Boxes of Joy

As a year packed with wonderful new high-definition and 4K discs comes to a close, we’ve selected ten standout box sets that are certain to bring a smile to the home theater buff in your life. Each box is special in its own way: some are hefty with gravitas, others have actual heft. All are sure to deliver ample audio/video pleasure plus a bounty of bonus features to enjoy through the new year and beyond.

- By Chris Chiarella

The Beatles Super Deluxe Edition (Universal Music)

How does the biggest band in the world top what is possibly the greatest album of all time? Released a year-and-a-half after Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles’ eponymous The Beatles (a.k.a. The White Album) was their ninth studio album (not counting the soundtrack to their Magical Mystery Tour TV special in between) It was also the band’s only double-LP affair—an attempt, perhaps, to augment their creativity with sheer quantity. Indeed, The White Album packs frothier cuts such as “Rocky Raccoon,” but it also showcases the lads’ striking evolution, both as a band and as solo artists. It kicks off with the high-energy “Back in the U.S.S.R.” before taking us on an eclectic journey highlighted by the irresistible toe-tappers “Birthday” and “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da.” We then work our way toward the avant-garde “Revolution 9” and the unexpectedly classy “Good Night,” but not before the self-referential “Glass Onion” and the legendary guitar-weeping of special guest Eric Clapton. This was arguably their most ambitious effort, embracing a new approach in the studio that relied less upon overdubbing and instead favored live lead vocals, which required a great many takes.