Where a greatest hits album is enough

[Jockice]

Since it seems to be Boy George night on BBC4, can I suggest Culture Club? Everything I own (and ever have owned) by them/him is a best of compilation, which has all the tracks you'd expect from the band and a few other tracks from later on.

Actually that's not strictly true. I did have the Time (Clock Of The Heart) single. Can't remember buying it though, so I must have borrowed it off someone and not given it back

[willbo]

maybe an angry fan will take me to task for this, but Super Furry Animals. I've always found their singles awesome and the album tracks b-side ish and forgettable. Maybe Sleeper too, I think I'd have been happy with a single EP of the singles from their first 2 albums, awesome as those songs are.

[DrGreggles]

maybe an angry fan will take me to task for this, but Super Furry Animals. I've always found their singles awesome and the album tracks b-side ish and forgettable.

Not at all. You're perfectly entitled to your batshit crazy opinion.

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Think I'd take a well chosen SFA bsides comp over their singles or any album except mwng. I liked it when they loosened up and they could be funny without being silly. They had good singles but they seemed under pressure to release only the catchiest songs, so their greatests hits and singles disk are a bit too fluffy to be representative.

[jobotic]

This is the entirety of my Field Mice collection.

I presume I'm not missing anything vital?

https://www.discogs.com/The-Field-Mice-Whered-You-Learn-To-Kiss-That-Way/release/551978

[Brundle-Fly]

Not actually marketed as a 'best of' but my Brother in law, who was totally lacking in Beatle knowledge, bought the 'Red' and 'Blue' Beatles albums, and after that, became a self made 'expert' on all things Fab-related! It freaked me when he ever played them, as when one track finished, I found I was mentally expecting to hear 'the NEXT track' from the original album.

I had a similar experience with an old manager. He was an 'expert' on his favourite band The Beach Boys, purely by dint of owning 'Summer Dreams' the 28 track strong compilation that had come out that year in 1990. Conversely, I had only started to explore beyond the BB hits roughly around this time myself; discovering the majesty of Pet Sounds before it was the LP on the top of all the rock snob lists, and hoovering up all those twofer CD albums.

I once played 'Smiley Smile' at work and he walked into the kitchen halfway through the album playing and decreed, "Whoever this is, they're shit! Let's put some proper music on! A little band from California called The Beach Boys?"

[sutin]

This is the entirety of my Field Mice collection.

I presume I'm not missing anything vital?

https://www.discogs.com/The-Field-Mice-Whered-You-Learn-To-Kiss-That-Way/release/551978

Well, that comp seemed to have most of what they recorded on it, so no. i can't think of a fav that isn't on it.

I'm welling up just thinking about Star Of David. I want it played at my funeral.

[Goldentony]

I had a similar experience with an old manager. He was an 'expert' on his favourite band The Beach Boys, purely by dint of owning 'Summer Dreams' the 28 track strong compilation that had come out that year in 1990. Conversely, I had only started to explore beyond the BB hits roughly around this time myself; discovering the majesty of Pet Sounds before it was the LP on the top of all the rock snob lists, and hoovering up all those twofer CD albums.

I once played 'Smiley Smile' at work and he walked into the kitchen halfway through the album playing and decreed, "Whoever this is, they're shit! Let's put some proper music on! A little band from California called The Beach Boys?"

Maybe he loves Mike Love and it was a bit, or he's deadly serious, either way check it isnt Mike Love

[idunnosomename]

everyone saying all Queen's albums are guff: have you tried Queen II? I really rate that album start to finish. Ogre Battle is seriously metal for 1974, Fairy Feller's Master Stroke is really clever and unique prog, and March of the Black Queen is just gorgeous vocal melodies building up to one of the best riffs. they basically dropped all of the album from their live show after they hit it mega.

rest yeah i agree but I've never listened to them all that much.

[purlieu]

Queen-wise, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races are enough for me. Just pop on to YouTube whenever I want to listen to 'Killer Queen' or 'Under Pressure', otherwise those excellent albums have it all.

[daf]

Queen II & Sheer Heart Attack for me - some good stuff on those two!

[Video Game Fan 2000]

Definitely not a Queen fan but I listen to the first two albums every now and then. Great, unique hard rock and Freddy is just great on them. It's fun to hear him develope the persona he'd have when they got massive, and he gives it as good as he ever would. Most of their big hits are nails on blackboard to me. The definition of overplayed.

[idunnosomename]

actually listening to it now the superb vocal line I'm thinking of is White Queen (As it Began) on side A. Black Queen is like a less instantly intelligible Bohemian Rhapsody but no less complex in its arrangement and how it all fits together and foreshadows itself. but that fucking riff at 4:55.

