History Main / GreatestHitsAlbum

* TheCorrs have ''three''. The first released in 2001, made up of the best songs from their first 3 albums, then 2 more after their last album was released, with the 3rd and final album not even charting.

** Universal had the ''20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection'' series around the beginning of the 2000's, which were budget greatest hits albums of the artist's big hits packaged in with an essay-style biography by a music critic. This series was largely replaced by the more career-spanning 2-disc ''Gold'' series, to compete with ''The Essential''. They've also launched a second Greatest Hits line, ''Icons'' which is a one disc budget compilation like the ''20th Century Masters'', which they've [[WallBanger just started to reintroduce the market]].

** Universal had the ''20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection'' series around the beginning of the 2000's, which were budget greatest hits albums of the artist's big hits packaged in with an essay-style biography by a music critic. This series was largely replaced by the more career-spanning 2-disc ''Gold'' series, to compete with ''The Essential''. They've also launched a second Greatest Hits line, ''Icons'' which is a one disc budget compilation like the ''20th Century Masters'' series they phased out 6 years ago.

** Universal had the ''20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection'' series around the beginning of the 2000's, which were budget greatest hits albums of the artist's big hits packaged in with an essay-style biography by a music critic. This series was largely replaced by the more career-spanning 2-disc ''Gold'' series, to compete with ''The Essential''. They've also launched a second Greatest Hits line, ''Icons'' which is a one disc budget compilation like ''20th Century Masters'' series they phased out 6 years ago.

* TheBeatles had several: first the Red (1962-1966) and Blue (1967-1970) albums, then ''20 Greatest Hits'' (which never made CD), the singles-only ''Past Masters'' (re-released with the 2009 remastered albums), and finally 2000's ''1'', the best selling album of [[UsefulNotes/TheOughts The Naughties]], which batted 1.000 because every song on it had hit #1 on either the British or the American charts.

* TheBeatles had several: first the Red (1962-1966) and Blue (1967-1970) albums, then ''20 Greatest Hits'' (which never made CD), the singles-only ''Past Masters'' (re-released with the 2009 remastered albums), and finally 2000's ''1'', the best selling album of [[UsefulNotes TheOughts The Naughties]], which batted 1.000 because every song on it had hit #1 on either the British or the American charts.

* TheBeatles had several: first the Red (1962-1966) and Blue (1967-1970) albums, then ''20 Greatest Hits'' (which never made CD), the singles-only ''Past Masters'' (re-released with the 2009 remastered albums), and finally 2000's ''1'', the best selling album of TheAughties, which batted 1.000 because every song on it had hit #1 on either the British or the American charts.

* TheBeatles had several: first the Red (1962-1966) and Blue (1967-1970) albums, then ''20 Greatest Hits'' (which never made CD), the singles-only ''Past Masters'' (re-released with the 2009 remastered albums), and finally 2000's ''1'', the best selling album of TheNaughties, which batted 1.000 because every song on it had hit #1 on either the British or the American charts.

* TheBeatles had several: first the Red (1962-1966) and Blue (1967-1970) albums, then ''20 Greatest Hits'' (which never made CD), the singles-only ''Past Masters'' (re-released with the 2009 remastered albums), and finally ''1'', which batted 1.000 because every song on it had hit #1 on either the British or the American charts.

* A particularly {{egregious}} example: When Garth Brooks assumed the alter ego of Chris Gaines, his first album under the Chris Gaines pseudonym was entitled "Greatest Hits". The whole album acted as if Gaines was already an established singer with several pop hits under his belt, even listing a fake backstory and chart positions in the liner notes.

* RebaMcEntire, one of the greatest stars in CountryMusic history, has released three conventional "Greatest Hits" albums and a three-disc showstopper entitled ''Reba: 50 Greatest Hits''. And that's just for starters. She's also released CDs containing only her #1 singles, and then there was the mandatory "Millennium Collection." This is fully justified, as she has had no less than '''eighty''' Top 40 singles during her career, ''thirty'' of which peaked at #1.

