What is your opinion about 'greatest hits' albums -- and when are they enough?   Very broad topic, so please bear with me.  

In another thread, we touched on the fact that some albums boil down to very few truly noteworthy tracks / songs, resulting in disappointing albums on the whole.  Were you to download your favorite songs, very few would make the cut.  

Are there artists who consistently deliver albums that are uneven -- who would easily qualify for 'greatest hits' treatment?   You've evidenced the poor quality of individual albums, and the 'greatest hits' are the better option.   

On the flip side, there are albums that have deep tracks; the hits are just a part of what made the album great, and the deeper tracks are what you grew to appreciate and treasure.   No one who does not own the album would have access or even know the deeper tracks.  The album, as a whole, plays like a masterpiece as far as you're concerned.   Think Neil Young?

What bands, in your estimation, are sufficiently treated and appreciated with 'greatest hits' albums?   And conversely, what bands defy this album format?

Bands that have been around 30, 40, 50 years may have a few "must own" albums, but the rest might be meh or well servied by compilations.   Re: Rolling Stones?  "Exile on Main Street" and "Let it Bleed" are musts, but is "Forty Licks" enough for the rest?   Would you still want to own, or recommend other albums to a RS fan that owned very few of their albums?    

I don't want to name bands up front, as I'd prefer to hear your opinions, but please eliminate the Beatles, as that one is obvious.   :)   

Any thoughts?

The following is my opinion and subject to change.Some bands have albums that have deep cuts that are definitely worth having,like The Who "Who's next",but can also wrap up a collection of their hit songs from "lesser" albums and popular songs off their "hit" albums like they did with "Who's Better,Who's best".

As you said with the Stones,many of their albums stand out well by themselves,but "Hot Rocks" was a huge seller and still,a very popular album set to have.

Eric Clapton and musicians like him who play for several different bands that do a Greatest Hits album which contains songs from their various groups or solo projects,absolutely are justified too. 

Probably the key factor is the longevity of the band and volume of songs/albums they've had.A band like Boston had great sucess with a couple of their albums,but I'm not sure they warrant a "Greatest hits" compilation,even though they one. I don't own it and I don't think I know anyone else who does.

In most of my life I have mainly used Greatest hits LPs and CDs as a "sampler." If I know I like the "hits" , but am not sure I will like the full LPs, I use the G.H. to sample, If I end up playing it constantly...then it's time to start collecting the albums. Needless to say with a collection that could choke a dinosaur, there have been many I liked and liked alot.

Here are a few groups I can think of that I like , but never ventured forward to collect all the LPs. In some cases it has more to do with the size and expense it would entail to buy all the LPs:

Robert Palmer...I like many of his hits, but never can recall hearing about a full album that was a classic.

Steppenwolf...the songs I know are great. Most of their albums are very hard to find , I never got around to chasing them down, although I like every single track on the"16 greatest hits" so it probably would be worth it....don't have the time and money to spend on music like I once did though.

This one may surprise you...Queen: I know they are extremely good and extremely popular. But the "Classic Queen #1" and the "Classic Queen #2" have got all the songs I really like, and many that were new to me when I purchased these about 20 years ago.

ABBA...I actually really like this group. They had so many great hits. I own "best vol.#1 and best of vol. #2 ...I also own Voulez Vous...I can't remember which song it was that I really liked from this CD that was not on the hits packages.

Duran Duran....I have the hits CD plus one CD that came out after the hits package. This is really all the Duran Duran I really want. But, I do like many of the songs.

Greatest hits rock albums seem to be a thing of the past. There are some really good ones, but a lot of them are made up of one or two well known songs and filler. Not to many of today's bigger rock bands have them out. Radiohead, Decemberists, Pearl Jam, Shins, Coldplay(you know that is coming). Do they defy the compliation treatment no, but maybe the music industry today has changed(I-tunes etc) and fact that a lot of their music is not radio friendly. But on the flip side where there is money to be made Katy Perry, Swift, Country, the music industry will rush to make a greatest hits album. As soon as they have enough material to warrant it, they will shove it down our throats and tell us it's great.

