I will never again buy another Carpenter's record of any kind unless it has new music and/or tightened up versions of some of the C's older songs. It's a rotten shame to keep getting the same songs over and over again when they all sound the same as the original versions. I just wish that Rich would finish Karen's unreleased songs from her solo album and give the world the music that Karen worked so hard on recording for her solo effort. I've heard some of the unreleased songs and I think they are WONDERFUL. She chose some really difficult and catchy material. Richard could really play these things up and add his own vocal backing and we'd have some new (old) Carpenter's gems again. First time in a long time.

"Come on Richard - Please?"

On a side note: I came home from work today to find that my house had been broken into and robbed. The first thing I did was run over to my carpenter's CD's to see if any were missing ! Thankfully they are all still here along with all of my Carpenter's videos/TV specials. Am I a fan ? Ha -without question I am a die hard fan. They did steal my Sony Surround sound reciever that I just bought last year for $600 bucks. I am NOT a happy camper. But I can still listen to my Carpenter's CD's on my computer and in the car. Yay ! I hope the robbers choke on my stereo.

Creeps.

Sorry - this is really rambling on. I'm still upset about the house being broken into. Scary stuff. I think I scared them off when I got home too.

Yikes.

Keep these great posts coming people. I love hearing from all of you. We are true Carpenter's fans and it shows in our thoughts and words here on this site. Thanks for letting me be a part of your lives.

- John in Phoenix (Now without a stereo...*sniff*)

 

[Harry]

John, sorry to hear that your house was broken into, and I think the police will refer to this as a burglary rather than a robbery. If I recall correctly, a burglary happens when you're not home and a robbery happens when you are present. Regardless, it's a crappy thing to happen, and I hope they catch the &%$%#*!:"s

Back on topic, I think that ESSENTIAL was meant to replace FROM THE TOP as a more complete collection of Carpenters' best stuff. The original was great for us long-time die-hard fans, but it was too much of a rarities set for an average fan to splurge on. The new set at least has all of the hits on it as well as most of those rarities, so that a new fan can get a career-encompassing retrospective on the duo.

Harry
...who'd probably also run to check his CDs and DVDs first, online...

 

[andywithaz]

Not trying to get off topic but....

In case there ever is a fire at my house I have a plan. I have all my Carpenters' CDs and records in a huge box and I will grab it and run out the door. Next year I plan to get a huge fireproof cabinet and store all my collectibles in it.

 

[PJ]

Given Universal's lack of promotion during both 2002 & 2003 fall sales periods ....really not surprising such low sales recorded

Ideally with current 2 CD Gold Collection , planned As Time Goes By USA release and ongoing Carpenters promotion during 2004 -Essential sales will reach nearer 100,000 or 200,000 as more Carpenters fans are made aware of Box Set availability with many rare and unique tracks included

Peter