The greatest Greatest Hits collection

One that people don’t usually think of is Bob Marley - Legend

― All cars are bad (Euler)

Geir did 13 years ago in this thread.

I think I agree with Legend. Marley is quite frankly the most recognized figure worldwide in reggae music and the album everyone seems to own is Legend.

it should also serve as the only full-length by the artist you need. But feel free to disregard the last part if you like.

It may be interesting to focus on this particular criterion. Though I guess you’d have to set a certain bar, to exclude obvious/inarguable cases of one/two/three-hit wonders, etc.

(and I guess it would probably just turn into the usual round of, “Here’s another band I think sucks...”)

Btw - a great comp not mentioned on this thread (surprisingly, considering its vintage) is ESG’s A South Bronx Story.

Two posters mentioned the Go-Betweens - 1978-1990 above, but this is another compilation where the first disc is a greatest hits and the second is rarities, one side each chosen by Forster and McLennan.

Eric Weisbard in The Spin Alternative Record Guide says that this album "never leaves the stereos" of certain Go-Betweens fans who "become obsessive" for the band as the fans age out of "the conceptual games of alternative". It's a strange image of Go-Betweens worshippers superglueing their copies into the cassette deck.

Now I have the image of a really dense fan supergluing his CD in the tray, only to hear the motor grind to pieces when it fails to spin the disc for playback. But even in jest, that doesn't remotely align with the intellect of a Go-Betweens fan.

These are some 1 or 2-disc compilations of artists (hits or otherwise) that have served me well as either all I need or something good enough to spin when I need a fix of their work:

Fats Domino - My Blue Heaven: The Best of Fats Domino (EMI)
The Carter Family - Wildwood Flower (Living Era)
Mississippi John Hurt - Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 OKeh Recordings (Columbia)
Blind Lemon Jefferson - The Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson (Yazoo)
Little Richard - The Georgia Peach (Specialty)
Ennio Morricone - The Ennio Morricone Anthology: A Fistful of Film Music (Rhino)
ABBA - ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits (Polar)
Leonard Cohen - The Best of Leonard Cohen (Columbia)
Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - Ooo Baby Baby: The Anthology (Motown)

Hard to pick a favorite of those. Probably whichever I am listening to at that moment.

"The Best of Leonard Cohen" definitely checks all the boxes

I have The Essential Leonard Cohen but i don't listen to it much. I usually listen to the first album or watch the Live in London DVD. The latter is probably my favorite Leonard Cohen.

Greatest Live Essential Best Hits

Greatest Live Essential Best Hits: The Anthology

is meaty, beaty big & bouncy still the best who compilation? there's quite a few others (i think i've owned at least three besides that one), but it's hard to argue with the selection, and it flows pretty well.

https://i.imgur.com/ZLdCowt.jpg
This has emerged as my all time fave

is meaty, beaty big & bouncy still the best who compilation?

I'd say yes. Not comprehensive obviously when it was released in 1970, but you can't find a more consistent and concise Who compilation. Great intro, and it doesn't lose much value if you start buying up the proper LP's (My Generation, A Quick One, Sell Out,Tommy,Leeds, Who's Next, etc.)

All my favourites already mentioned other than this early Stones album I stole from my dad.

https://www.discogs.com/The-Rolling-Stones-Rolled-Gold-The-Very-Best-Of-The-Rolling-Stones/release/8445262

As with 'Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy' it's a great sampler of everything good about a band up until just before they got a bit shit.

https://img.discogs.com/BwK2i42svROqDbxgkjDThb_1Rpg=/fit-in/300x300/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(40)/discogs-images/R-633139-1359593747-2661.jpeg.jpg

either of the Girls Aloud compilations are a) cheap from your local charity shop b) bloody wonderful

carissas wierd - 'they'll only miss you when you leave'
pixies - wave of mutilation
neil young - decade
the cribs - payola

Haven't heard every Moloko album, but based on those I have, Catalogue pretty much leaves them in the dust.

