Can it get any better? If aliens came down needing to know what funk was all about, in all its talented, embrace-anything-and-everything, screw with your head and get your butt down glory, then this is a prime candidate for what to give them. The man, his voice, his bass, the backing of a prime core band including his guitarist brother Catfish, Fred Wesley, and Maceo Parker leading the brass – beautiful, hilarious, and just plain great. This one-disc collection could easily be a two-disc or more if one wanted to include every last highlight from Collins' up-down-all-around career – his work with James Brown alone is beyond the bomb – but when it comes to solo work, this is as perfect a place to start as any. Drawing mostly on the albums done with the active help of George Clinton in the late '70s, Back in the Day is a model for what a good compilation should be. Sound is excellent throughout, while full details on who plays what and where, along with where everything came from in the first place, all appear in exhaustive detail. The liner notes, meanwhile, come from longtime funk road manager (Brown, Prince, plenty of others) Alan Leeds, explaining every step of Collins' wonderful story.

James Brown was arguably the most important and innovative R&B artist of the '60s and '70s, a singer, songwriter, and bandleader who rewrote the book on how the music would sound as he redefined soul, laid the groundwork for funk, anticipated the grooves that would drive hip-hop, and even influenced new movements in rock and jazz. This box set collects five albums from James Brown's extensive back catalog, dominated by recordings of Brown's fabled live shows. Live at the Apollo is a classic 1962 concert set from New York's Apollo Theater that documents Brown's dynamic stage show at a time when he was widely regarded as the most exciting performer on Earth. Sex Machine, released in 1970, is another live set that captures Brown's powerhouse stage band the J.B.'s (including Bootsy Collins, Maceo Parker, and Fred Wesley) tearing through a breathtaking set of extended funk workouts. And Revolution of the Mind is a 1971 release that preserved another show at the Apollo, playing a set that covered his '60s soul hits as well as his more recent funk groovers. Along with the three live discs, this set includes two compilations of Brown's classic funk performances, 70's Funk Classics and In the Jungle Groove.

The popularity of classic soul and 70s disco endures, and no wonder! There's little better to lift the spirit and get your feet moving. GREATEST EVER SOUL & DISCO is a fantastic collection of 80 tracks that hit the sweet spot. Classic late-70s disco by KC & The Sunshine Band, Sister Sledge, Chaka Khan, and The Trammps? All here. Soulful sounds from Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Randy Crawford and Candy Staton? Present and correct. Funky grooves by The Meters, Bootsy Collins and Earth Wind & Fire? Ah yeah! As Chic said, "these are the good times"!

This compilation features some of the best solo material from the Parliament/Funkadelic crew during the late '70s and '80s under the direction of George Clinton. Ever the entrepreneur, Clinton had farmed his aggregate of loose booties to no less than five respective (major) labels. While technically Parliament was recording for Casablanca and Funkadelic was signed to Warner Bros., Clinton's short-lived Uncle Jam imprint was issued and distributed by Columbia/Epic. It is here that listeners find the 15 tracks – nine of which are making their debut in the digital domain – that comprise Six Degrees of P-Funk: The Best of George Clinton & His Funky Family (2003).

Bootsy Collins has rightfully received accolades as funk's second officer (after George Clinton – and it should be third after James Brown and Clinton). For decades he has been sampled by every rapper from Snoop Dogg to OutKast, and virtually created the bass sound that made the Red Hot Chili Peppers a household name and that created a career for Les Claypool. Yet, his most influential sound emanated not from his tenure with James Brown or P-Funk, but his own Rubber Band, and until now that wooly, wild, and surreal unit has never been properly anthologized. Rhino, in their usual thorough, crazy fashion, have directed the folks at the Warner archives and have created a massive, drop-the-bomb two-disc set that sets the record straight.