I got suckered by DC in 2007-2008.  I bought a lot of it.  I thought I was going to make it all part of my Crisis trilogy (to go with my COIE trade and Infinite Crisis 9 volume set).   But, in the end, I found I didn’t really need it.  I’ve since gotten rid of most of the issues, but here’s how I would have done a two volume Countdown set.

Volume 1
Countdown 51-48
Teen Titans 47
Countdown 47
Atom 12
Countdown 46-43
Atom 13
Countdown 42
Action 852
Countdown 41
Superman 665
Countdown 40-39
Atom 14
Action 853
Countdown 38-37
Action 854
Countdown 36-33
Atom 15
Ray Palmer:  Wildstorm
Countdown 32-31
Ray Palmer:  Crime Society
Countdown 30-27

Volume 2
Countdown 26-25
Ray Palmer:  Red Rain
Countdown 24-23
Ray Palmer:  Gotham by Gaslight
Countdown 22
Ray Palmer:  Red Son
Countdown 21
Arena 1
Countdown 20
Arena 2-4
Countdown 19
Ray Palmer:  Superwoman/Batwoman
Countdown 18-1