If you like your 1960's more garage-flavored that psych-flavored, the Garage Beat '66 series from Sundazed is a good series to move on to after you've finished off Nuggets. This particular volume gets a lot of flak for making more psychedelic concessions than its four predecessors, but there's still plenty of fun stuff to go around. I certainly don't see it as the worst of the bunch; that's like listening to the first five Beatles albums and proclaiming Help! to be their worst because after three hours of intensive Beatles listening you're getting worn out. On the other hand, Sundazed was already 80 songs along in the series by the release of the fifth volume, so maybe the pool of upper-mid-level garage was running low.
A number of the bands on here are playing their "secondary" hits, particularly the Lemon Drops and the Zakary Thaks. I think the only Nuggets crossover is "Optical Sound" by the Human Expression. There doesn't seem to be a strong geographical bent to the compilation, though a bunch are from California and Chicago. Maybe I'll get around to a more detailed analysis, but I'm too busy right now!
Sundazed would go out to squeak out two more volumes a couple years later, both with substantial psych content and heightened obscurity, then realize that Garage Beat '66 had finally run its course. But don't cry, there are many more compilations out there to help you along in your exploration of the era.
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