what's the most un-representative greatest hits or best of collection?

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don't look at me, i asked the question.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 23 April 2005 04:21 (twenty years ago)

That Nirvana best of was pretty shitty...

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Saturday, 23 April 2005 04:28 (twenty years ago)

There's a compilation called Killing Joke For Beginners that simply isn't.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 23 April 2005 05:48 (twenty years ago)

yeah that thing's totally for experts!

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 23 April 2005 05:52 (twenty years ago)

there's hasn't really been a new order comp (note: not box set) that satisfies me or 'get it right' (to my ears), even one's i've made for myself somehow

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 23 April 2005 05:53 (twenty years ago)

The first War greatest-hits comp was missing a few key tracks ("Cisco Kid" being the highest charter), inserting instead useless later-day tracks like "Living in the Red." Fortunately the 2-CD set from the end of the '90s covered all the important bases.

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Saturday, 23 April 2005 06:47 (twenty years ago)

The most common Springsteen best-of record has only about 4 tracks from before Born in the USA, and nothing from his first two albums.

― whenuweremine (whenuweremine), Saturday, 23 April 2005 07:28 (twenty years ago)

the u2 comps are ass too

― j blount (papa la bas), Saturday, 23 April 2005 07:45 (twenty years ago)

now this is a really really good question.

and the answer is 'the best of talking heads' :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002IQMKM/qid=1114246829/sr=8-1/ref=pd_ka_0/026-8298496-7398006

i could go to an early grave listing what's missing ;

no BORN UNDER PUNCHES
nothing off STOP MAKING SENSE
no DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT
no CROSSEYED AND PAINLESS
no SLIPPERY PEOPLE

etc.

― piscesboy, Saturday, 23 April 2005 08:09 (twenty years ago)

Joseph, that 'Best of War (and More)' was indeed slack, but there was a genuine 'Greatest Hits' in the '70s that came a lot closer to getting it right -- and offered the then-new "Summer."

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Saturday, 23 April 2005 08:23 (twenty years ago)

Any George Benson compilation.

― Dan I. (Dan I.), Saturday, 23 April 2005 09:17 (twenty years ago)

The old red 1962-1966 Beatles comp seemed to have ignored most of the more rocking numbers of that period. At least such was the rationale behind the release of the later comp Rock 'N' Roll Music.

― Ken L (Ken L), Saturday, 23 April 2005 11:47 (twenty years ago)

Making this a question of personal taste would be pointless. If it includes all the singles, then it is representative. Personally I would have liked to see a Stevie Wonder compilation replacing "Superstition" and "You Haven't Done Nothing" with some of his more melodic ballads, because I find them a lot better, but they weren't hits.

Generally, any "Best Of" released on a label where said act didn't record any of the most well-known material would fit in here though.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Saturday, 23 April 2005 11:52 (twenty years ago)

The worst ones are when the hits are re-recorded, years later.

― JoB (JoB), Saturday, 23 April 2005 13:23 (twenty years ago)

Shit. The answer is some rapper whose name I can't remember. It'll hit me later.

He only came out with one album. After that album, his label mysteriously released a greatest hits/best of album for him. AFTER ONLY ONE CD. The greatest hits was basically exactly the same as his first CD.

Actually, come to think of it, maybe that is the MOST representative greatest hits collection?

― Mickey (modestmickey), Saturday, 23 April 2005 14:02 (twenty years ago)

i was gonna say!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 23 April 2005 14:04 (twenty years ago)

Alex in NYC OTM re: Killing Joke.

Laugh? I Nearly Bought One was 10 times better a primer than For Beginners, and the former wasn't even necessarily meant as one.

― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 23 April 2005 14:08 (twenty years ago)

x-post: Cappadonna?

― JoB (JoB), Saturday, 23 April 2005 14:27 (twenty years ago)

I think the Elton John ones kind of suck. I guess they do the job when classified under greatest "hits," but I'd rather see something that includes songs like "Take Me To the Pilot" or anything off of Tumbleweed Connection as opposed to his shite from the 80's or his film soundtracks that are technically hits, but aren't very good songs.

― Roadkill Bingo (Roadkill Bingo), Saturday, 23 April 2005 14:34 (twenty years ago)

A lot of those Millenium Collection discs leave out key hits. I'm guessing that they want you to buy the artist's albums or "real" best-of.

