The British are coming in a big way as Rhino presents the first-ever comprehensive survey of U.K. indie music with the king's ransom-sized, 4-CD THE BRIT BOX: U.K. INDIE, SHOEGAZE, AND BRIT-POP GEMS OF THE LAST MILLENNIUM. It gathers 78 key tastemaker recordings from U.K. performers spanning the last 15 years of the 20th century, chronologically sequenced over four packed discs. This celebration of cool Britannia is housed in bloody awesome box shaped like a classic red U.K. telephone booth -with working lights - and comes with a matching phone kiosk-shaped collectible keychain! 

While many of these acts claimed superstar status in Mother England, only a select few seriously impacted the U.S. charts - but their stylistic imprint and collective hip factor clearly steered the course of contemporary music as the last millennium wound down. With the respect given the earlier '60s-era British Invasion in so many other compilations, the THE BRIT BOX is the first collection to hail Britannia with a wealth of music previously available only to those combing through the import bins at their local record stores. These artists didn't so much reject mainstream musical sensibilities as spin them in their own fashion for tracks that remain the essence of cool.