This was a very good year for fans of classic indie and college, at least in the world of reissues. There were lots of 30th anniversary editions of indie rock and shoegaze classics, and there were a few releases that totally blindsided me, records I never in my wildest dreams thought would get rereleased, let alone the deluxe edition treatment. There was also a new version of an ’80s college rock classic that fixes a lot of problems some people had with it. There’s also one not-indie-at-all reissue on this list, but is one of my favorite albums of the last 20 years (spandex may be involved). There were so many this year but I narrowed it down to a dozen, though technically it’s 14 as two of the artists had two reissues each.

Head below for my picks, in alphabetical order, for 2024’s best reissues and box sets.

INDIE BASEMENT: BEST REISSUES & BOX SETS OF 2023

Acetone – I’m still waiting (New West)

“It’s amazing to me how much love there is for Acetone out in the world, especially considering how few records we actually sold at the time,” says Mark Lightcap, guitarist for ’90s slowcore greats Acetone. “That love, unrequited as the catalog moldered in record company vaults, has now been fully consummated in the form of this box set.” His band’s wonderful, long-out-of-print albums — full of sleepy country, space-rock and warm psychedelia — have now been reissued, along with the comprehensive box set I’m still waiting that features an album’s worth of unreleased rarities and liner notes featuring essays by  Spiritualized‘s J. Spaceman, and more. (The box is also the only place you can get their excellent 1995 all-covers mini-LP I Guess I Would.) It’s a wonderful collection of an underappreciated band as well as a tribute to bassist/singer Richie Lee who died in 2001. It’s also a miracle this exists at all. Acetone are no more but the moment finally seems to have arrived.

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The Boo Radleys – Giant Steps: 30th Anniversary Edition (Two Piers Records)

The Boo Radleys are one of the few ’90s UK bands who made the successful transition from serious shoegazers to Britpop stars. Their third album, 1993’s Giant Steps, is easily their best and finds them somewhere in between those two worlds, as well as on a wildly creative high. We ranked it #12 on our list of Creation Records’ Greatest Records and it’s every bit as ambitious as Primal Scream’s Screamadelica or My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, and one that opened Creation’s door for the success that would soon come with Oasis. “I felt that everything was moving towards this big pop thing,” Carr says in David Cavanagh’s The Creation Records Story. “Loads of bands — young bands with guitars — were getting into the charts. Blur were getting there. Suede were having hits. We didn’t sell that many records with Giant Steps but everyone was dying to see what we were going to do next.” There aren’t that many bonus features here — the Deluxe Edition has a 10″ with Saint Etienne’s inventive remixes of “Lazarus” and “Rodney King” — but remastered from the original tapes, Giant Steps has never sounded better on vinyl.

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The Darkness – Permission to Land…Again 20th Anniversary Box (Atlantic)

The Darkness’ over-the-top brand of hard rock stole every trick in the book from AC/DC, Judas Priest, Queen, Thin LIzzy, Sparks, Van Halen, etc etc etc and regurgitated them back out as their own ridiculously catchy, awesomely ridiculous songs. The band’s debut album is a classic, a veritable greatest hits — no bad songs! — that has all their best known singles including “I Believe in a Thing Called Love,” “Growing on Me,” “Get Your Hands Off of My Woman,” and “Love is Only a Feeling.” This 20th anniversary box set features a remastered edition of the original album, plus the many equally awesome b-sides from the era (they were truly on fire their first couple years), their 2003 christmas single, plus two live albums, a booklet featuring new interviews, liner notes and never-before-seen photos, and more.

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The Dream Syndicate – History Kinda Pales When It and You Are Aligned: The Days Of Wine and Roses (Expanded Edition)

The Dream Syndicate’s 1982 full-length debut, The Days of Wine and Roses, was the first — arguably the best — album to come out of Los Angeles’ Paisley Underground scene (that also included Rain Parade, The Bangles, The Three O’Clock and Game Theory). The band, led by Steve Wynn and Kendra Smith, owed more to The Velvet Underground than The Byrds but their love of ’60s rock and no interest in the era’s synthesizers proved to be the urtext for the scene. The album’s retro sound, produced by The Flesh Eaters’ Chris D, was purposefully out of step with the times and is what makes it still sound so great today, along with classic songs like “Tell Me When It’s Over,” “That’s What You Always Say,” “Too Little, Too Late,” and more. In addition to a remastered version of the original album, the four-CD 40th anniversary Expanded Edition features their debut EP, singles, b-sides, a few ferocious covers (The Who, Johnny Cash), alternate takes and a bounty of live material (two full shows and a rehearsal), with 31 previously unreleased tracks, plus a booklet with new interviews with Kendra Smith, Chris D and more. There’s also a two-LP vinyl edition with the original album on the first disc, and the EP and more on the second.