I like when they're not comprehensive and can function as their own listening experience.

Elton John "Greatest Hits" and ChangesOneBowie are a good template for how to do this. Starting with their breakthrough hit and covering the next 4-5 years, they also include a couple not-so-famous choices that fit well in the sequencing. And they both work as a snapshot of their career until that point, before they later would score a dozen more hits and earn their "volume two."

The Essential Taj Mahal. I don’t know lots about him, but this contains all the “hits” I knew of, and with two discs I don’t have an urgent need to research his dozens of other albums.

And it’s really good!

I wonder who is the better judge of a greatest Greatest Hits:

- the expert who knows the entire oeuvre and can say, "this covers all you need to hear" or "this is the perfect introduction"

- the neophyte who says, "I am perfectly satisfied with this package and I feel no need to explore further"

?

I have been both and often the latter turned into the former.

Examples:

The first Nick Drake album I heard was the compilation Heaven in a Wild Flower, and having heard all of the other releases, including the archival ones, I still think it's a perfectly chosen and sequenced set. Ending with Time Has Told Me (the first song on his first album) rather than a Pink Moon or 1974 song gives it a regenerative aura.

On the other hand, I bought the Grand Funk Railroad Capitol Collector's Series CD twenty years ago, and enjoyed it all (except their terrible cover of Gimme Shelter), but never felt any need to go further. I do think Nick Drake is on a higher aesthetic level than GFR, though.

I'm not the biggest prog fan - except for King Crimson, there are very few albums that I really enjoy from start-to-finish. Compilations can be tough due to the nature of the music, but there's two that almost stand out as favorites:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-F%2BdLZTAL._SX466_.jpg

Classic Yes from 1981, compiled by bassist Chris Squire when they temporarily split. It was originally issued as a single LP with a bonus single - the '90s CD release put all nine tracks on one disc.

It's great, but Squire's own "The Fish (Schindleria Praematurus)" is a strange inclusion. (Maybe he wanted more royalties?) A better pick would've been "Going for the One" which was an egregious omission. Also a few substitutions were made where he replaced the studio versions with live recordings. Had he kept the original studio versions and included "Going for the One" this would've been a perfect summation of their best work and a flawless primer.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71%2BWxAVnV6L._SX355_.jpg

A three-CD set released in 2004 in the UK and 2005 in the US. The reverse chronological sequence was a bad idea, and most of it has been needlessly remixed to the music's detriment. But the selection on the last disc covering their earliest years with Peter Gabriel is close to perfect. "Watcher of the Skies" is a regrettable omission, but the disc is already at capacity. If they programmed a double LP with the same track list plus "Watcher of the Skies" in correct chronological order, it would be the definitive Gabriel-era collection. (Only ten tracks, but almost 90 minutes in running time.)

Agh, let me try that again:

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51-F%2BdLZTAL._SX466_.jpg https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71%2BWxAVnV6L._SX355_.jpg

I've heard both of these compilations, in fact Classic Yes (without the bonus single) might have been one of my first purchases. "The Fish" was often played on classic rock radio segued from "Long Distance Runaround", so it had some claim to popularity.

The last disc of the Genesis collection is pretty good, but "Counting Out Time" is my least favourite song they released between 1970 and 1974. Also, they fade out "Cinema Show" before the "Aisle of Plenty" reprise, which makes practical sense but feels completely interruptive.

I love both these groups too much to imagine confining myself to these track listings, but I can see how they would appeal to a non-fan.

yeah, for me Pete-era GEnesis is an albums act.

http://cdn-s3.allmusic.com/release-covers/500/0000/278/0000278159.jpg

― mookieproof, Tuesday, November 29, 2016 9:52 PM (four years ago) bookmarkflaglink

After the Fact by Magazine is a great encapsulation of their work, and also the only one to feature liner note quotes from Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden. Paul Morley, who wrote the notes that quote Bruce, also wrote the notes for the Siouxsie and the Banshees compilation Once Upon a Time, mentioned above.

