Logically speaking, the fact that the record industry started tanking several years before our now-perilous national economy would seem a good reason for expensive CD boxed sets to go the way of wristwatches and vinyl records. Ditto the fact that far fewer people are now buying albums, let alone even more costly boxed sets, in this age of ringtones, downloading (legal and otherwise) and plummeting album sales.

But logic has rarely had anything to do with the record industry, and guess what? Vinyl albums are making a resurgence, as are wristwatches, although more as expensive fashion accessories than — old-school reference alert! — to, you know, tell time.

The bottom line, ultimately, is the bottom line, especially since one-third of recorded music sales typically occur during the last three months of the year. Moreover, with boxed sets bearing list prices that can range from $34.98 (for the Grateful Dead's two-CD/one-DVD "Rocking the Cradle: Egypt 1978") to $199.98 (for Led Zeppelin's 12-CD "Definitive Collection Mini LP Replica"), record companies don't have to sell a lot of copies to turn a quick profit.

As for the future, digital technology might not sound the death knell for boxed sets after all, even if CDs eventually go the way of dodo birds. Witness "Revolutions in Sound ... Warner Bros. Records, the First 50 Years," which combines both old (a 240-page hardcover book) and new (a USB flash drive that contains 320 songs).

The main constant, besides music, is money. The book/USB package has a combined list price of $230, although at least one major Web retailer is offering it for $199. Clearly, revolutions don't come cheap, and this one is no exception.

LED ZEPPELIN, "DEFINITIVE COLLECTION MINI LP REPLICA" (12 CDs; RHINO) Rating: Four stars for the music, but a loud raspberry for shamelessly exploiting buyers

How much is a "Made in Japan?" designation worth? That's the question posed by this 100-song set, whose main selling point is that it features the Japanese import versions of the eight studio albums Led Zeppelin made between 1969 and 1979, along with the 1976 live album, "The Song Remains the Same," and the 1982 odds-and-ends collection, "Coda." Each CD comes in a miniature replica of the original album cover released in the United Kingdom. However, these do not perceptibly differ from the U.S. versions (apart from the use of a different ink color for the lettering on the cover of the band's 1969 debut album).

As an added "bonus," each of the five alternate album covers from 1979's "In Through the Out Door" is included. But it's difficult to determine what value these have for anyone who doesn't qualify as an obsessive fan (very likely, most devotees already have all six covers from the vinyl album "Out Door" releases). As for the music, which sounds as mighty as ever — be it proto-heavy-metal, lilting Celtic folk or raunchy blues-rock — the song(s) remain exactly the same. There are no bonus tracks, no remastered audio mixes, no CD booklet of recordings from the band's sold-out reunion concert last December in London — nada.

Considering how much quality control Zep guitarist and mastermind Jimmy Page has exerted over all of this legendary band's reissued and archival releases in the past, it's surprising — and dismaying — that he signed off on what appears to be such a crass exercise in high-priced marketing. Save your $199 and get the 1993 Led Zeppelin boxed set, "The Complete Studio Recordings," for $71 instead. You won't learn any Japanese, but at least your wallet won't get trampled underfoot.

BLACK SABBATH, "THE RULES OF HELL" (FIVE CDs, RHINO/WARNER BROTHERS) Two-and-a-half-stars

Not to be confused with "Hell Rules," the 1999 and 2000 Black Sabbath tribute albums by bands with names like Carnage and Blood Coven, this 42-song set features the four albums Black Sabbath recorded between 1980 and 1982 with Ronnie James Dio assuming Ozzy Osbourne's lead vocal duties. Also included in its entirety is "Dehumanize," the group's 1992 reunion album with Dio, who again reteamed with Sabbath last year, albeit under the band name Heaven & Hell (to avoid litigation from Osbourne).

The absence of any new or previously unreleased material is a real minus; budget-minded fans will fare better with last year's 16-song compilation, "Black Sabbath ... the Dio Years."

GRATEFUL DEAD, "ROCKIN' THE CRADLE, EGYPT 1978" (TWO CDs/ONE DVD; RHINO) Two-and-a-half-stars

It's no understatement to describe as "historic" the Grateful Dead's open-air concerts near Egypt's Great Pyramid on three consecutive September nights in 1978. Unfortunately, by this hit-and-miss band's members' own admission, the Dead sounded mostly listless at all three shows (which drew local dignitaries and such devoted Deadheads as then-budding basketball legend Bill Walton).

