• Prince, “Sign O’ the Times, Super Deluxe” (Warner). Sign O’ the Times is the most dazzling, varied album in Prince’s discography, a 1987 double album released when he was at his creative zenith. And the 18 songs on the original release are only a fraction of what the polymorphous genius was working on at the time. This seven-CD set features gems like the brokenhearted ballad “Wally,” mind-bending “All My Dreams,” and “Can I Play With U?” with Miles Davis. ($159.98)
• John Prine, “Crooked Piece of Time” (Elektra). This seven-CD set encapsulates the first decade of the career of the songwriting sage, who died of COVID-19 in April. The brilliance of his 1971 self-titled debut, which included “Hello in There” and “Sam Stone,” overshadows the six albums that followed, but all are worth hearing, starting with the bitter, brilliant and underrated “Diamonds in the Rough.” ($54.98)
• The Replacements, “Pleased To Meet Me Deluxe Edition” (Rhino/Warner). Since the publication of Bob Mehr’s superb biography “Trouble Boys” in 2016, new attention has been paid to the greatest of 1980s post-punk bands to never find a mass audience. Released in 1987, “Pleased To Meet Me” was the third consecutive masterwork from the Paul Westerberg-led band whose contempt for professionalism could never conceal how much they cared about their art. ($64.98)
• Staple Singers, “Come Go With Me: The Stax Collection” (Craft). “We’ve got to get ourselves together, and try to understand each other,” the Staple Singers sang on the first song of their Stax debut album in 1968. The timeless music on this seven-CD set gathers hits like “Respect Yourself” and “Come Go With Me” along with deep cuts by the great gospel-soul family band fronted by guitarist Roebuck “Pops” Staples, and featuring son Pervis and daughters Yvonne, Cleotha and Mavis. ($59.92)