Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968

Jon Savage, in his history of the UK punk rock scene, England's Dreaming, cites Nuggets as a major influence on punk bands and includes it in his essential punk discography, alongside Iggy and the Stooges' Raw Power and The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat.

Many other compilation albums took their cue from Nuggets, including the Pebbles, Rubble - 20 volumes of mainly UK 1960s-era psychedelia released in the 1980s - and Back From the Grave series. Nuggets spawned an entire cottage industry of small record labels dedicated to unearthing and releasing obscure but worthy garage and psychedelic rock music from the 1960s.

In 1998 Rhino brought the original LP to CD, reproducing the original song sequence and liner notes. However, rather than releasing a single-disc release of the original LP, Rhino put the original disc in a box set with three other discs, an extra 91 songs in total that were not on the original LP. Contrary to popular belief, many of the songs were American Top 40 hits: more than a third of the original Nuggets would fall into that category, while Rhino's expanded set featured such smash hits as "Incense and Peppermints" by Strawberry Alarm Clock (#1), "Louie, Louie" by the Kingsmen (#2), "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs (#2), "Little Bit o' Soul" by the Music Explosion (#2), and "Time Won't Let Me" by the Outsiders (#5).

"Louie, Louie", "Laugh, Laugh", "Farmer John", "Psycho", "The Witch", and The Gestures' "Run, Run, Run" fall outside the set's stated time frame of 1965–1968; "Louie, Louie" having been released in 1963 and the rest in 1964.

In Europe in 2006 Rhino released a remastered version of the album featuring the original 1972 tracklist on a single compact disc in a miniaturized replica of the original gatefold sleeve. However, unlike the original album the tracks were presented using their mono mixes. In 2012 the album was again remastered, this time directly from the same tapes as the original 1972 release, featuring mono and stereo mixes. Available in double LP and digital formats, this version included updated release notes from Kaye and Jac Holzman.

It was voted number 479 in the third edition of Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[6] In 2003, the album was ranked number 196 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,[7] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.[8] It was later ranked down at 405 on the 2020 edition.[9]

In the mid-to-late 1980s, Rhino released a series of fifteen albums that bore the Nuggets name. The first twelve of these albums each focused on either a specific garage-rock subgenre or location, while the last three took a more global approach. This series provided much of the source material for the box set.

In 2001, Rhino released Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964-1969, a four-CD box set. While the original Nuggets focused on the American scene, the second compilation shifted its focus to the rest of the world, collecting cuts from the United Kingdom (such as the Pretty Things and Small Faces), Australia (the Easybeats), New Zealand (the La De Das), Canada (the Guess Who and The Haunted), Japan (the Mops), Iceland (Thor's Hammer), Peru (We All Together), and Brazil (Os Mutantes).

In 2004, Rhino released two more compilations using the Nuggets title, Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults and Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults. Both discs were released through Rhino's internet-only label Rhino Handmade in limited pressings of 7500 each.

Rhino also released a four-CD set of recordings by bands influenced by the original Nuggets, titled, Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From The Second Psychedelic Era, 1976-1995, in late 2005.

Lenny Kaye, who compiled the original Nuggets double LP set, also compiled a second volume that was never released. Many of the cuts appeared on the later Nuggets releases, but some did not. Below is the tentative track listing for Lenny Kaye's unreleased second Nuggets volume.[10]

1. The Lovin' Spoonful – "Do You Believe in Magic" (Kama Sutra)
2. The Outsiders – "Time Won’t Let Me" (Capitol)
3. The Left Banke – "Walk Away Renée" (Smash)
4. Syndicate of Sound – "Little Girl" (Bell)
5. The Balloon Farm – "A Question of Temperature" (Laurie)
6. Swingin' Medallions – "Double Shot of My Baby’s Love" (Smash)
7. The Gentrys – "Keep On Dancing" (MGM)
8. The Music Machine – "Talk Talk" (Original Sound)
9. The Five Americans – "I See the Light" (Abnak/HBR)
10. ? & the Mysterians – "96 Tears" (Cameo)
11. Richard & The Young Lions – "Open Up Your Door" (Phillips)
12. The Beau Brummels – "Laugh, Laugh" OR "Just a Little" (Autumn)
13. Clefs of Lavender Hill – "Stop-Get a Ticket" (Date)
14. The Rainy Daze – "That Acapulco Gold" (Uni)
15. The Elastik Band – "Spazz" (Atco)
16. The Mystery Trend – "Johnny Was a Good Boy" (Verve)
17. The Good Rats – "The Hobo" (Kapp)
18. The Yellow Balloon – "Yellow Balloon" (Canterbury)
19. The Gestures – "Run Run Run" (Soma)
20. The Choir – "It’s Cold Outside" (Roulette)
21. Bobby Fuller Four – "I Fought the Law" (Mustang)
22. The Myddle Class – "Free as the Wind" (Tomorrow)
23. The Evil – "Whatcha Gonna Do About It?" (Capitol)
24. The Gants – "Road Runner" (Liberty)
25. The Music Explosion – "A Little Bit of Soul" (Laurie)
26. The North Atlantic Invasion Force – "Black on White" (Mr. G)
27. The Monocles – "Spider and the Fly" (Chicory)
28. The Lollipop Shoppe – "You Must Be a Witch" (Uni)
29. The Kaleidoscope – "Just a Taste" (Epic)
30. Gonn – "Blackout of Gretely" (Emir)
31. The Squires – "Goin’ All the Way" (Atco)
32. Link Cromwell (a.k.a. Lenny Kaye) – "Crazy Like a Fox" (Hollywood)

• Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964-1969 - a box set of non-U.S. psychedelic rock released between 1964 and 1969
• Children of Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the Second Psychedelic Era, 1976-1995 - the third box set in Nuggets series, compiling psychedelic rock released after 1975
• Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets 1965-1970
• Hallucinations: Psychedelic Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults
• Come to the Sunshine: Soft Pop Nuggets from the WEA Vaults
• Where the Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets 1965–1968
• Anthology of American Folk Music

• Shaw, Greg (January 4, 1973). "Punk Rock: The Arrogant Underbelly of Sixties Pop (review of Nuggets)". Rolling Stone.
• Leland, John (November–December 1980). "The Ultimate Record Collector". Trouser Press.

• Internet Archive