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Felt – Gold Mine Trash / Bubblegum Perfume vinyl reissues (1972)

Led by eccentric genius Lawrence, Felt were one of the cultiest cult bands of the ’80s, making crystalline guitar pop that tipped its hat to Television and Dylan, and releasing 10 albums and 10 singles in 10 years. In his mind, Lawrence thought he was writing smash hits but most of those (terrific) records never made a dent outside the UK indie charts. Two compilations from the era — one featuring songs from the first five years on Cherry Red, the second covering Felt’s time on Creation Records — collect almost everything non-completists would want from the band, and both of them were reissued on vinyl this year for the first time. While Gold Mine Trash has Felt’s best known single — “Primitive Painters” featuring Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Frazier — Bubblegum Perfume has the highest hit count. You should just get both.

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Fun Boy Three – The Complete Fun Boy Three (Chrysalis)

When The Specials broke up in 1981 just after releasing their classic single “Ghost Town,” Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding formed new group Fun Boy Three who in some ways picked up right where their old band left off, with a dark, claustrophobic sound heavy on vocal harmonies and percussion. The band only lasted for three years and two albums — their 1982 self-titled debut and 1983’s David Byrne-produced Waiting — but managed to wrack up seven UK Top 20 singles in that time, including “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It)” featuring Bananarama, and their version of “Our Lips Are Sealed” which Hall co-wrote with The Go-Go’s Jane Wiedlin. As the “Complete” in the title suggests, this box set collects everything Fun Boy Three recorded, including both albums, non-LP singles, 12″ mixes, b-sides, dub plates and more. There are also a handful of previously unreleased recordings, including a cover of “96 Tears” and various rough mixes, club mixes and alternate versions. There’s also a full live album, and a DVD featuring all their music videos and television appearances, plus a booklet with rare photos and extensive liner notes.

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Kirsty MacColl – See That Girl 1979-2000 (Universal)

The late Kirsty MacColl was one of the great voices of the ’80s and ’90s, with her unique harmonies gracing records by The Smiths, Talking Heads, The Rolling Stones, Robert Plant, Billy Bragg, The Pogues, Simple Minds, Happy Mondays, Tracey Ullman, Alison Moyet, and more. While she had a few hits in the UK, MacColl’s own records often struggled to find an audience but See That Girl shows what an absolute talent she was. This eight-CD box set features just about everything she ever did, including all five studio albums that ranged from jangly guitar pop, tropicalia, country, celtic music to even a little ’90s electronica. There are also singles, b-sides, demos, live songs and more, with 47 previously unreleased tracks. Among those is her “lost” 1983 album, Reel — recorded as her second album but never released — which was a fascinating misfire that had her label trying to make Kirsty into a glossy ’80s Pop Artist with synthesizers and drum machines but made little use of what made her special. This box set, though, has special in spades.

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The Lemonheads – Come On Feel The Lemonheads (30th Anniversary Edition) (Fire Records)

Last year, the 30th anniversary edition of The Lemonheads’ It’s a Shame About Ray made the Indie Basement Best Reissues list and now here they are again with its follow-up this year. While not as highly regarded as Ray, the album has aged very well in the last three decades. Evan Dando’s melodic gifts and voice are in incredibly fine form and Come on Feel the Lemonheads includes some of their biggest songs of the ’90s, including “Into Your Arms,” “It’s About Time,” “Big Gay Heart,” and “The Great Big No,” while deep cuts “Dawn Can’t Decide,” “Down About It,” and “Rest Assured” are just as good. The album also contains “I’ll Do It Anyway” featuring Belinda Carlisle of The Go-Go’s, and “Rick James Style” featuring, yes, funk legend Rick James. The 30th anniversary double-LP set includes the original album remastered plus a second disc of non-LP tracks, demos, alternate versions, covers, and more. With, Evan promising a new album in 2024 there’s never been a better time to feel The Lemonheads again.

