Holiday Buying Guide 2008

Johnny Cash's career was in tatters when he walked into Folsom Prison on January 13, 1968. When the recording of his concert that day was released as an album, he was re-minted as the Man in Black. This two-CD, one-DVD set has a remastered version of the original show that makes it plain why Folsom Prison is the greatest live album of all time; there's nothing like hearing "88419 is wanted in reception" in the background to remind you that Cash was playing jailbird anthems like "25 Minutes to Go" and "I Got Stripes" to actual jailbirds. The second disc has performances from opening acts Carl Perkins and the Statler Brothers, but the prizes are three previously unreleased Cash performances from Folsom, including a searing Johnny and June Carter cover of Ray Charles' "I Got a Woman." The DVD is worth it if only to watch Cash tear up when talking to men whose torments he understood better than most.

—Josh Tyrangiel