Roy Orbison Collection: "Anything You Need, You Got It"

I've found another exception to my general rule against greatest hits collections. Again, it's a career-long retrospective made possible in the CD era. The Essential Roy Orbison is a solid, diverse sampling of the singer/songwriter's staggering career from the 50's to his passing in 1988. This essential set covers everything from his early doo-wop / rockabilly days to his going out on top with The Traveling Wilburys.

As with Patsy Cline, Orbison's majestic voice remains unsurpassed to this day.

I have a friend, turning 60 this year, who remembers skating with his girls to Roy Orbison over the loadspeakers at the rink between 1963 and 1965. What glorious, heady days those must have been -- to be young, in love, and have Roy Orbison's music new to your young ears.

Roy Orbison will always live on in our hearts, an essential part of our collective musical memory.