The last disc of the Genesis collection is pretty good, but "Counting Out Time" is my least favourite song they released between 1970 and 1974. Also, they fade out "Cinema Show" before the "Aisle of Plenty" reprise, which makes practical sense but feels completely interruptive.

Time constraints may have played a role, and they certainly limited their options. The much-longer "In the Cage" would be a better pick than "Counting Out Time" but that's an additional 5 minutes the disc doesn't have without dropping another track. (Would work on a double LP though.)

I love both these groups too much to imagine confining myself to these track listings, but I can see how they would appeal to a non-fan.

A fan will need the albums - if you're all in, you'll inevitably want the conceptual framework that comes with those songs. I think the last three with Gabriel and the first one (maybe two) with Collins taking over as frontman is usually cited as the essential works, but I haven't been able to enjoy them in their entirety. It took a LONG time to get into Genesis, they left me completely cold until I tried just the highlights. I may not be completely sold on them (yet), but I really like the highlights, which is what a good compilation should do as an entry point.

The Doors have way too many compilations, but I'm partial to the 2001 U.S. single CD compilation The Very Best of the Doors. It has a boringly generic title and cover, but music-wise it has nearly everything a Doors skeptic would want. (Longer two-CD sets feel like they're weighed down by risible crap.)

Truth be told, I didn't actually get it: I burned a chronologically-sequenced CD-R based on its track selection using audiophile masterings from DCC Compact Classics and Audio Fidelity while squeezing in two favorites into the leftover space: "Moonlight Drive" and "Land Ho!" A nice reference disc, looks like this:

1. Break On Through (To the Other Side)
2. The Crystal Ship
3. Twentieth Century Fox
4. Light My Fire
5. Back Door Man
6. The End
7. Love Me Two Times
8. Moonlight Drive
9. People Are Strange
10. Hello, I Love You
11. Touch Me
12. Roadhouse Blues
13. Peace Frog
14. Land Ho!
15. Love Her Madly
16. L.A. Woman
17. The WASP (Texas Radio and the Big Beat)
18. Riders on the Storm

"Greatest hits albums are for housewives and little girls!"

LOL

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xillqqt0Y0

Weird Scenes was one of the first five albums that launched my record collection--played it to death in high school. I still like a few songs...

That was specifically a "deep tracks" compilation, because all the hits from the first five albums had been compiled on 13, sort of like Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol. 2.

These are the comps that I have listened to the most (at least to Oct 96 when I started keeping such things).

Howlin' Wolf- Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues
Muddy Waters- Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues
^^^These are probably the most listened to records by these two artists as the comps came out in the 60s and have remained popular. I got some other comps by them that are more complete.

The Who- Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy
Rolling Stones- Hot Rocks
^^^ Early collections that are really good comps of their early singles to that point.

New Order- Substance
Joy Divison- Substance
Buzzcocks- Singles Going Steady
The Cure- Standing on a Beach
^^^Singles collections that were out early on CD and have remained popular. Can't really go wrong with them as introductions.

The Byrds- Essential Byrds <<< Newer collection, but this 2 disc one is the Byrds record I have listened to the most.

Mudhoney- March to Fuzz <<< I like their albums, but the first disc is a pretty tight comp and probably not much different than I would choose. Second disc is more b-sides and rarites and is quite a good listen.

Kiss- Double Platinum <<< I have had this on 3 formats since I was a kid (8 track, LP & CD). Even with the remixes, I have heard it so many times since I was like 8-9 years old, it has to be on this list.

Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy is all-time, most days the only Who I need.