Live albums are oft greatest hits, and I like live.

Deep Purple - Made in Japan

Rolling Stones - Get Yer Ya Ya's Out

CSN&Y - 4 Way Street

Yes - Yessongs

Tull - Bursting Out

Supertramp - Paris

Around the World with 3 Dog Night

Chicago at Carnegie Hall (FOUR albums and a 7 foot poster)

ELP - Weclcom Back My Friends . . .

All bascially temporal Greatest Hits records

In response to polar123's comment:

Interesting commentary re: the current industry and compilations.  It's hard to argue against the fact that the music industry is interested in one thing and that thing is making money.   The complaints about the albums of older bands is that the albums have lots of filler (old songs) on them, with just a smattering of new songs, so they seem like an utter waste of money (they are).   Recycle and pay again.   

And you're right,  it's more and more rare that anyone truly defies the compilation / greatest hits treatment  in terms of their full catalog of music, although I do not like to generalize.  There are some outstanding albums being produced now and in recent years that are sterling in quality and ones that I would insist on myself.  The only artist that comes to mind who completely defies compilation / greatest hits treatment: Loreena McKennitt.    I mean, who would dare?   Each album is a beautiful work of art, on every conceivable level.  :)

Could you have possibly started the thread, 'We're Only In It For The Money, Part 4?'

It seems this thread is heading in that direction.

Sure, every group that has any type of success will eventually put out a Greatest Hits package. The public demands it.

Hey, Greg....I like many Live albums too. I have tons of live Deep Purple, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead CDs as these were some of the greatest live acts of all time.

Back in the 70's and 80's every Hard Rock and Metal group seemed obligated to put out the Live album. One group I can think of that never did....Van Halen.

You can have a lot of fun now making up your own greatest hits compilations.  I decided I wanted to put together a Tangerine Dream compilation.  I already had a double CD package called 'Dream Sequence'.  Then yesterday I bought and downloaded a 4 CD compilation called 'The Virgin Years 1974-1978' for $16 off ITunes.  That's a good price for 3.5 hours of music. 

Like Greg, I tend to use live albums for this purpose, but that's also a function of the many live-oriented bands I listen to.  A Phish "GH" is pointless with so many quality performances - many of which are perfectly captured straight from the mixing board.  "A Live One" also serves as a good primer for the band (that, and "Slip, Stitch & Pass").

Tom Petty's "Greatest Hits" is a great survey of his career to that point ('92?), although Wildflowers, Full Moon Fever, and the Wilburys are must owns.  His early albums are good, but there is some filler, too. "Damn The Torpedoes" being the best of the lot, IMO.

The Smithereens are another band with good, not stellar albums, and that makes their best-of "Blown Up.." a very worthy sampling (although I eventually bought them all).

Add Red Hot Chili Peppers.  They could fill a double album easily though, given their long career.  "Blood Sugar Sex Magick" is the closest to a great album, but it's still a bit bloated.

One More: The Cars Anthology.  A double album with 40+ tracks, it kind of cheats by including nearly all of the classic first album, plus good chunks of the others and some great unreleased songs.

Bonus:  Chicago's Greatest Hits.  One of the best-selling comps ever, it has all the hits from their first four records, only in compact form.  I'm a little torn, because I'm such a fan of their first two LPs (and Live At Carnegie), but even those are challenging for the average listener. 

In response to GreginMeffa's comment:

Excellent suggestion re: turning to live albums for greatest hits.  Come to think of it, I bought Sarah McLachlan's "Mirrorball" (live), and I love it.   In fact, I have a number of her albums, and Mirrorball nonetheless captures some hits that I don't have on other albums.    But it's not enough; you have to own "Surfacing" as well, at the very least.   

Zilla has some great suggestions, too.  I've considered ABBA, but just never took the plunge to the 'greatest hits' but I'd put it on my radar.    I'd be hard pressed to go out at this point in time and to evaluate what albums to buy and their hits, by and large, are their signature.

