Best Of the Best Ofs

[Sits]

When personal charts of favourite albums are compiled and compared, a key criterion is often "no live albums, no Greatest Hits etc." So turning it on its head, what are your favourite Greatest Hits (or similar) albums?

They are more likely to be artists you are not so "completist" about, which is true of three of my five:

1. The Very Best Of The Smiths (Charles Hawtrey)
2. Blur: The Best Of (quartered cover in primary colours)
3. The Complete Stone Roses (red, white and black blocks)
4. Recurring Dream: The Best Of Crowded House
5. Very Best Of The Bee Gees

Queen's original Greatest Hits (1980-ish, black cover red writing) missed out narrowly, as did Bob Marley's One Love.

All seven are perfect introductions.

[G-Man]

Best Of the Best Ofs

The Beatles' red and blue albums are excellent introductions. Yet, they are so incomplete as to allow the listener to discover even better material.

There are a number of Smiths compilations, but the double album The World Won't Listen of singles and b-sides was quite excellent.

[Crusoe]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Agreed on the Smiths one. Four others:

The Best of David Bowie 1969-74
Hot Rocks 1964-71
(the best of) New Order
The Goblin Collection

What about compilations by multiple artists? I used to love albums like Sound Of The Suburbs, Three Minute Heroes, 12"/80s, Alternative 1980s, NME Singles Of The Week 1993, Ruby Trax, that sort of thing.

[Sits]

Best Of the Best Ofs

I used to have that early Bowie Best Of on cassette - definitely my favourite era of his although I would add Young Americans and John I'm Only Dancing (Again) to it. Was there another compilation covering a slightly longer period?

As for Various Artists compilations I have this one which I got off Mojo many years ago and still love:

http://www.amazon.com/Mojo-Music-Gui.../dp/B001EVJYC4

[Etienne]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Etta James - The Genuine Article, showcases an amazing body of work, with an excellent selection.

Changesbowie is probably the album Sits With Remote is thinking of. It's superb.

[Etienne]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Dave Godin's Deep Soul compilations (particularly the first two) are about as good as multi-song compilations get.

[Sits]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Etienne wrote:
Changesbowie is probably the album Sits With Remote is thinking of. It's superb.

Yes I think that's it, up to about Ashes to Ashes. Maybe the rest wouldn't fit on my tape.

[Auntie Beryl]

Best Of the Best Ofs

I have this 1980 K-Tel comp on vinyl somewhere. No Ashes To Ashes, and obviously it misses out his globally successful years. [/winky]

[Benjm]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Kate Bush - The Whole Story
Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music - Street Life; 20 Great Hits

Crusoe wrote:
(the best of) New Order

Nah, it still has to be Substance for NO, despite their numerous Best Ofs... since. I was listening to their Radio 1 Live album yesterday, so may have a slightly higher than average appetite for their work.

[Bored Of Education]

Best Of the Best Ofs

I was only talking about the excellence of Queen's greatest hits last night. The first one anyway.

Abba's greatest hits albums are obviously brilliant but the first ever one was essential listening for me as a child.

Stiff Little Fingers "All the Best" is absolutely brilliant. I can't think of a duff track on it, amazing for a double album and even though it is chronological, there is no drop off in quality.

Blondie's Greatest Hits is excellent as well. The Adam Ant one is great but there is a drop-off in quality chronologically

[Bored Of Education]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Etienne wrote:

Changesbowie is probably the album Sits With Remote is thinking of. It's superb.

Yes I think that's it, up to about Ashes to Ashes. Maybe the rest wouldn't fit on my tape.

I didn't realise that that album went up as far as "Blue Jean". Somewhat diminishes what is a great album for me

[Cal Alamein]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Singles Going Steady - Buzzcocks

[Sundeporino]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Roxy Music-Greatest Hits. (Gold disc type cover.)
David Bowie-ChangesBowie.
Buzzcocks-Singles Going Steady.
Rolling Stones-Get Stoned.
Jimi Hendrix-Smash Hits.

Any motown chartbuster.

[evilC]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Good topic! And more of a brain-teaser than you might at first think.

Personally-speaking...

