[1] The collection is well-mastered, displaying generally high sound quality throughout and the packaging includes well-researched liner notes highlighting the artists and their songs.

[1] Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys, in a piece he wrote in the December 25, 2008 issue of Rolling Stone, mentioned this album as one of his favorite compilations.

[2] The set begins with the Crickets, Buddy Holly's former group, doing the title track "Now Hear This", which displays a clear British Invasion-influenced sound that departs from their earlier, more familiar style.

[1] The Perils' "Hate" provides the compilation's darkest moment, an eerie and brooding invective with lyrics that deliver a seething rebuke to a former lover, set to the slow drumbeat of a funeral dirge.

[1][6] Barry Allen with Wes Dakus' Rebels do four cuts including the oft-recorded "And My Baby's Gone", "Danger Zone", and the set's closer, "Love Me Again".