Some of the compilations I have purchased recently are thanks to this forum, and I could not be happier with them.  To name a few:

The Scorpions ICON 2 - yet I still want to get the infamous "Lovedrive" album; just haven't gotten to it yet.

Jesus and Mary Chain, 21 Singles.   Perfect for me, eventhough there is a more comprehensive set, that would have been too overwhelming for me.  

The Jayhawks Anthology is also excellent, although I get the feeling I am missing out on some deep cuts from individual albums, but this serves as a sampler and has been a great intro-bestie album for me.  

I still prefer buying CD's to downloading songs, but I must say that downloading is a pretty handy option if you want to make your own customized anthology of an artist. 

In response to ZILLAGOD's comment:

"Live:Right here right now".

In response to GreginMeffa's comment: 

Good point on the live albums being a "beard" for a "Greatest hits"album.For some bands/artists,a live album is what really brought them into the limelight of popular music culture.Some examples:

Kiss - Alive

Peter Frampton- Frampton comes alive

Lynyrd Skynyrd - One more from the road

Bob Seger - Live Bullet

All pretty good bands who's live albums helped tremendously to turn them in to stadium headliners.

Queen put out 2 Greatest Hit's albums, they later released 2 Deep Cut's albums, album tracks picked by other recording artists. I have a number of greatest hits albums, I just pulled Billy Idol's GH out of my car and replaced it with Supertramp.  Best of's/Greatest Hits are a bargain for the buck - IMHO.

If we're talking live albums then the Allman Brothers 'Live at the Fillmore' has to be included.  As far as I'm concerned it's the greatest of them all.  There was so much material to work with it spilled over into 'Eat a Peach'.

I'm not a huge Clapton fan.  I don't think there's a single studio album of his that I like.  But some of the Live stuff is pretty good.  Liked that one from Japan, although they had Albert Lee mixed down way too much.  

+1 on that Skynyrd album.   If you only had one of theirs that's the one you need.  Ditto for the Seger album.  In fact when I get home I'm getting the urge to crank that one up, I haven't heard 'Nut Bush City Limits' in at least 10 years.

For me there aren't many where a greatest hit would suffice,  but  oddly Santana fits that category.  Love his work, I just don't get the urge to hear anymore than 'Abraxas'.  I'm missing on alot, but I really don't care and I'm not even sure why. 

Since I still continue to use my turntable and vinyl, the only greatest hits CD's I have purchased were those bands that I didn't want to replace the whole catalogue when CD's first came out.

I have purchased sevral Anthology box sets. You get a lot of first takes of songs.

In response to jesseyeric's comment:

In response to SlimPickensIII's comment:

I know you like Santana, b/c you've mentioned them many times, so your example is spot on, in terms of your opinoin.   

In essence, I was most curious about bands that have greatest hits albums in their catalog, that may be sufficient in some cases, but not so much in others.    If you were making recommendations to a  (new) fan, you'd be hard pressed to tell them all they needed were the greatest hits -- you'd tell them they simply cannot appreciate the band unless they *also* got hold of certain individual albums as well.   

It's always going to be, in part, a matter of how far back a listener / fan is willing to go to purchase older music, and if it's worth it.    

There are simply some albums that are works of art and regardless of the catalog of hits that would make it to a greatest hits compilation, missing out on particular albums would leave an irreplaceable void.   

In response to Hfxsoxnut's comment:

Definitely a separate thread.   It's a different psychology at play since the advent of the box sets, that include DVDs and all manner of marketing.   Hard to know if they appeal to the fan who already has every album -- or newer fans who own nothing.   

As we've discussed, re-mastering can sometimes be a bummer, and not a blessing, depending on the band and the original recording quality that may have felt more authentic.  

In response to MattyScornD's comment:

I have taken out my TP Greatest Hits album many times because of the forum's influence, and it remains one of my favorite compilations.  I don't think there's even one song that I don't like, and there are many that I love.   It's served me well.   Yet, I have no idea if there are deeper cuts in some of the individual albums, as I know nothing about them.   I also own "Wildflowers" , which I've also taken out b/c of the forum; I got it as a fluke and it's one of my best flukes.  

