While they were more of a necessity in the pre-MP3 era, Greatest Hits collections will be around as long as music needs marketing. The best selling album of 2009 so far is a hits comp (you know who), the Beatles’ 1 is the best selling album of the decade. Those are some fun facts. My point is that everybody likes Greatest Hits albums, especially your aunt at Christmas. Lots Of Love. Today it was announced Foo Fighters will get their long rumored Best Of on 11/2. It’s called Greatest Hits and includes two new songs (the Obama-approved “Wheels” and “Word Forward”) in addition to the tracks in constant rotation on SiriusXM Lithium. Good for Foo Fighters, it’s not unwelcome. But it got me wondering what other acts are due for an essentials package? Beck? Coldplay? Weezer? Death Cab For Cutie? Comment party!
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Animal Collective
they would bank on all the entry-levelers right now
i just bought a loop and delay pedal. i think i’m animal collective…or a more talented animal collective
Tool is definitely ready for a greatest hits.
Regarding Weezer, an accurate greatest-hits collection would be a re-release the blue album and Pinkerton as a double CD.
I don’t know if a Greatest Hits would be applicable, but shouldn’t Husker Du at least have a Best Of disc? While every album was really strong as an overall product, there are enough gems that stand up by themselves to warrant one, I think.
How about Durutti Column? While we’re on that subject, has anybody spent any time like I have obsessing over the two Martin Hannett tracks that were included in the original release as a bonus flexidisk, and have since been included on CD rereleases (“The First Aspect of the Same Thing” and “The Second Aspect of the Same Thing”)? Both are super-minimal examples of Hannett fucking around on frigid sounding synths that have made me hungry to hear more of what he did not as a producer, but as a musician in his own right. Can somebody please make a compilation of rarities/obscurities/outtakes/archives of this man’s private musical output? Thanks.
I think, as far as Husker Du goes, it’s pretty unlikely; it would entail Hart and Mould having to, in some form, pretend the other existed. That ain’t happening. I can’t think of another band who deserves to have their catalog re-mastered and re-appreciated more ( well, the Smiths, but I’ve always assumed that was coming some day ) than Husker Du, but for all sorts of bullshit reasons, it seems as though they will just be left to rot in SST’s dingy vaults. I kind of wonder how much difference it would make, anyway, as those albums were produced so poorly ( so tinny and shrill ), that silk purses and sow’s ears come to mind.
I wouldn’t be surprised if somebody in Europe has put together a Durutti collection, but I can’t say this for sure. I certainly would never expect to see a US release for one. No market, and Rhino never even did a domestic release for the Nico re-masters. They don’t care.
the problem over husker best of/reissues isn’t bob and grant hating each other – they played together like 5 years ago
the problem is sst won’t give up the masters
There definitely needs to be a remasted box set of Husker Du. Sadly, it’ll never happen.
How about some metal bands? Behemoth, Mastodon, Neurosis, or even the Melvins?
WEEN.
Ryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Greatest Hits take songs out of their right place. Let’s keep everything in it’s right place.
soulja boy.
That would be a very long one track CD.
I wish more bands did rarities collections instead of greatest hits.
Beck?
Never.
Coldplay?
Need better singles than the one or two everyone can name.
Weezer?
Blue Album is already available.
Death Cab For Cutie?
Who are these dudes?
uh oh. stereogum is falling off! comment party?
booooo!
Wavves.
blur. o wait they already have two.
Weezer’s already had a few hits comp EPs. (Prime Cuts and Six Hits), and their contract expires after Raditude, so I’m sure there’ll be a full Best Of after that.
Really though, I’m shocked there hasn’t been a Husker Du comp. Have there been any SST greatest hits comps?
I believe SST did a compilation for the Minutemen, and, sort of, the Descendants—I think the Husker thing just is so poisoned on so many levels that it may take the Numero Group to put it all together in 2018 or something. It is too bad, as they are a band that a lot of people should appreciate more.
My comment above was for MK’s benefit, by the way. The rest of you can drop dead.
Anyway….Tool and Weezer seem the most obvious, undoubtedly Coldplay will have one in another year ( particularly for the British Christmas market ), and……what bands have been all that successful over the last decade? I suppose White Stripes. None of these seem in the least bit necessary, by the way. A Foo Fighter’s ‘Best of’ kind of makes sense, in that they seem the most beholden to 70′s rock arcana.
FLEET FOXXXXXES
Archers of Loaf
Modest Mouse
Flaming Lips
The Smiths
The Smiths just released one last year, and Moz and Marr both had their hands all over it:
http://www.amazon.com/Sound-Smiths-Very-Best/dp/B001ED7C5S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1251571903&sr=1-4
There have actually been several
I actually think a well-assembled greatest hits is an art form. Hearing a ton of great singles back to back can be really exciting, and for some bands it’s the best portrait of just how awesome they are.