Another thought is: what about artists who only appear to have best-of CDs?
I've seen at least three Sam & Dave best-of CDs, but I've NEVER seen a Sam & Dave album on CD.

― Tantrum The Cat (Tantrum The Cat), Saturday, 23 April 2005 14:38 (twenty years ago)

I don't think Cappadonna?

His name had two words in it. Shit.

― Mickey (modestmickey), Saturday, 23 April 2005 14:46 (twenty years ago)

The Very Best Of Prince, and the hits/bsides for that matter, leave out crucial songs and sequence them like shit, plus throw in a bunch of crappy early-90s tunes that are far from hits. This list would be a lot shorter if it was GOOD greatist hits comps.

― tonyD (noiseyrock), Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:01 (twenty years ago)

Although it serves its purpose as a then up to date singles collection, I've always thought that "Songs to Learn and Sing" does not do justice to the Bunnymen's greatness, particularly with respect to the first two albums.

― D. Bachyrycz, Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:09 (twenty years ago)

Without question for me it's Wire's On Returning. It's supposed to be a 1 disc sampler of their classic first three albums. Yet it leaves off Mannequin, Mercy, Map Reference, A Mutual Friend, and countless others. Yet it somehow contains all the really proggy songs from 154 like The Other Window. Great music obviously. But it's a lousy compilation.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:15 (twenty years ago)

The Smashing Pumpkins's greatest hits collection has their greatest hits........but they put out so many great songs from 1991-2000 that never saw the light of day let alone a proper release that most of their best songs put the actual "hits" to shame.

― PB, Saturday, 23 April 2005 15:20 (twenty years ago)

I'll second New Order and the Beatles' red album. The Best of Van Morrison also isn't.

― Burr (Burr), Saturday, 23 April 2005 16:54 (twenty years ago)

see truckstop/walmart cd racks

― a banana (alanbanana), Saturday, 23 April 2005 17:21 (twenty years ago)

x-post: John Prine re-recorded his some of his greatest hits on "Souvenirs" and I think it came out pretty good.

― earinfections (Nick Twisp), Saturday, 23 April 2005 17:31 (twenty years ago)

What's unrepresentative about the red album, given that it's limited by definition to the early period?

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Saturday, 23 April 2005 23:29 (twenty years ago)

Sorry, I was reading the newer stuff on the thread from the bottom up. That said, I think the motivation for the 'Rock and Roll Music' comp was $$$$$$$$.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Saturday, 23 April 2005 23:31 (twenty years ago)

The Mc5's "Babes in Arms" is really unrepresentative of their offically released output (in that it's mixed properly and rocks) and doesn't contain much of any live stuff -- which is really when they were at their best.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Sunday, 24 April 2005 09:15 (twenty years ago)

piscesboy, that Talking Heads best-of is at least better than the earlier Sand in the Vaseline, that one only had two songs from the first four albums!

― haitch (haitch), Sunday, 24 April 2005 10:31 (twenty years ago)

I don't think Cappadonna?

Cappadonna made two LPs before his "Best of" came out. Similarly funny is Arrested Development's "Greatest Hits", which came after two LPs as well; it has three or four tracks from their second LP, whereas all the rest (besides a couple of bonus mixes) are from their first.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Sunday, 24 April 2005 11:18 (twenty years ago)

but they put out so many great songs from 1991-2000 that never saw the light of day let alone a proper release that most of their best songs put the actual "hits" to shame.

Names, please!

― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Sunday, 24 April 2005 12:30 (twenty years ago)

Haitch, I think you're talking about the Once in a life Time best of released at the same time (in Europe, I think) as the 2-CD Sand in the Vaseline set. Sand In the Vaseline has 11 songs from the first four albums (and is pretty great overall).

― D. Bachyrycz, Sunday, 24 April 2005 17:12 (twenty years ago)

Yikes, the above is a botched post if I've seen one. Apologies to everyone!

― D. Bachyrycz, Sunday, 24 April 2005 23:07 (twenty years ago)

Oh - What about the Aimee Mann compilation that came out while she was trying to get off her label and get Bachelor No. 2 released? It was limited to handfuls of album tracks and one or two singles, IIRC, because the label that issued it (without Mann's consent) didn't have the rights to the rest ...

― Joseph McCombs (Joseph McCombs), Monday, 25 April 2005 00:57 (twenty years ago)

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