I'll be a bad boy, I'll be your bad boy
I'll do the march of the black queen!!

funny how the cover was made most iconic by the Bohemian Rhapsody video though. but only Seven Seas of Rhye got any kudos. on Spotify that track has 59m listens, which is more than twice of all the other tracks put together

[DrGreggles]

Never heard a Queen album, but I'm sure I'd find them all equally good.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

I hope you included his best song - "Do You Take This Man" - which flopped in July 1979 - despite being backed by The Blockheads! *

 

He sounds like a singing waterbed there. Oliver Tobias removing his socks while Joan Collins powders her nose.

[Goldentony]

usually the fast version of We Will Rock You is enough Queen for me - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ekm6WtKwQos -  butlately i've been having a go of the Laibach cover of One Vision - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZAD7W3M4zc

[Chicory]

maybe an angry fan will take me to task for this, but Super Furry Animals. I've always found their singles awesome and the album tracks b-side ish and forgettable.

I recommend, from the early years -

Bad Behaviour
Gathering Moss
Mario Man
She's Got Spies
The Placid Casual
Bass Tuned To D.E.A.D.
The Turning Tide
Ymaelodi â'r Ymylon

Plus the entirety of 'Out Spaced'.  You're welcome.

[Joe Oakes]

Rock.

[dr beat]

maybe an angry fan will take me to task for this, but Super Furry Animals. I've always found their singles awesome and the album tracks b-side ish and forgettable. Maybe Sleeper too, I think I'd have been happy with a single EP of the singles from their first 2 albums, awesome as those songs are.

For the record I'm a big SFA fan but someone on CaB once described them as 'good in a boring way', and I can sort of see what they meant.  There is maybe something in that from Guerilla onwards, but for me Radiator is brilliant all the way through.  Still in my top 5 albums

[purlieu]

I'm waiting for a Lady Gaga one. 'Dance in the Dark' and 'Sine from Above' are the only non-singles that I have ever enjoyed enough to think warrant a place on such a compilation, whereas I like most of her actual singles. Not sure it'll ever happen, though. I can't find evidence of an artist who came to fame in the digital era who's released a greatest hits compilation at all. For people who just stream, playlists largely do the same job without any real financial outlay, I suppose. That's possibly a thread in its own right.

[Auntie Beryl]

Somebody with as many big hits as Rihanna would have had a Best Of out ten years ago had we not been in the digital era. That said, The Weeknd's just done one.

[kalowski]

maybe an angry fan will take me to task for this, but Super Furry Animals. I've always found their singles awesome and the album tracks b-side ish and forgettable. Maybe Sleeper too, I think I'd have been happy with a single EP of the singles from their first 2 albums, awesome as those songs are.

I could live with an SFA compilation, as long as it included every single song they ever released.

[purlieu]

Somebody with as many big hits as Rihanna would have had a Best Of out ten years ago had we not been in the digital era. That said, The Weeknd's just done one.

Yes, I was trying to find an example and that was the only recent one I could find outside of Korea or Japan. Amazingly, even Beyoncé is greatest-hits-less.
The most glaring omission for me is Coldplay, who became huge right at the peak of CD album sales and must still have a decent sized older audience who'd be willing to part money for a collection of their singles.

In the '00s, when people were downloading individual songs and such, greatest hits sets often got bundled with a DVD of music videos to make them more appealing, but I suppose that's even less appealing to your average consumer these days than an album.

The gap has been filled by numerous compilations by artists who've already had enough Best Ofs in the past. Tears for Fears, Def Leppard, Bee Gees, countless others in the past couple of years. I wonder how many get bought and just pushed into collections by 60 year old aspies who need to own everything with their favourite band's name on it.

[willbo]

I know AC-DC and Metallica have famously held out on releasing one. Are there any other bands/artists of that vintage (including outside of hard rock) who held out for years without a best of? Not just cause of songs being on different labels but as a choice?

I remember in the early 00s I wanted a Robbie Williams one. Just cause all his big songs had 90s memories for me but I didn't want to have to buy all the albums in one go to have them.

[Dusty Substance]

Your New Favourite Band, The Hives' compilation of their early early singles and E.P tracks, is the only CD anyone needs by the Swedish garage rockers.

[kalowski]

Your New Favourite Band, The Hives' compilation of their early early singles and E.P tracks, is the only CD anyone needs by the Swedish garage rockers.

It's the only one I've got.

[lazyhour]

Pavement, and even then I would probably skip over half the 'greatest hits' album.

*shocked emoji*

Crooked Rain is pretty much perfect from start to finish, as is Slanted And Enchanted, and there's treasure spread across the rest of their singles, BBC sessions etc.

[willbo]

The only Pavement song I know is that one that goes "when I need a friend it's still you"

[lazyhour]

The only Pavement song I know is that one that goes "when I need a friend it's still you"

Mid-tier trolling.

[Magnum Valentino]

AC/DC have kind of done it twice - they released two soundtracks (for shit films, Maximum Overdrive and Iron Man 2) but both were mostly hits with a handful of new tracks. In fact I'm not sure the Iron Man CD had any new tracks. They aren't labelled as such but they are hits packages