Just in time for gift-giving, selected box set reviews:

Michael Jackson, “The Ultimate Collection” (Epic) – Forget about Red Sox fans – if you want to talk about a group that has endured true suffering, try being among the Michael Jackson faithful.

It’s bad enough to see your idol fall from artistic greatness and popularity. Throw in criminal charges, embarrassing lawsuits and public acts of madness, and it becomes almost too much to bear – sometimes you almost feel like throwing in the white glove.

But M.J. fans, don’t despair: There is a little respite from the constant storm of Jackson negativity. “The Ultimate Collection” is a four-disc box set chronicling how the King of Pop earned his crown (plus a DVD concert film, from his 1993 world tour, as an extra treat).

Even though the set is being released by Epic Records – Jackson’s musical home since the late ’70s – it pays tribute to his Motown heritage, including Jackson 5 classics like “I Want You Back” as well as preteen Jackson’s early solo hits, like the weirdly enchanting “Ben,” about a pet rat. There’s also hits from The Jacksons, including “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground).”

But if you are a committed Jackson fan, you probably have a lot of this material already. There are his biggest hits from “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad” and “Dangerous” – as well as his post-child molestation scandal material (“HIStory” and the 2001 full-length studio album “Unbreakable”).

Still, put together in one box set, with a 64-page color booklet chronicling each step in his rise to greatness, and it’s tough to pass up. Besides, there are also hard-to-find tracks included, such as his songs from his movie debut in “The Wiz” and his 1984 hit with Mick Jagger, “State of Shock.”

What’s noteworthy here are demo recordings of some of his biggest hits, including a completely unrecognizable “P.Y.T” – in its previous incarnation, it was a lush, downbeat track that seemed tailor-made for lite-FM radio. We also hear an early version of “Dangerous,” and realize it was better than the one that ended up as the title track. This version has a more intense drumbeat that gives it extra funk; the album version sounds more sanitized.

There are also unreleased tracks from the Jackson vaults, some more polished than others. “In the Back” is a chill-out groove that is musically polished, but Jackson is still trying to figure out the lyrics. On others, we get to hear some of his signature freakiness play out in his songs: “Monkey Business,” with a lusty beat, features monkey noises, and the lyrics are just as bizarre as the sound effects.

But on the whole, you don’t hear eccentricities on this album. What you do hear is the superb vocalist, songwriter and musician who managed to capture the hearts of a nation for three decades. You’re reminded why he has the biggest-selling album of all time, and that there was a time when Michael Jackson was charming, alluring, and even sexy (yes kids, look it up – such a time did exist).

At this point, it seems unlikely that the Jackson we knew then will ever resurface. But when you listen to this box set, the possibility seems less remote.

Other new box sets worth a look:

“100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can’t Be Wrong” Bon Jovi (Island) – Twenty years after roaring from the blue-collar bastion of Sayreville, N.J., Bon Jovi remains a hard rock institution, the only one of the ’80s hair bands to not only survive but thrive in the new millennium. This four-CD set and a bonus DVD offer up 50 tracks that trace the band’s evolution from Jersey bar band to global phenomenon.

Bon Jovi closely follows the rules for all good box sets: Virtually all the tracks are previously unreleased, eschewing album cuts that have been heard a million times before, and avoiding live filler. A 64-page book offers track-by-track notes from Jon Bon Jovi, rare photos and notes from fans on what the band has meant to them.

The Beatles, “The Capitol Albums, Vol. 1” (Capitol) – Warning: If you’re a Baby Boomer, this music review is politically incorrect. Don’t get me wrong: It’s wonderful to hear the Beatles in full blossom again, energy bursting from their instruments and their most creative years still ahead of them, singing the groundbreaking pop that catapulted them to the top of the Mersey Beat and “The Ed Sullivan Show” beyond it. But listening to four early Beatles albums in 2004 is, sadly, an exercise in nostalgia and little else. Capitol is playing the release of this box set big. Still, you can’t help but feel that it’s all a bit antiquated.

“Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia Recordings of Miles Davis 1963-1964” (Columbia/Legacy) – If reality TV had been in fashion then, this seven-CD box set could have formed the soundtrack for Miles Davis’ version of “Making the Band.” “Seven Steps” documents a transitional phase in the trumpeter’s career when he was putting together what would become his second great quintet with saxophonist Wayne Shorter, pianist Herbie Hancock, bassist Ron Carter and drummer Tony Williams. Among the 47 selections are eight previously unissued tracks, three tracks heard for the first time in unedited form, and live concert recordings from Tokyo and Berlin not available before in Davis’ U.S. Columbia catalogue.

Paul Simon, “Studio Recordings 1972-2000” (Warner Bros.) – Quietly, slyly and persistently, Paul Simon became one of the most indispensable voices in American music during the last half of the 20th century. After Simon &Garfunkel went their separate ways, his restlessness – expressed in songs of almost crazy variation – bounced from pole to pole, and his genius was only made more evident by the occasional mediocrity that he offered forth. For that reason, “Studio Recordings, 1972-2000” is both a wild, offbeat ride through the culture as seen through Simon’s eyes and a solid piece of evidence that, like anyone pondering the human condition, he has amazing successes and near-genius failures.

Grateful Dead, “Beyond Description (1973-1989)” (Rhino) – The Grateful Dead rose from the streets of San Francisco in the early 1960s on a wave of their own invention as one of rock’s earliest jam bands, redefining success with a fan base that favored live shows above all else. “Beyond Description (1973-1989)” is a remastering of 162 songs and 10 albums recorded on Grateful Dead Records and Arista that chronicles the band’s hit-and-miss effort to translate that live performance groove into chart-topping gold.

