Undeserving "Greatest Hits" compilations?

[Bel-Cam Jos]

I was in the store that sells music (no, not a file sharing or downloading site, an actual store store ) and noticed some dumb choices for top singles or greatest hits CDs. Britney Spears? The Gin Blossoms? Not around long enough or not producing songs anymore and they have collections?

It took until last year for Matchbox Twenty to make one, and no such product for Incubus. I'm still waiting for Level 42 and Wang Chung.

Now, I know I could make my own, even including less famous songs myself, but there's something about buying a set that the artist has created or compiled that makes it better to me. Who determines which artist is worthy of a Greatest Hits CD?

[Rocketboy]

Vanilla Ice has/had a greatest hits album. Oh yes.

[jjreason]

God, talk about inappropriate - Bob Marley, The Doors and the Rolling Stones ALL have greatest hits albums! Can you believe that?

[Mr. JabbaJohnL]

Queen apparently enjoys having 87 different greatest hits CDs and selling them all at Target alongside no other material.

[JON9000]

THE EAGLES

"Hotel California" is basically a greatest hits album, yet we have several GH collections from them.

Incidentally, the song "Hotel California" is the only good song the Eagles ever did. Really, other than that, their music is bat-turds. The lyrics are impossibly trite.

Britney had a crap-load of hits and has been around for nearly ten years. I have no problem with a greatest hits album from her, though I don't really like her music.

I think we'll see less of this stuff. It seems as though the "marketing powers that be" are more into releasing "special editions" of major albums rather than cobbling together "hits" collections these days.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

THE EAGLES

"Hotel California" is basically a greatest hits album, yet we have several GH collections from them.

Incidentally, the song "Hotel California" is the only good song the Eagles ever did. Really, other than that, their music is bat-turds. The lyrics are impossibly trite.

Their first greatest hits album is the best selling album of all time in the US, and it doesn't even have "Hotel California", as it is their greatest hits from 1971-1975.

The track listing with how they ranked in the Billboard Top 40

1. Take It Easy (#12)
2. Witchy Woman (#9)
3. Lyin' Eyes (#2)
4. Already Gone (#32)
5. Desperado
6. One of These Nights (#1)
7. Tequila Sunrise (#64)
8. Take It to the Limit (#4)
9. Peaceful Easy Feeling (#22)
10. Best of My Love (#1)

[JediTricks]

Why is it that there's a ton of Ramones greatest hits, and nearly all of them are ineptly put together? The Ramones were awesome, but they have 8 f'ing Greatest Hits albums even though their original catalog is only 14 albums and less than 40 singles.

[Mad Slanted Powers]

Why is it that there's a ton of Ramones greatest hits, and nearly all of them are ineptly put together? The Ramones were awesome, but they have 8 f'ing Greatest Hits albums even though their original catalog is only 14 albums and less than 40 singles.

I've considered getting the anthology. It should have just about everything you'd want. I just didn't want to pay that much when I wasn't sure how long it would hold my interest beyond the few songs that I know.

[DarthQuack]

Does a best of count, like for Kriss Kross?

[El Chuxter]

Y'know what bugs me?

For the longest time, Greatest Hits albums had two new songs. Which was bad for people who had all the other albums.

So I figured that iTunes and other services that allow one to download individual songs would take care of this.

I have Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory Book 1 by Michael Jackson. I have the two-disc anthology by the Jackson 5. I have Control, Rhythm Nation 1814, and janet by Janet Jackson. So I figure I'm going to get all the odds and ends from the Jackson family that I don't have; by my reckoning, two discs.

The Jacksons stuff is no problem. The Michael stuff prior to Thriller is no problem. Jermaine is no problem. I even find "Somebody's Watching Me" by Rockwell and Michael Jackson, as well as "We Are the World" quite easily.

So my next stop: the two new songs from Janet's Design of a Decade. Good songs, but the compilation only covers the three Janet albums I have, so I never got it.

They're only available if I buy the whole album digitally, which is actually more than it would cost to get the CD if I wait for a BMG sale.

Then I look at the Michael boxed set. A lot of really cool rarities that could actually be worth having, like the Captain EO music and his song from the old ET read-along album.

All of it available only if I buy the whole damned boxed set, 3/4 of which I already have. Which is $35--the same price as the physical boxed set, which comes with a DVD.

It's insane. Here, I'm actually looking to purchase stuff legally. And I can't. It's back to the old days where a friend buys the greatest hits and you borrow it and tape the new songs.