I know especially in music geek circles hits collections are much maligned and often for good reason., But sometimes they are just what you need for a variety of reasons, rare mixes, single versions, maybe the band simply didn't have much more good material than a few singles, maybe they were prone to albums with lots of filler or whatever other reasons. I'm sure ultimately, we all end up with a few hits collections that we find essential. I've got a few but I'll just start out with one...


The Jam: Snap!
This thing is a monster and is an essential part of the Jam catalog if for no other reason than it has about half a dozen or more songs that were only found on singles otherwise. So even if you buy up all the original albums, you still are stuck without a lot of great material with this band. Snap! goes far to fix this problem. Beyond that, it is a great listen straight through following the band chronologically which in this case creates a nice flow to the proceedings. You want either the reissued and remastered version with the entire 2 LP sert or the original vinyl though. Beware of Compact Snap, the original CD version that trimmed about 8 songs to fit on a single disc. This is the perfect introduction to a great band that even longtime fans can still enjoy and find very essential.

We're talking single-band/greatest hits collections only, or ANY compilations? Like box sets and stuff?

If it's greatest hits collections, THIS is one that I find pretty damn essential"

Not so sure about his albums, seeing as he came from the singles era of the early 60's. So, this is, I think, all that I really need from Fuller. But, DAMN what a collection of tunes!

My general response to all questions of this sort would be that I really don't give a fuck...talk about whatever, just a conversation/thread starter. Where it goes isn't up to me. I just threw out one example and feel free to go crazy. The multi-artist compilation idea opens thing up to a while bunch of stuff, box sets and not that I find pretty damn essential.

In that case, THE most-essential compilation that I have is probably this one:

3.5 of the 4 discs are stone-cold classics. The last half of the last disc gets a little shaky, but not shaky enough to make this thing anything less than essential.

And, you knew this one was coming:

Essential because it contains nothing but live recordings and songs that did not make their albums... and most of those tunes are really great. (IMO, of course.)

i listen to the beastie boys' the in sound from way out pretty regularly. it's a collection of their instrumental tracks packaged nicely together. i prefer that sort of gimmick over the standard single-artist compilation that could be any fan's go-to playlist.

Technically only the greatest hits from his pop era, but I still love this collection.

I guess the early era of rock 'n' roll lends itself to more stuff like this because of the singles nature of a lot of the output back then. Having said that, some of the proper albums by these two guys I consider to be essential as well.

Yes, he re-recorded great versions of most, if not all of these songs later on in his career. But these original, early, 78 rpm recordings are short, concise versions of his classics. They get to the point, hit it hard, and get out in 3:30 or less. No jamming, but it really puts the focus on these amazing compositions.
A great companion piece to his LPs, with the longer versions of the same tunes.

Always loved SNAP! -- one of the first CDs I ever bought.

This is probably the one greatest hits collection I listen to on a regular basis at the moment:



Maybe because the Hoodoo Gurus stuff I have is all on tapes somewhere. But Electric Soup a great collection nevertheless.

Painfully obvious but it's still beyond essential. Like, time capsule from the Planet Earth essential:

Early and demo versions of Martin Newell/Cleaners songs that aren't available anywhere else. I come back to it quite a bit.


Both albums collect rare and unheard cuts of deep soul from the tine "Sound of Birmingham" label. Some real lost gems here, including Frederick Knight doing an early version of a song that was to become a hit for him later on: "I've Been Lonely for So Long" (on vol. 2). I come back to these a LOT.


I know damn well that you've seen these in my NP pretty often. The first two are, to me, essential. The third one, not so much; but once you become a fan, you will want that last one. Country/soul of the highest order. A couple of these songs ("Harry Hippie", "Nikki Hokey", "36 Inches High" became much better known when done by other folks.)

temptations greatest hits
johnny cash at sun studios

I kinda agree, but I think that this one is more essential, actually:

More songs.
Broader time range. (Yes, that includes some crap, but also includes more of the early- mid-70s stuff... their best stuff, IMO.
Also, the remastering is excellent; bright, crisp, and clear. The sound of the thing just jumps.

I kinda prefer Hot Rocks in that there is less late-era crap and most of the 70s stuff not on there is the stuff I want to play full albums for anyway. I kind of consider Hot Rocks just a nice collection of the earlier stuff before pulling out albums for their 70s work and then ignoring them as the years pile up.