Deux - 'Agglomerat' ('Paris/Orly')

Skanfrom - 'Hand Picked Fragments' ('Cashier')

Solvent - 'Demonstration Tape 1997-2007' ('Solvent City')

Alden Tyrell - 'Times Like These - 1999-2006' ('Mindless')

Erasure - 'Pop!' ('Stop!')

Fad Gadget - 'The Best Of Fad Gadget' (CD1) ('Ricky's Hand')

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - 'Navigation - The OMD B-Sides' ('The Romance Of The Telescope')

Mick Milk - 'Condensed' ('Point Of Purchase')

Gary Numan - 'Exhibition' ('Metal')

Tubeway Army - 'The Plan' ('That's Too Bad')

Sheila Chandra - 'Moonsung (A Real World Retrospective)' ('The Enchantment')

Siouxsie & The Banshees - 'Once Upon A Time - The Singles' + 'Twice Upon A Time - The Singles' ('Israel' / 'Kiss Them For Me')

Vector Lovers - 'Electrospective' (though it could have been even better with a slightly different track selection) ('Melodies & Memory')

[imp]

Best Of the Best Ofs

A Young Person's Guide To Mark McGuire

[Benjm]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Madonna's Immaculate Collection really is all that anyone needs to own by the kabbalah-tastic one.

[Tramp The Dirt Down]

Best Of the Best Ofs

The Hits & The B Sides - Prince
Back To Mono 1958 - 1969 - Phil Spector
Serendipity - John Martyn
Dedication - Thin Lizzy
Greatest Hits Vol 1 - Elton John
The Record - Bee Gees
Rock N Soul Vol 1 - Hall & Oates
Best of Vol 1 - Earth Wind & Fire

[linus]

Best Of the Best Ofs

The Smiths' best of is a bit unnecessary, since Hatful of Hollow already covers about 2/3 of their best material. You'd only need 3 or 4 songs from Meat is Murder and Queen is Dead to have everything good they did, but I guess a best of album might be more appealing to younger fans who have yet to discover them.

Stereolab's Refried Ectoplasm might be a good entry here, as is their "ABC" compilation.

Rolling stones' Hot Rocks.

Françoise Hardy's outstanding self-titled 1968 compilation (pictured), and the In Vogue triple-album comp.



The Monkeys, Then and Now.

[linus]

Best Of the Best Ofs

V/A compilations deserve their own thread, but The Nuggets should be near the top of that list.

[Sits]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Bored of Education wrote: Abba's greatest hits albums are obviously brilliant but the first ever one was essential listening for me as a child.

Yes! Although Gold is the CD now in our house (like many) the original Abba's Greatest Hits was my first ever album, a Christmas present, I imagine 1975. They hastily added Fernando on the end as it was a hit after the album came out:

Oh Agnetha, probably my first pop crush:

[Bored Of Education]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Madonna's Immaculate Collection really is all that anyone needs to own by the kabbalah-tastic one.

Indeed and the gap in quality between that and the second greatest hits is of Queen's Greatest Hits 1 and 2.

Dedication - Thin Lizzy

I was trying to think what the original one was called. I got that one of all Lizzy's and Lynott's stuff recently and it has finally thrown of the shackles of the image of that div from the Darkness.

[George]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Second Substance as the New Order one to own (salad-era 12'' win every time). The mid-nineties best of that was released doesn't compare well.

PopArt contains just about everything a casual fan of the Pet Shop Boys would want up to when it was released in 2003. Some prefer Discography though which contains all the 'Imperial Phase' singles and ends in late '91. It's all in chronological order as well.

Some of the tracks on The Immaculate Collection were mixed differently to the original releases and to be honest sound a bit shit (especially the rejigged Into The Groove).

[Disco Child Ballads]

Best Of the Best Ofs

20 Golden Greats by The Hollies. They were one of the great 60s British pop bands but were always better at singles rather than albums, so this Best of is probably their definitive work. The only glaring omission is 'King Midas in Reverse'.

[evilC]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Disco Child Ballads wrote: 20 Golden Greats by The Hollies.

That reminds me...

-

[Tramp The Dirt Down]

Best Of the Best Ofs

Also in the 20 Golden Greats Series on Capitol was Frank Sinatra - I bought this LP in 78 I think, specifically because I loved Strangers In The Night, only to find out the track wasn't on it because he recorded Strangers for the Reprise label.

I was a right gobshite when I was 16.