The Best Compilations EVER!

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So what are the best ever multi-artist compilation albums?

I'm proposing: "Doing it for the Kids", the Creation comp that had tonnes of cool late '80s indie bands for the price of a single. Still very pleasant in retrospect.

#8 of Volume, the CD compilation that fits up your arse. This is from when Volume had both bleepy and guitary music nuzzling up to each other on the one disc. What as great about this one in particular was the way the tracks all blended into each other to form a coherent whole.

The Rough Trade Boxed Set - OK, at four discs you're kind of stretching the concept of the compilation album, but we make exceptions for things this good. Lots of varied musics, mmmm mmmm.

I'm sure there are more.

― TheDirtyVicar, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Darla comps are a quarterly treat, the Spin Art comp with the top logo on it. The Fat Music comps are pretty good on the whole.

― JM, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Here and Now '91 captures the Halifax pop explosion in its first wave pretty well (a to a lesser extent the live Cod Can't Hear the year after) including the crappy bands that people tolerated cause they were poppy, so overall its defently not best.

Otherwise What's Up Matador was pretty good too.

― Mr Noodles, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Atomium 3003: Cool cool cool European clubpop from Dauerfisch, Eggstone, Club 8, Bertrand Burgalat, Le Mans, Arling & Cameron, Komeda, and and and just loads. This is probably one of my favourite albums ever.

Casablanca: Cool cool cool European foppop from Divine Comedy, Momus, Jack, Formula One, Future Bible Heroes, Stereototal, Le Mans, Dob and and and just loads. This is probably one of my favourite albums ever.

Special Skool, The Best Of Invicta Hi-Fi: Cool cool cool European swishpop from Baxendale, Ladytron, DHK, Vada, Hayley's Cake, Chevette doing Old Pulp Song "We Can Dance Again", Collette doing sweet J-pop version of You're In A Bad Way. This is probably one of my favourite albums ever.

Any El Records compilations are always well worth getting. Same goes for the Songs For The Jet Set series and the Algebra Spaghetti/Simultaneous Ice Cream compilations.

― jamesmichaelward, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

If we're doing box sets, I vote for Atlantic Rhythm & Blues 1947- 1974. Very diverse range of artists, covers just about every trend in soul, the time frame is perfect.

― Mark, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

'What? Stuff', w/ Germs, Dils etc
The 'Capitol Country Classics' series, because it's got so much sheer corn on it
'Maximum Wage' (Bureau of Dissonant Culture Records), because I'm on it
Anything from the 70s with the words 'Axe', 'Killers', or 'Rock' and has fourth-rate hacks on it like Nutz, Gillan, Head East, or Moxy(or ANY Canadian band) along with poorly-recorded live Ted Nugent and Sammy Hagar tracks. Must be vinyl and have at least 17 songs per side for maximum shit sound quality.

― dave q, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

since I assume boxes are out of the question, some one-discers:

The Harder They Come--still the best reggae comp ever (single- disc division)
The Indestructible Beat of Soweto
Land of 1000 Dances (Ace)--killer collection of early '60s dance records
Roots of Jazz Funk vols 1 & 2 (MVP)--Coltrane, Hancock, Blakey, etc.
Township Jazz 'n' Jive (Music Club)
Greatest Rap Hits Vol. 2 (Sugarhill 1981)--"That's the Joint," "Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel," more more more
Kurtis Blow Presents the History of Rap Vol. 1 (Rhino)--killer collection of breakbeat classics, e.g. "Apache," "Hum Along and Dance," "Theme from S.W.A.T."
Risque Rhythm: Nasty '50s R&B (Rhino)
both vols. of Soundbombing
Best of Techno Vol. 3 (Profile 1993)
Amp 1 & 2 (Astralwerks)
Wanna Buy a Bridge? (Rough Trade 1980)
more to come....

― M. Matos, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i *heart* lists and will have one later.

but, just one question for the vicar: do dj mix cd's count?

― jess, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

either way "Strange Games and Funky Things III". there's a mix CD and 3 unmixed CDs with all the songs on em all picked out and mixed by Kenny Dope. Johnny Guitar Watson, Parliament, "Mechanical Man", MFSB, Herbie Hancock, Barry White etc etc. Lordy.

― Tracer Hand, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I'll second the What's Up Matador? comp BUT the video comp is better.

