Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America (2012)

This six-disc series maps the evolution of marginalized ''race music'' into what is now popular ''urban'' music. Spanning some 80 years, the well-edited set of 108 tracks focuses on seminal artists who created or explored gospel, bebop, blues, jazz, and hip-hop. Bessie Smith wails, Count Basie swings, Al Green testifies, and N.W.A. bring the noise. Musical notes and era-defining sound bites play like potent pages out of history.