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No independent label has surveyed a wider, deeper expanse of the American musical grain than Rounder Records has done since 1971. In celebrating the label s 30th anniversary, this budget-priced anthology presents 68 gems from the archives without duplicating a single artist. Rather than a linear progression through time or genre, the four-disc set hopscotches all over the musical map, from the blues of Mississippi Fred McDowell to the bluegrass of Alison Krauss, from the Texas country of Jimmie Dale Gilmore to the Celtic fiddle of Natalie MacMaster. Some of the juxtapositions are a little jarring: the Mardi Gras chants of Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias give way to the Hawaiian guitars of the Tau Moe Family, while the soulful groove of Walter Wolfman Washington leads into the Klezmer Conservatory Band. But listeners whose tastes are as eclectic as Rounder s will find the set a treasure trove of discovery. --Don McLeese