As a result, the accompanying DVD is the main point of interest, and it features two songs, "Good Lovin'" and "Bertha," not included on the CDs. A much-needed spark is added by Egyptian oud master Hamza El-Din and his group, who perform their own "Ollin Arageed" before being joined by the Dead for a mellow, East-meets-West version of "Fire on the Mountain."

GEORGE JONES, "THE HITS ... THEN 'TIL NOW" (THREE CDs, TIME-LIFE) Three stars

This handsomely packaged compilation falls short of its promise that it contains "60" of George Jones' "biggest hits." The second track, "Seasons of My Heart," was never a hit, although it was the B-side on his 1955 breakthrough, "Why Baby Why," while the two closing selections — 1999's "When the Last Curtain Falls" and 2001's "Tramp on Your Street" — also failed to chart. Moreover, 1959's rockabilly rave-up "White Lightning" and 1992's wry ballad "Wrong's What I Do Best" weren't exactly hits, having charted at No. 65 and No. 73, respectively.

But when a singer has a voice as sublime as this still-active country-music legend's, why quibble? Devotees already have some of these songs ... there are at least three other Jones boxed sets — but not in one collection, since "The Hits" draws material from the nine record companies he has recorded for over the past six decades. His five duets with Tammy Wynette are welcome, even if one of them might have been omitted to make room for Jones' splendid 1979 duet with Elvis Costello, "Stranger in the House."

PHISH, "AT THE ROXY" (EIGHT CDs, JEMP) Three stars

Presumably timed to coincide with Phish's upcoming reunion in March, this voluminous collection features 83 songs that range in length from a fleeting, 28-second interlude to nearly 14 minutes. As fans of this iconic jam band will attest, a Phish show is about the totality, about how the band's improvisationally charged music ebbs, builds and changes shape at each concert and from one free-flowing show to the next.

Several guests are featured, including members of the Aquarium Rescue Unit and a Gene Simmons impersonator (who sings on a brief version of Kiss' "Rock and Roll All Night"). But Phish's four members really didn't need any help to soar at these three 1993 concerts in Atlanta. Only the so-so fidelity — A two-track recording? Really? — prevents a higher rating.

VARIOUS ARTISTS, "REVOLUTIONS IN SOUND ... WARNER BROS. RECORDS, THE FIRST 50 YEARS" (ONE BOOK, 21 CDs, WARNER BROS.) Three stars

This could be the first CD boxed set for which no CD player is needed, since the 320 songs are all contained on a USB flash drive that you can hold in the palm of your hand. Yet, even with this many songs, "Revolutions in Sound" represents just a fraction of the thousands of albums released over the past half-century by Warner Bros. and such affiliate labels as Reprise and Sire.

Few record companies have ever boasted such an eclectic roster, as the songs here make clear (Frank Sinatra and Jimi Hendrix, Roxy Music and The Ramones, Madonna and Steve Martin; Tiny Tim and Ice-T; The Meters and White Stripes). The accompanying 240-page coffee-table book nicely recounts Warner Bros.' heady first 35 years, but glosses over the label's subsequent transformation from a daring, music-driven label to a corporate monolith dominated by bean counters. That's why this once-inspiring quote from former Warner president Lenny Waronker now sounds so sadly outdated: "If it's good and it doesn't sell, you can't get hurt."

VARIOUS ARTISTS, "LOVE TRAIN: THE SOUND OF PHILADELPHIA" (FOUR CDs, PHILADELPHIA INTERNATIONAL/LEGACY) Three and a half stars

Producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff teamed with ace producer Thom Bell in 1967 to launch their homegrown record label, Philadelphia International. Over the next 16 years, artists who recorded for them scored 30 chart-topping pop and R&B hits, including such classics as "Back Stabbers" by The O'Jays, "Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now" by McFadden & Whitehead, "Me and Mrs. Jones" by Billy Paul and "If You Don't Know Me By Now" by Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes.

These are just four of the 71 songs included in this handsomely packaged retrospective, which mixes memorable songs by The Stylistics, Teddy Pendergrass and The Spinners with lesser-known gems by such luminaries as Wilson Pickett, Dusty Springfield and Archie Bell & The Drells. The label was also instrumental in both showcasing and fusing soul, salsa and disco on songs that have been sampled countless times by numerous hip-hop producers.

To find out more about George Varga and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.