Now the Cars is an interesting prospect, and would probably be more than sufficient for a casual listener like me.   

I don't know why I resisted GH compilations in the past; my eyes have been opened.  

In response to yogafriend's comment:

It's hard for me to address the question this thread poses because I can't really be objective about music. I can see The Cars being a good one for a best of because I only really liked their first two albums. They had some  good songs after that but I lost interest in them for the most part. But maybe bigger fans would say you have to have all the albums. It's a tricky question for me. I differ from many who post here in that I really don't care if I have any Rolling Stone albums. Best ofs/box sets satisfies me for them. So there you go. It's waaaay too subjective.

I'm rather like Greg on this one. I don't really go for 'greatest hits' complilations; I rather either get into an artist or I don't. If I'm into an artist, I'm generally really into them and end up getting everything they've produced, or close.

But, I absolutely love live recordings. Hence, I have just about every Doors concert that's been put out (I have less toleration for bootlegs with bad sound quality). I have links to youtube bootlegs in my bookmarks, etc.

And live music, for obvious reasons, often contains some of the greatest hits. And also, some more obscure ones and/or covers that don't appear on albums.

I love live albums. It gives you a chance to hear the band in concert -- especially older bands -- that you might not have had the chance to see or did see and it brings you back to the concert. And it gives you the chance to have many of a bands top songs together. You can get that grouping w/o a regular greatest hits albums, so if you have the other albums you don't have repetitive songs.

As for greatest hits albums, they serve two purposes for me:

1. I used to get them when there was a band that I started to like that already had a a bunch of albums and there were already a lot of songs I liked. It gave me the chance to get a bunch of songs I already like w/o having to buy the individual albums they're from all at once. In those cases, I'll get the greatest hits album first then go back and buy individual albums to get deeper knowledge of the group. The Moody Blues and The Beatles are two groups that fit this scenario. I bought their greatest hits double albums -- This is the Moody Blues and both the red and blue greatest hits albums from The Beatles -- first then went back and eventually got all their regular albums.

2. There are some groups or performers now and then that have a bunch of songs that I like but beyond that I don't really have the urge to go beyond those songs. ABBA and Springsteen fit this bill. Yes Springsteen. While I like his hits, I really haven't cared for the other songs when I've heard them on friend's albums and really never had an interest in going deeper into his stuff.

And to add: Greatest hits albums are great when they're boxed sets that have alternate versions.

Usually the only Box sets I went for are the ones that give you a good amount of "unreleased" material.

Neil Young may have been the first artist to release what we have come to refer to as the "Box set" when he released "Decade" his Greatest Hits triple LP. I would never have bought this as I have been a Neil Young devotee since the early 70's and have everything he's ever done ( at least up to very recently as Young is so prolific if you blink your eyes you will not know he has released yet another album). I bought Decade upon it's release because of this devotion. There were no less than 6 non album , unreleased tracks, including one from Buffalo Springfield days. I absolutely had to have this, and forked over my money to get those 6 songs.

Also David Bowie's 'Sound and Vision' Boxset was a must even though I would eventually own everything by Bowie once Rykodisc released all his original LPs on CD with bonus tracks. But, the Sound and Vision Boxset offered a lot of unreleased stuff that I could not live without. Needless to say I am also a Bowie devotee.

In response to devildavid's comment:

@DD,

If you check my OP, I asked for opinions.   Therefore, subjectivity goes with the territory.  :)

I have an example for you, since you and I both like Alison Krauss.   For me, as much as I adore her, there's lots of filler on many her albums.  I don't care for the Cox Family albums very much, nor do I like the songs that members of Union Station sing on the AK / Union Station albums.  How about you?   You like them, right?  

Thanks to this thread, I just looked to see if Krauss had a "bests" album; far better, there's a live album, that I never knew existed, and it looks fantastic -- b/c, per the recommendations in this thread, it indeed reads like a "bests" sampler.   And it's two discs.  :)   On my radar for a future purchase, and perfect for me.     What do you think?   Do you own that one, or does it interest you?  Do you feel the same way about the filler on her albums, or do you like the depth in all of them?