After decades of recording for RCA Victor, Atkins switched labels; this 1985 effort is a summit meeting of sorts with young guitar hotshots like Larry Carlton, George Benson, Mark Knopfler, Steve Lukather, and Earl Klugh, plus session A-teamers like Boots Randolph, Larrie Londin, David Hungate, Mark O'Connor and others. Atkins' tone is, as usual, faultless, and his playing superb. If the "meetings" don't always come off, it's usually due to the overzealousness of the other guitar players (Lukather's over-the-top style screams '80s big hair, for instance), not Chet, whose playing always exercises the utmost in restraint in every situation. All in all, a good modern-day Chet Atkins album, but not the place to start a collection.

Since The Essential Chet Atkins concentrates on his instrumental tracks – including hits like "Mr. Sandman" and "Yakety Axe" – it functions as the best single-disc retrospective of the guitarist. It is also one of the only collections that concisely demonstrates his subtlely dazzling virtuosity.

One of the most influential guitarists of the 20th century, as well as a legendary musician and producer within country music. Without Chet Atkins, country music may never have crossed over into the pop charts in the '50s and '60s. Although he recorded hundreds of solo records, Atkins' largest influence came as a session musician and a record producer. During the '50s and '60s, he helped create the Nashville sound, a style of country music that owed nearly as much to pop as it did to honky tonks. And as a guitarist, he was without parallel.

This CD's 15 newly recorded tracks includes a 20-page commemorative booklet with The Journey of Mr. Guitar by Robert K Oermann, liner notes by award winning journalist Holly Gleason, rare photos and extensive session notes by Grammy winning producer Carl Jackson. Few artists have been as influential in multiple music industry roles and reached across genre as smoothly as the charming Chet Atkins, the original C.G.P. (Certified Guitar Player).

Chet Atkins earned and held the title of "Mr. Guitar" for 50 years before passing away in the summer of 2001. Signed to RCA in 1947, he would help define the "Nashville Sound" in the late '50s while simultaneously releasing a steady string of instrumental albums. RCA Country Legends captures Atkins on 14 wonderful tracks recorded between 1949 and 1976. Atkins recorded the self-penned single "Barber Shop Rag" with mandolinist Jethro Burns and guitarist Homer Haynes. Burns' speedy runs work as a nice counterpoint, and bring out equally inspired work from Atkins. Curiously, Atkins and his buddies even add vocals on an infectious cut titled "Boogie Man Boogie." There's a nice duet with writer and fellow guitar picker Jerry Reed on "Twitchy," and a spunky take on "Tiger Rag" worthy of Django Reinhardt. There are also a number of solo pieces, including "Petite Waltz," "Yes Ma'am," and the closer, "Liza." These cuts capture a quintessential Atkins, just a man and his guitar, handling the rhythm and lead without blinking.

As seen on PBS. Chet Atkins - Certified Guitar Player is a concert-tribute to Chet Atkins, performed by Chet and many giants in the music business: Mark Knopfler, The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Michael McDonald, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson, backed by Nashville's premier studio musicians. Great music, great fun, and a moving experience as a joyful document created about Chet Atkins' importance in the history of music, and to everyone on that stage. The CD: contains the entire soundtrack of the program above. It has all the music (17 songs), all the interplay between Chet and his fellow stars, and all the excitement felt by the audience that night.

This reissue places two of Chet Atkins' RCA albums 1969's Lover's Guitar and 1970's Yestergroovin' on one CD. Yestergroovin', presented first on the disc, is an interesting group of jazz standards, original pieces and reworked folk tunes among other songs. Despite the differences in songs and arrangements, the whole album has an easygoing feel that makes it arguably one of the very best albums Chet made in his long career. Lover's Guitar, on the other hand, features Chet playing some pop tunes of the day as well as some more classically oriented pieces including two Tarrega compositions; most of the album has accompaniment from a second guitar and strings but a few tracks feature Chet solo.