The Velvet Underground

Famous for hard drugs and harder sex, the Velvet Underground's 1967 debut seems an unlikely candidate for a pricey double-disc presentation. This elegant set offers the familiar stereo mix of the album, along with the Velvets-written songs from Nico's gorgeous solo album Chelsea Girl. For hardcore collectors, the second disc features the band's own monaural mix of the album, along with some single mixes in mono. The stereo mix delivers clarity and detail — good for delicate songs such as "Sunday Morning" — while the mono mix is simpler, more blunt, which suits the distortion of "European Son." VU heads, the choice is yours; curious newbies should probably just get the standard CD, which was reissued in 1996.