Original compilation: 1972

The original 1972 Nuggets compilation was a 2-LP set of 27 American psychedelic and garage rock singles that were originally released during the mid-to-late 1960s. It was created by Lenny Kaye, and was reissued with a new cover design by Sire Records in 1976. For more information:

• Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 (1972)

Nuggets, Volumes 1 through 12: 1984–1985

Rhino issued a 12-volume series of Nuggets LPs in 1984-1985; there are 168 tracks across the 12 volumes. All tracks are by American performers, and the LPs feature a mix of garage rock, folk rock, pop and other related genres.

This iteration of Nuggets has an extremely different track listing when compared to the original LPs. All told, only 16 of the 27 tracks on the original Nuggets 2LP set are featured in this 12 volume series.

As well, numerous tracks from these LPs were later incorporated into the later Nuggets 4CD box set -- although many, many tracks were not ported over into the CD box set. Of the 116 tracks on the 1998 4CD box set, 72 are featured in this 12-volume LP series.

• Tracks included on the original 1972 compilation are noted in the columns labelled Nuggets 2LP.
• Tracks included on the later 1998 4-CD box set are noted in the columns labelled Nuggets Box.
• Tracks included in specialized Nuggets compilations are noted in the Other column.
  • Tracks marked H appear on Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults
  • Tracks marked LA appear on Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965–1968.
  • tracks marked SF appear on Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970

Nuggets: Psychedelic Sixties: 1986-1989

Beginning in 1986, Rhino curated another configuration of Nuggets volumes, this time on CD. These volumes drew from the original Nuggets 2-LP set, and the later 12-volume LP series, but also included tracks completely new to the Nuggets series. As well, a handful of tracks were from non-American acts, specifically tracks by The Troggs (England) and The Easybeats (Australia).

The 3CD collection consists of 54 tracks. This iteration of Nuggets has an extremely different track listing when compared to the original LPs:

• Only 11 of the 27 tracks on the original Nuggets 2LP set are featured across these three CDs.
• Only 37 of the 168 tracks from the 12-LP series are featured across these 3 CDs.

As well, numerous tracks from these three CDs were later incorporated into the later Nuggets 4CD box set -- although many, many tracks were not ported over into the CD box set. Of the 116 tracks on the 1998 4CD box set, 32 are featured in this 3CD series.

• Tracks included on the original 1972 compilation are noted in the columns labelled Nuggets 2LP.
• Tracks included on the later 1998 4-CD box set are noted in the columns labelled Nuggets Box.
• Tracks included in specialized Nuggets compilations are noted in the Other column.
  • Tracks marked II appear on Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969
  • Tracks marked LP followed by a number appear on that volume number in the 12-LP Nuggets LP series

Nuggets: Box sets: 1998-2009

A series of Nuggets box sets have been issued.

• Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 (1998)
  • The first box set compiled the original 2-LP sequence of Nuggets tracks, and 91 other tracks -- some of which had been included on the 1980s 12-volume LP collection, many of which had not. All the tracks included in the box set were by American artists, recording in the mid to late 1960s.

• Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 (2001)
  • This follow-up box compiled similar tracks that were from various non-American artists, also working in the late 1960s. Virtually all of these tracks were not previously issued as part of any Nuggets compilation.

• Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era, 1976–1995 (2005)
  • This third box consisted of music in similar styles to the original Nuggets tracks (garage rock, jangle pop, folk rock, etc.), but that were recorded mainly in the 1980s and early 1990s.

• Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965–1970 (2007)
  • This fourth box compiled tracks from bands working in and around the San Francisco area in the late 1960s.

• Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets: 1965–1968 (2009)
  • This fifth box compiled tracks from performers working in and around the Los Angeles area in the late 1960s. Both this box and the San Francisco box consisted almost entirely of material that was not compiled on previous Niggets volumes.

Other single-disc compilations

Two single disc compilations of softer Nuggets material were issued in 2004. These compilations tended toward orchestrated, mildly psychedelic music, and did not feature a typical Nuggets rock or garage rock sound:

• Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults (2004)
• Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults (2004)

The above two CDs were reissued the following year with unchanged track listings, but with new titles and artwork:

• My Mind Goes High: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults (2005)
• A Whole Lot of Rainbows: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults (2005)

The most recent Nuggets compilation featured tracks from performers working in Australia and New Zealand in the late 1960s, and very definitely focused on garage rock and similarly harder material:

• Down Under Nuggets: Original Australian Artyfacts, 1965–1967 (2012)