* [[Yes]] have 7 "official" greatest hits albums, many of them dedicated to a specific stint on a label. Three or four of them are double-disc comilations, some of which are repackagings. Many of them were released after their last studio album, 2000's ''Magnification'', by Rhino Records, who owns their Atlantic Records recordings. That's not to count the boxed sets and "friends of Yes" best -ofs, or the unofficial collections.

* PinkFloyd have four: ''Relics'' (a 1971 collection of early material and the only one that fans actually like), ''A Collection of Great Dance Songs'' (a 1981 collection which only included six songs, two of them re-recorded; even the band hates it), ''Works'' (a 1982 collection featuring Pink Floyd songs from no later than 1973) and ''Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd'' (a 2001 2-disc collection which did very well, even though die hard fans were upset about the editing of some songs for time constraint).

** ''[=HIStory=] - Past, Present and Future Book I'' (1995) drew some criticism for the way it was compiled. The album contained two discs, one consisting of a greatest hits album and a second consisting of all new material. This irked many people who wanted one but not both; the casual fans just wanted the hits and didn't care about the new material, while the hardcore fans already owned all the hits and just wanted the new stuff. The hits disc would eventually be reissued as a separate album by itself, but people who want the other tracks still have to buy the full two-disc set. It's worth noting that Sony and Jackson's original plan was just to bring out a greatest hits set, but after the first round of child molestation allegations against him he came up with a ton of new material.

* Sony Music's ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Essential The Essential]]'' series, which usually uses 2 disks (MichaelJackson and BruceSpringsteen each had limited editions with three) to make the moniker worthy. There are those that still fall short, though (IronMaiden's had only two songs from each of their 13 albums; comprehensive, but still has many absences).

** John Lennon released one greatest hits album while he was alive, ''Shaved Fish''. That one was infamous for having short versions of songs that never charted. A fair percentage of his post-mortem releases are also greatest hits albums. "The John Lennon Collection" was a bit strange because half the songs on it were from ''Double Fantasy,'' and most of John's half of ''Double Fantasy'' was on that album.
** Paul [=McCartney=] has several. There is "Wings Greatest Hits," released 1978. There is ''All The Best!'' released 1988; there are significant differences between the British and American versions of that album, as Paul has different hits in each country. (The British version also had a few new songs; the American version didn't, but the hit ratio was high.) In 2001, Paul released ''Wingspan,'' which was half a greatest-hits album [[Music/{{Wings}} from 1970 to 1985]] and half "history" (some of which also charted decently). It cost no more than a normal single CD, but Capitol Records had flooded the market with ''All The Best!'' [=CDs=] immediately prior), so it wasn't fully appreciated.

* Despite the fact they never actually had a hit song, The Velvet Underground have two of these. [[http://www.amazon.com/Best-Velvet-Underground-Words-Music/dp/B000001FR9/ref=sr_1_27?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1231629458&sr=1-27 One]] is considered generally inferior due to picking almost all of their most conventional songs; [[http://www.amazon.com/20th-Century-Masters-Millennium-Underground/dp/B00004YX3S/ref=pd_sim_m_16 the second]] was more well-received.

* Jefferson Airplane called their first best-of release ''The Worst of Jefferson Airplane''.

** John Lennon released one greatest hits album while he was alive, "Shaved Fish." That one was infamous for having short versions of songs that never charted. A fair percentage of his post-mortem releases are also greatest hits albums. "The John Lennon Collection" was a bit strange because half the songs on it were from ''Double Fantasy,'' and most of John's half of ''Double Fantasy'' was on that album.
** Paul [=McCartney=] has several. There is "Wings Greatest Hits," released 1978. There is ''All The Best!'' released 1988; there are significant differences between the British and American versions of that album, as Paul has different hits in each country. (The British version also had a few new songs; the American version didn't, but the hit ratio was high.) In 2001, Paul released ''Wingspan,'' which was half a greatest-hits album from 1970 to 1985 and half "history" (some of which also charted decently). It cost no more than a normal single CD, but Capitol Records had flooded the market with ''All The Best!'' [=CDs=] immediately prior), so it wasn't fully appreciated.