Black Sabbath, “Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath (1970-78)” (Warner Bros./Rhino) – To many, Ozzy Osbourne is TV’s most befuddled house-father. But “Black Box” shows us a different Ozzy – the banshee-voiced wildman singer for the group that would become the prototype for a heavy metal band. The eight-CD box set covers Ozzy’s recorded tenure in Sabbath from 1970-78. It includes a DVD with early television performances by the group and an 80-page book bound in crushed velvet with pictures and lyrics.

Various Artists, “Can’t You Hear Me Callin’: Bluegrass, 80 Years of American Music” (Columbia/Legacy) – It’s appropriate that the magnificent bluegrass collection called “Can’t You Hear Me Callin’” starts with a selection from the Skillet Lickers, a popular 1920s string band. What made that group of musicians so distinctive was not necessarily the music they played but how they played it – a very stylized, deliberate take on front-porch and barn bands aimed squarely at the realms of professional performance and recorded sound. This four-disc, from-the-vaults collection – a wild ride through American roots music and the sounds it begat – introduces us to rounders, ramblers, gamblers, wrecks on the highway, breakdowns and shakedowns and rags and lonesome rivers and men of constant sorrow. Just as important, it hands dabbler and expert alike a breathtaking look at the balladeers, fiddlers and guitar and banjo pickers who spent 80 years forming one of the main historical arcs of American modern music.

Various Artists, “Left of the Dial: Dispatches From the ’80s Underground” (Rhino) – There’s a wedding planner in Keokuk, Iowa (don’t ask) who gushes about her receptions featuring “that great ’80s music,” to which clever couples respond, “What great ’80s music?” Ah, but such stuff does exist, and “Left of the Dial” provides proof. Rhino has assembled four CDs showcasing the best of the worst musical decade – until this one, at least – since the birth of rock ‘n’ roll. There are only a handful of bum cuts among the 82. The set covers a range of rock genres and subgenres, but the lineup isn’t as obscure as the box set’s title might suggest – songs by R.E.M, the Cure and the Replacements are among the first six cuts.

Various Artists, “Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion” (Sony) – A new 3-disc box set called “Get Down Tonight: The Disco Explosion” is out to prove what many knew all along – you can’t kill disco. It’s a living part of America’s musical history and when presented properly, as it is here, it accurately documents an era of listenable music. If there’s one complaint, it’s that the versions of the songs on the discs are the short, radio-length versions and not the extended disco singles that worked the crowds into a froth in the nightclubs.

Various Artists, “This Is Reggae Music The Golden Era 1960-1975” (Santuary/Trojan) – A four-CD reggae compilation might sound like too much of a good thing, but that’s not the case, mon. Yes, a percolating bass and loping rhythms built on the backbeat are a constant. But the set features a delightful variety of acts, from reggae giants Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff to such acts as the Stingers and the Willows, obscure even in Jamaica. The collection traces reggae as it blends African beats with calypso and American R&B, evolving from raw dance music to develop a commercial sheen and crack the Top 40 in America.

Chet Baker, “Prince of Cool – The Pacific Jazz Years 1952-1957” (Blue Note) – Just like the films of James Dean or the young Marlon Brando, the music of trumpeter-vocalist Chet Baker stands as a timeless icon of 1950’s-style cool. The 52 newly remastered tracks on this three-CD set culled from his recordings for the Pacific Jazz label present Baker in his youthful prime before the ravages of his heroin addiction set his career into inevitable decline. While it’s easy to find other trumpeters and singers of his era with more formal musical training, better virtuoso skills and wider range, Baker had an intuitive bent for touching the pure emotions that enhanced his appeal beyond the jazz audience. “Prince of Cool” offers a splendid introduction to this young man with a horn who tragically never realized his full potential.

Various Artists, “The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans” (Shout! Factory) – Jazz and the blues didn’t come from the crossroads or some smoky jive joint. New Orleans was its home. The Big Easy also reared rhythm and blues and became the first stopping point as zyedeco came out of the swamps. And as a new box compilation called “The Big Ol’ Box of New Orleans” shows, the city’s musical luminaries from the 20th century had boundless style and came from each decade, filling four CDs with more than 80 hit songs.

“With The Lights Out,” Nirvana (Geffen Records) – More than 10 years after one of the world’s greatest rock stars took his own life, bringing to an end the pioneering music of Nirvana, the legacy of Kurt Cobain lives on with the box set release of “With the Lights Out.” The long-anticipated release, held up for years by a legal battle between Cobain’s widow Courtney Love and the surviving members of Nirvana, reminds listeners even a decade later of the powerful influence of the band that changed the face of rock music. Of the box set’s 81 songs, 68 are previously unreleased.

Various Artists, “Straight from the Heart” (Shout! Factory) – There’s probably enough 1960s and 1970s music compilations out there to last retro lovers until VH1 begins filming “I Love the ’60s.” But unlike formulaic predecessors, the “Straight from the Heart” box set successfully combines the eras’ dramatic and often kitschy love songs. There’s the requisite: Captain and Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together,” Eric Carmen’s “All By Myself” and Olivia Newton John’s “I Honestly Love You.” But there’s also the unexpected: The 5th Dimension’s ” (Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ “Jackie Blue,” and Dr. Hook’s “Sharing the Night Together.” With 20 years of music to pick from, you won’t find any repeat artists over the course of the set’s 60 songs. That’s right. There’s only one Dionne Warwick song, “I’ll Never Love This Way Again.” The three-CD compilation isn’t chronologically organized, which leads to a surprisingly organic and nostalgic listening experience.