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The best of the best-ofs

A subjective ranking of 50 favorite rock hits collections


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Introduction and Nos. 1-10 | Nos. 11-30

31. "Bad Music for Bad People," the Cramps (1984) -- This psychobilly blast sums up the early albums and singles from Lux Interior and Poison Ivy Rorschach in about 30 minutes, dragging the sounds of early rock 'n' roll through the "Goo Goo Muck."

32. "Operators Manual," The Buzzcocks (1991) -- Including all the A-sides among 11 songs from the seminal 1979 pop-punk collection "Singles Going Steady," this compilation adds 14 more biting, sing-along tales of alienation from the three albums in the group's 1976-81 heyday.

33. "Greatest Hits," Elton John (1974) -- The flamboyant Englishman is still standing today, but this collection -- digitally remastered in 1990 -- captures the pianist born as Reginald Kenneth Dwight at his artistic peak.

34. "21 Singles," the Jesus and Mary Chain (2002) -- Starting in 1985 while Scotland's influential Reid brothers were still on speaking terms, this career retrospective album's tracks bury honey-sweet melodies behind three-chord guitar feedback.

35. "Discography: The Complete Singles Collection," Pet Shop Boys (1991) -- Beginning with 1986's "West End Girls," the disc follows former music journalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe ahead of Britain's dance-pop curve as they brought humor and storytelling to the dance floor.

36. "The Very Best of Elvis Costello and the Attractions," Elvis Costello and the Attractions (1994) -- Available online as his best single-disc overview, these 22 songs from the musically eclectic Liverpudlian's first 11 albums (1977-1986) showcase a cynically brilliant songwriter with the passion of a punk.

37. "Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You Edition," Queen (2004) -- This excellent new edition overtakes many predecessors as the best single-disc retrospective for the British band that brought campy, theatrical rock to American stadiums, where its anthems still blare.

38. "Sound of the Jam," the Jam (2003) -- After five years of classic punk, R&B and soul singles, driving force Paul Weller called it quits in 1982 at the height of the mod trio's UK popularity, spawning a series of hits collections -- this being the most readily available -- and ensuring no decline in its legend. Now that's entertainment. (But fair warning: It's missing "The Bitterest Pill [I Ever Had to Swallow].")

39. "Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies," Pixies (2004) -- They drew far bigger crowds on this year's reunion tour than they ever did in the late 1980 and early '90s, and this gigantic, 23-song collection -- alternately screeching and melodic -- shows how the Boston band set the standard for a generation of alternative music.

40. "The Best of Blur," Blur (2000) -- Spanning 1991 to the end of the century, this collection contains 18 gems from the quartet that transcended the decade's Brit-pop revival.

41. "The Best of Leonard Cohen," Leonard Cohen (1975) -- Known as "Greatest Hits" in Europe, this 12-song collection reveals the Canadian-born and New York-based singer-songwriter -- also a novelist and poet -- to be the master of the modern ballad.

42. "Greatest Hits," the Doors (1996) -- Don't listen to Bruce McCulloch's "Kids in the Hall" record store clerk and Doors fan: This collection gathers on one disc the best of this California psychedelic rock band, which has been used to evoke the 1960s in movies from "Apocalypse Now" to "School of Rock."

43. "Number Ones," Michael Jackson (2003) -- Despite just two tracks from 1979's "Off the Wall" and three from 1982's smash "Thriller," you can't beat it; this misnamed collection is the best you can get on one career-spanning disc from the man who reigned as the King of Pop in the 1980s, before things turned bad. His best work with the Jackson 5 is available on 2004's "The Jacksons Story."

44. "The Singles 81>85," Depeche Mode (1998) -- England's synth-pop masters took the genre to new heights -- and to American dance floors -- starting with the 17 songs on this collection; if you just can't get enough, the two-disc "The Singles 86>98" covers the later years.

45. "The Best of the Velvet Underground," The Velvet Underground (1989) -- The four albums in four years (1967-70) covered on this 15-song retrospective earned the influential New York avant-rock band a cult following in its day, which has multiplied over time; check out Lou Reed's subsequent solo career on 1996's "Different Times: Lou Reed in the '70s."

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46. "Upsy Daisy Assortment," XTC (1997) -- Despite the band's lack of commercial success, you won't be disappointed with 17 of English pop's catchiest confections masking biting lyrics; the album covers more ground -- but with less from XTC's edgier early years -- than does "Waxworks: Some Singles 1977-1982."

47. "Greatest Hits (& Some That Will Be)," Willie Nelson (1981) -- Perhaps without fulfilling its parenthetical promise, this reissued 23-song collection captures Texas' country music outlaw at his best, starting in 1975 and edging out 1986's "16 Biggest Hits," which covers much of the same ground.

48. "Eponymous," R.E.M. (1988) -- This 12-song collection covers the dreamy first five albums of the Athens, Georgia, fathers of college rock, beating out the later period on "In Time: The Best of R.E.M. 1988-2003."

49. "Nirvana," Nirvana (2002) -- All apologies for the early 1990s "grunge" movement launched by the Seattle trio before frontman Kurt Cobain's suicide, but the screaming brilliance that helped rescue rock is in bloom on this 14-song retrospective.

50. "The Singles Collection," the Specials (1991) -- You'll have more luck finding this collection online than Mick Jagger had trying to sign England's two-tone gangsters to his record label as they were bringing ska and soul into the '80s. With high-energy songs about problems both social ("Ghost Town") and political ("Free Nelson Mandela"), their influence lives today in bands such at No Doubt and 311.

HONORABLE MENTION:

"Basher: The Best of Nick Lowe," Nick Lowe (1989).
"Beserkley Years," Jonathan Richman & the Modern Lovers (1980).
"The Best of 1980-1990," U2 (1998)
"Big Boi and Dre Present ...," Outkast (2001).
"Complete Greatest Hits," the Cars (2002).
"Hits," Pylon (1989).
"The Singles," Pretenders (1987).
"Singles 1969-1981," Carpenters (2000).
"Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)," the Eagles (1976).
"The Very Best of Chic," Chic (2000).
"The Very Best of Otis Redding, Vol. 1," Otis Redding (1992).
"The Definitive Collection," Patsy Cline (2004).


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