― JM, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Totally forgot Rebirth of Cool Phive, Portishead remixing Karmacoma, Tricky sampling Portishead on Hell Is Round The Corner, MC Solar samplng Luna and all sorts a wonderfullness from Paul Weller, Bomb The Bass (rapping about Mug Wump jism), more Portishead and Method Man.

― Mr Noodles, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The Dirty Vicar says: DJs mix CDs count *if they're any good*.

― The Dirty Vicar, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Vol. 1 of Rhino's 'Jazz-Fusion', both volumes of Soundbombing and maybe Lyricist Lounge vol. 1.

― Jordan, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I should have mentioned the Poptics compilation too because it comes in the coolest little case ever and you get a nice book with it too. Like, the music's really good too...

― jamesmichaelward, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Showa 64 on Disorient Records is brilliant... Ryuichi Sakamoto, Dj Crush, Pizzicato 5, Cornelius, lots of others. It's a Shibuya thing; Momus'd love it.

― turner, Tuesday, 2 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

RRRecords and their vinyl compilation of 500 locked grooves. Surprisingly good!

― Kodanshi, Wednesday, 3 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Hmmm... for its lifechanging effect on my life, I would have to submit "Temple Cloud", a Sarah Records compilation that changed my outlook on indie music completely. I'd second "Doing it for the kids", even though musically it's got a few pants moments on it (and can I re-iterate something - has anyone anywhere got "Inference" by Pacific on CD?) and both "It's different for domeheads" and "Purveyors of taste" are better Creation samplers. Hmm, any of the Virgin Ambient compilations...

― Rob M, Wednesday, 3 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

yeah i've got some purple/pink sarah records thing from the 80s too. my first intro to the Field Mice I think. Then yes there's the Creation sampler mentioned (I guess the spin of "Alan McGee -- traitor and always was" thread's been done).

Everyone bangs on about c86 (or they did) but what about the "Indie City" double tape that came out in 87/88 -- I still dig that out now and then. (it's the one with 2000AD style artwork featuring Noddy on a skateboard)

Meanwhile nearer the present, the Rough Trade anniversary thing that came out was excellent value with plenty of quality stuff on it.

― Alan Trewartha, Wednesday, 3 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

oh and the geek in me would say the Spaced Series 1 soundtrack album

― Alan Trewartha, Wednesday, 3 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I've been diggin on the new Tiger Beat 6 compilation. They bring the fun into the clicks and cuts genre. Cex bustin out furcoat is funny as can be, and Fossil's "kick'SC" is hillarious.

― Brock Kappers, Thursday, 4 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i'm not convinced by the tigerbeat6 compilation. but, as you say, the cex track is good.

― gareth, Thursday, 4 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I love those Indie City tapes too. Sadly my tape deck will no longer play them. One of the things that made me love the Rough Trade Boxed Set was getting back loads of the classics from Indie City - 'There Goes Concord Again' especially. I am a bit disappointed that it didn't have 'I'm in love with the girl from the Virgin Megastore Check Out Desk', but you can't have everything.

― DV, Thursday, 4 October 2001 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

sixteen years pass...

I know there are prob a zillion threads about this, but I wasn't sure which to choose.

The Quietus has posted a fascinating list from across lots of styles, times, places. Not as much in the spirit of figuring out the best one, but in the interest of discovering new ones, I thought I'd share and revive this thread.

http://thequietus.com/articles/24193-top-40-best-compilation-albums-of-all-time

― Federico Boswarlos, Wednesday, 14 March 2018 14:06 (seven years ago)

two years pass...

Good list, that.

Bumping this thread rather than starting a new one, here are some of my own faves . . .

Kenny Dope Presents Brazilika – this is a really good 70-minute set of Brazilian tunes from the 1970s and 1980s, compiled by one half of Masters At Work

Samba Soul 70 – more of the same, but even more funky

Tom Middleton's Sound Of The Cosmos – this came out in 2003 and is a three-CD set, one disc is breakbeat house, one is deep house and one is ambient. There's not a single duff track on there

Atlantic Jazz Flutes – Ian Penman of all people alerted me to this one on Twitter, 12 tracks by six artists (two each), the names include Rahsaan Kirk, Yusef Lateef, Herbie Mann and Hubert Laws

Italian Dream House: Welcome To Paradise – this was released in 2017, a clutch of obscure but brilliant Italo house tracks from the late 1980s and early 1990s

Drum & Bass Selection 4 – there were five of these compilations in total and this one was the best, 25 years on it still absolutely slaps from start to finish

― does it look like i'm here (jon123), Tuesday, 2 June 2020 20:59 (four years ago)

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