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New Order – Low-Life & Substance Definitive Editions (Rhino)

New Order’s ongoing “Definitive Edition” series gave us two great entries in 2023: First, their 1985 third album, Low-Life, which is arguably the pinnacle of their genius blend of post-punk guitar rock and synthesizers / drum machines; and their essential 1987 singles compilation, Substance. Both come with loads of extras. For Low-Life, it’s early versions of the album’s songs, the 17-minute full-length version of Morricone-esque instrumental “Elegia,” plus two DVDs featuring four 1985 live shows of the band in their prime. Substance gets its first vinyl pressing since its original release, worth the purchase right there, while the four-CD “Definitive” box includes the original CD release’s equally essential bonus disc with b-sides and EP cuts, plus a live album from 1987. Both feature packaging handled by original sleeve designer Peter Saville (Low-Life‘s is particularly beautiful) and capture one of the ’80s best bands at their peak.

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Pale Saints – In Ribbons 30th Anniversary Edition (4AD)

One of the more unexpected — and welcome — reissues of the year was 4AD’s 30th Anniversary Edition of Pale Saints’ fantastic second album. This was the only Pale Saints album to feature both original bassist/singer Ian Masters and singer/guitarist Meriel Barham who took over as leader when Masters left the band after this record’s tour. There was a special alchemy in this lineup, also featuring drummer guitarist Graeme Naysmith and drummer Chris Cooper, that made Pale Saints in some ways the ultimate 4AD band, with one foot in ethereal shoegaze/dreampop (see: Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil) and the other in noisy indie rock (Pixes, Throwing Muses). The songs are across-the-board great, from “Throwing Back the Apple” and “Hunted” to their cover of Slapp Happy’s “Blue Flower” (which they heard via pals Mazzy Star; this version may be better). This is the first-ever US pressing of In Ribbons and sounds better than the original. The deluxe edition adds a second disc that includes all the album demos and the genuinely great Tinwhistle Band versions of “A Thousand Stars Burst Open” and “A Revelation” which came as a bonus 7″ with the original 1992 UK vinyl edition of the album.

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Pernice Brothers – Overcome by Happiness: 30th Anniversary Edition (New West)

Joe Pernice got his start in the ’90s No Depression alt-country scene with his band Scud Mountain Boys, but it was clear that his melodic skills drew more from The Zombies and Jimmy Webb than Merle Haggard or Waylon Jennings. Joe played more to his talents with Pernice Brothers, featuring his actual brother, Bob, that embraced strings and other orchestral chamber pop accouterments which complimented Joe’s literate, melancholy earworms. Originally released by Sub Pop, Pernice Brothers’ debut didn’t quite fit in on the label in 1998 when it was it was trying to figure out what it was doing in a post-grunge landscape, but it sure does sound good now, especially with this new remastered edition that has given the album its first-ever vinyl pressing. The Deluxe Edition set comes with the band’s early singles, demos, and a great cover of Psychedelic Furs’ “Love My Way,” plus informative and witty new liner notes from Pernice. Even more exciting: New West has acquired The Pernice Brothers’ back catalogue, so we can expect similar treatment of their masterwork, 2001’s The World Won’t End, sometime in the near future.

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The Replacements – Tim: Let it Bleed Edition (Rhino)

The Replacements’ 1985 major label debut, Tim, is one of those albums that is a classic despite being generally regarded, in technical terms, as sounding like ass. After a failed attempt recording with their hero Alex Chilton, the band and label settled on Tommy “Ramone” Erdelyi who produced and mixed. While he got great performances out of the band, the finished product left a lot to be desired — unsatisfied if you will — with a mix that was thin, echoey (it was the ’80s) and generally lacked punch. Most of those issues have been resolved on the brand new mix of the album by veteran rock engineer Ed Stasium, who worked with Erdelyi a few times back in the day. Reworked from the ground up, the difference is night and day, in a great way. Tim: Let it Bleed is almost like hearing the album for the first time. The rhythm section finally has real oomph, while Stasium and the band have uncovered unheard parts, including some wonderful guitarwork from the late Bob Stinson. You may have never thought Tim sounded bad, but listen to this and you’ll smell the difference.

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