* {{Aerosmith}} has released ''nine'' so far. Two were released by the records after the band was out (Columbia's ''Gems'' and Geffen's ''Young Lust'').

**''25'' (2009) tied into the company's ''25th'' anniversary and featured a fresh tracklist over two [=CD=]s. With the exceptions of ''Pomp Duck and Circumstance'' (which Cirque only co-produced, rather than created in-house) and the [[Main/TheBeatles unique case]] of ''[=LOVE=]'', every live show through ''[=OVO=]'' was represented, even those that that didn't yet have soundtrack albums (''CrissAngelBelieve'', ''[=ZED=]'', and ''[=OVO=]''). The earliest shows' songs hadn't appeared on [=CD=] until this album. Even the mostly-forgotten dramatic film based on ''Alegria'' was represented with the remake of the title song that only appeared on its soundtrack album, making it the only song that appeared on all three compilations in some way -- but then, it ''is'' Cirque's SignatureSong.

*CirqueDuSoleil has released three such albums so far: ''Cirque du Soleil Collection'' (1996, covering ''Le Cirque Reinvente'' through ''Alegria''), ''Le Best of...'' (2004, update of previous album that only featured tunes from shows currently running at the time), and ''25'' (2009). As ''25'' was a tie in to the company's 25th anniversary, the last included tracks from shows that didn't yet have soundtrack albums (''Criss Angel - Believe'', ''[=ZED=]'', ''[=OVO=]'') so every Cirque show up to that point (save for the [[Main/TheBeatles unique case]] of ''[=LOVE=]'') could be represented, as well as some early work that hadn't been released on CD.

Artists are of mixed feelings about these albums as well. Many artists resist releasing one for fear that once they do, their regular albums will begin to be ignored. Yet they are viewed as a necessary evil, as these provide an easy starting point for fans who are curious about a particular artist's work. Musicians and bands don't always get to decide when to release a greatest-hits album. If an artist is leaving the label and does not own his own back catalog, and if he is successful at all, the label ''will'' release a greatest-hits album ? sometimes explicitly against the artist's wishes.

Sometimes the "Best of" title is used instead. This often reflects a less concentrated focus on chart hits ? sometimes for legitimate reasons (e.g., album-oriented artists, influential artists with less commercial success or simply those whose career may not be best reflected solely by singles). Or it could be a poor excuse to cover up a lack of genuine hits. Sometimes neither title is used (e.g., DireStraits' compilation, "Money for Nothing").

* ''The Best of Young MC'' is notable for basically being his first album, with a different title, and three fewer songs?in other words, Young MC ran out of creativity 10/13 of the way through his first album, but it was deemed a greatest hits album was neccesary.

*CirqueDuSoleil has released three such albums so far: ''Cirque du Soleil Collection'' (1996, covering ''Le Cirque Reinvente'' through ''Alegria''), ''Le Best of...'' (2004, update of previous album that only featured tunes from shows currently running at the time), and ''25'' (2009). As ''25'' was a tie in to the company's 25th anniversary, the last included tracks from shows that didn't yet have soundtrack albums (''Criss Angel -- Believe'', ''[=ZED=]'', ''[=OVO=]'') so every Cirque show up to that point (save for the [[Main/TheBeatles unique case]] of ''[=LOVE=]'') could be represented, as well as some early work that hadn't been released on CD.

* JeanMichelJarre had a whole number of these: ''The Essential'' (7" versions from 1976 to 1985), ''Musik aus Zeit und Raum'' (pretty much ditto), ''Images ? The Best Of Jean Michel Jarre'' (partly edited, partly re-recorded, partly remixed live versions from 1976 to 1990 + a few unreleased tracks), ''The Essential Jean Michel Jarre'' (1976 to 2000 including some not really Greatest Hits, not released by Jarre himself but by Francis Dreyfus), ''Aero'' (mostly re-recorded material from 1976 to 1997 + a few new tracks).