A personal favorite comp of mine is Steely Dan Gold: Expanded Edition, which is the CD version of a comp that originally came out in 1982 in the "Greatest Hits Vol. 2" mold. My mom ordered it in the mid 90s as part of one of those BMG/Columbia House 10 CDs for a dollar deals. The track list is concise but absolutely stacked, and the songs imprinted on me in a big way at the time. They're mostly still my favorite Dan songs today:

1. Hey Nineteen
2. Green Earrings
3. Deacon Blues
4. Chain Lightning
5. FM
6. Black Cow
7. King Of The World
8. Babylon Sisters
9. Here At The Western World
10. Century's End (By Donald Fagen)
11. True Companion (By Donald Fagen)
12. Bodhisattva (Live)

https://img.discogs.com/dpX2FW1ieZTgmzVzrA6eJxs0Yac=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-13672129-1561498313-7208.png.jpg

Rolling Stones- Hot Rocks
^^^ Early collections that are really good comps of their early singles to that point.

Hot Rocks is great, but I wished they had done away with More Hot Rocks (Bits Hits & Fazed Cookies) and sequenced its "big hit" tracks into an expanded version of Hot Rocks - there was more than enough space to do that on those two CD's with the original Hot Rocks running less than 90 minutes, and it would've felt like a complete package of hits without any drop in consistency. (The "fazed cookies" obscurities should've been made available elsewhere - a lot of them already were.)

*(Big Hits & Fazed Cookies)

Mentioned once higher in the thread, but I think the Squeeze best of ("45s and Under") really is all the Squeeze I need. I used to have a few of the proper albums, but basically all my favorite songs from them are on the best-of. And every song on the best-of is good-to-great.

Mentioned once higher in the thread, but I think the Squeeze best of ("45s and Under") really is all the Squeeze I need. I used to have a few of the proper albums, but basically all my favorite songs from them are on the best-of. And every song on the best-of is good-to-great.

I was surprised Trouser Press gave it a mixed review: "As the band’s selection of which LP tracks to release as 45s often seemed totally arbitrary, there’s no sense of occasion. Even 'Annie Get Your Gun,' the sole new track, isn’t so great. Still, the LP is a handy introduction to the band’s early triumphs." Totally arbitrary? Maybe I'll have to revisit those albums, but I never thought "why was THIS a single?" or "why wasn't THIS a single?"

It's a great comp, and it even has a memorable, funny cover and title to go with it. The only Squeeze LP I've held on to is East Side Story, which is partly why I've stuck with the U.S. version of 45s and Under (it has Argybargy's "If I Didn't Love You" instead of East Side Story's "Labelled with Love") - considering the length, they really should've issued a 13-track version of 45s and Under on CD that would have covered all territories. East Side Story's a fine LP too, but it's not as consistently engaging as 45s and Under.

I wonder if the band corrected the omission on subsequent editions? The CD I burned years ago has both "Labelled with Love" and "If I Didn't Love You" (I prefer the latter).

Oh, definitely agree. I didn't know about that difference between US and UK, I would miss "If I Didn't Love You."

I don't believe so. After UME acquired A&M, they remastered it and reissued it with the U.S. tracklist as part of their 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection budget collection.

It wish someone like Mobile Fidelity would reissue it with all 13 tracks - they did East Side Story and it's easily the best Squeeze has ever sounded on any digital format.

Yeah, Squeeze is a good one. The Police's Every Breath You Take: The Singles is kinda the same deal for me.

Yeah, the Police really were a singles band - I've got Zenyatta Mondatta and Synchronicity, but the singles compilation I made gets far more play. It's basically the import-only Greatest Hits which is essentially Every Breath You Take: The Singles with more tracks and the original version of "Don't Stand So Close To Me" remake. The only reason I made my own copy was to get the best-sounding version possible.

*the original version of "Don't Stand So Close To Me." (Not a remake.)

the one where this greatest mega mix comes from! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9B95Sr37MM

Agreed on Squeeze - I love it so much I thought I'd try to expand it but after compiling all their other singles, nothing came close to being worthy of inclusion.

For the Police, I prefer the 2CD best-of cleverly called "The Police" as it covers almost every track you could want.