"The Paganini of the banjo"'s finest moments are collected on Columbia/Legacy's aptly named Essential Earl Scruggs. Unlike many other "best-of" collections, this two-disc set gathers tracks from nearly all of the stages of Scruggs' career, from his early days as one of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, through his genre-defining work with Lester Flatt, and a sampling of his solo career, including his appearances with Hylo Brown, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and leading his own {$Earl...   [ read more ]

CD $15.19

While cobbled together from mostly previously released material, Classic Bluegrass Live nonetheless neatly captures banjoist Earl Scruggs on his arc through the folk revival of the 1960s. The disc is culled from three performances at the renowned Newport Folk Festival -- one with Hylo Brown in 1959 and two with longtime partner Lester Flatt in 1960 and 1966, respectively. The performances from 1959 and 1960 are rightly legendary. For many of the young revivalists, it was their first chanc...   [ read more ]

CD $17.08

Putting together one of Scruggs' best albums (Live at Kansas State) with one of his less interesting (Dueling Banjos) made good marketing sense, but it makes for an uneven CD. Tracks 11-22 are the real treats here, off the live album, and the price is low enough that one can regard the other ten songs as a bonus, with some occasionally brilliant moments. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide

CD $13.28