Also, Hot Rocks for whatever reason reminds me of this one:

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Chronicle
A band that I think translates really well to singles, especially considering how brief the albums all were anyway, barely going over EP length really. My only issue with this release is not having their version of Midnight Special on there.

there's no definitive compilation of zappa hits but i've always thought the family trust did their best with Strictly Commercial and Lost Episodes for such a prolific career.


also, just purchased this for nothing last week after hearing multiple tracks played on dylan's sirius show. great stuff

I dunno what is on the Singles album, but Gold is pretty much the cream.

Don't have a copy of Gold so I wasn't sure.

Here're the respective tracklists:

The Singles

Ring Ring 3:00
Waterloo 2:46
So Long 3:06
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do 3:15
SOS 3:22
Mamma Mia 3:32
Fernando 4:15
Dancing Queen 3:51
Money, Money, Money 3:05
Knowing Me, Knowing You 4:02
The Name Of The Game 4:53
Take A Chance On Me 4:05
Summer Night City 3:34
Chiquitita 5:26
Does Your Mother Know 3:13
Voulez-Vous 5:11
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 4:45
I Have A Dream 4:44
The Winner Takes It All 4:56
Super Trouper 4:13
One Of Us 3:55
The Day Before You Came 5:50
Under Attack 3:45


Gold

Dancing Queen 3:49
Knowing Me, Knowing You 4:01
Take A Chance On Me 4:01
Mamma Mia 3:32
Lay All Your Love On Me 4:32
Super Trouper 4:10
I Have A Dream 4:43
The Winner Takes It All 4:54
Money, Money, Money 3:05
S.O.S. 3:19
Chiquitita 5:26
Fernando 4:10
Voulez Vous 4:21
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) 4:46
Does Your Mother Know 3:14
One Of Us 3:53
The Name Of The Game 3:56
Thank You For The Music 3:51
Waterloo 2:42

Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks
Neil Young - Decade
Kinks - Kronikles

Are the trifecta of greatest hits albums for me. I've owned them since I was a little kid and worn them out. Hot Rocks is really great for some of the very early stuff.

Also like a lot:

Chuck Berry - The Great 28
Little Richard - Essential Little Richard
The Jam - Snap
The Beatles - Red Album
George Jones - The Spirit of Country
Merle Haggard - Down Every Road
Madness - Complete Madness
The Pogues - The Very Best of (I own all the studio albums but still listen to this the most)
The Supremes Box Set
Toots & The Maytals - Reggae Greats
The Undertones - The Very Best of
The Who - Meaty, Beaty, Big & Bouncy
XTC - The Compact XTC - Singles 1978 - 85 (I own all the studio albums but still grab for this a lot)
Pretenders - Singles

Multi-artist comps are a whole 'nuther category that have too many to list.

Those are four I really appreciate.

These days music is so easy to find - and the whole concept of the album seems to become more and more pointless - that I prefer to just make my own greatest hits comps. The only way there'll be a Stones comp that includes "Sway" and doesn't include "Angie" or "Midnight Rambler", for example, is if I make it myself. Just did ones in the last few days for the Fauves, Amy Winehouse, the Crybabys, and solo Michael Monroe.

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I like Radcliffe's concept of "make your own" in this day and age: We have the tools, let's use them. But growing up in Buttholeville, Greatest Hits collections of everyone from Miles Davis to Lynyrd Skynrd from the ol' Columbia House were a great way to at least get a taste.

I'm taping a penny to this post.

I really love a few late period Tom Petty albums, but all his best songs were on albums I don't love, so Tom Petty gets the best of treatment for me.

(i guess i consider nearly 20 years old "late period")

As good a primer as ever was.


For the longest time, this was all you could get...and it's swell.


See the notes on the DC-5


Off The Bone is probably a better comp, but the cover, man, the cover.


First Bowie vinyl little ol' me ever bought.

A few…

The Tragically Hip - Yer Favourites (Has some good alternate mixes of songs from Fully Completely, etc.)

XTC - Upsy Daisy Assortment (Ideally, I wouldn't need this since I have all of their albums, but the mixes of the Black Sea songs on here sound a little better to me than those that appear on the actual album. It does kind of suck that someone felt the need to fuck with the lyrics on this version of "Respectable Street". I'm not real sure of the story on that, but it seems like it was done to make it safer for radio.)

Townes Van Zandt - Anthology: 1968-1979 (This is all that I have by him. I might start looking into getting some of his full lengths.)

Rolling Stones - 40 Licks (This is the only thing I have by them that contains post-Tattoo You material.)