Here’s a few I think we could see, that haven’t already been mentioned:
Ben Folds
The Cardigans
Fountains of Wayne
Pavement
Pernice Brothers
REM (A better one than exists now, a comprehensive career-spanning double disc kind of thing)
Spoon (sequence all their singles back to back-amazing!)
The Streets
Superchunk
The Three O’Clock (Paisley Underground band from the 80s who deserved this treatment)
The Wannadies (Unfairly forgotten 90s Swedish pop band)
Wilco
XTC (a comprehensive domestic one, all the passable ones are import-only)
The Cardigans have a best of already and its a great collection of all their work:
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Cardigans/dp/B001190GZS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1251571787&sr=8-1
White Stripes
Thank you! Fuck people…
Ween – The Brown Album (Their Greatest Drug Hits)
The Smiths!
Theres like a billion Smiths best of’s out there and one produced by Morrissey and Johnny Marr just came out last year…
Modest Mouse and Death Cab need more of a best of, like somebody mentioned above for another band. Don’t know that they have “greatest hits”, but they both have a massive back catalogue that would be well served by one or two disc sets collecting band and fan favorites.
I was just thinking it seemed odd that no Foo greatest hits had yet been released and here comes the news that it’s happening. Weird when that happens. It’s a good time for it for two reasons. One, they do deserve the contractual obligation release as much as anybody else. Who has released so many albums filled with good to great songs that actually sound like they’re supposed to? A Foos greatest hits is going to sound like all the Foo songs you’ve heard on the radio but have never bothered hunting down the albums they come from. It’ll sell huge, and cover up the fact that Dave is in another massively huge band (the second reason now is a good time).
AC/DC. Their lack is astounding.
Fugazi, but folk should just buy that whole catalog.
Cake.
Wow. I’m really surprised with ACDC.
Wilco
My Morning Jacket
The Decemberists
Rilo Kiley
Spoon
The Thrills (not that they have a lot of GREAT songs, but it would certainly be enjoyable to drink to with friends)
Sufjan Stevens (but think that would be a bit pretentious)
and does Radiohead have a best of? It might not flow very well though…
Yes, Radiohead does have a best of. It was released last year and you can buy it pretty much everywhere.
Nine Inch Nails
Tool
Sigur Ros
(something more than just live versions like on Hvarf-Heim)
There’s plenty of Smiths collections and such. Rarities maybe? Especially from Death Cab and Rilo Kiley.
Matthew Perpetua has already created a couple of these “best-of” comps and posted them on his Fluxtumblr. Three nice ones to start with:
Archers of Loaf: http://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/93463227/archers-of-loaf-the-underground-is-overcrowded
Fugazi: http://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/78793361/fugazi-moral-abcs
Sleater Kinney: http://perpetua.tumblr.com/post/139093280/sleater-kinney-turn-it-on
Metallica
AC/DC
Lil Wayne. Such a vast unorganized discography. You could fish out his 15-20 best tracks and get a hell of a compilation. “A Milli” to start it off.
The Radioheads
smiths have a best of im pretty sure
I agree that a Lil Wayne compilation might be his most well organized album. I also think Wilco will have a greatest hits album, but not for a while. But does anyone else think that a Greatest hits album is a sign of retirement?
Re-issue! re-package! re-package!
Re-evaluate the songs
Double-pack with a photograph
Extra track (and a tacky badge)
Weezer and AC/DC need greatest hits, because their full albums aren’t that great, but their singles are the best.
Husker Du and the Minutemen because there’s a whole, new generation of people who would love them, but don’t know them.
The Who because, after Beaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, no one has ever been able to convincingly represent their output in a convincing compilation.
The Smiths? That was a joke, right?
Low
…a Pavement Kronikles or Decade without all the speedbumps and trap doors would do wonders for those casual listener older sister types…
An Elliott Smith “Best Of”, with some Heatmiser tracks included, would probably cement his reputation as a modern day Nick Drake. Especially important, since the Oscar-nominated version of Miss Misery is currently unavailable digitally.
Two albums that influenced Nick Drake were Steve Miller Bands “Sailer” and Byrds”Notorious Byrd Brothers”…I always knew this…nobody has made a movie on a Gabriel Garcia book yet…
The Beach Boys
It’s called Pet Sounds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_boys_discography#Compilations
Today! has more hits on it, anyway.
Oasis, probably.
perfect timing considering noel just left
Greatest hits are more or less useless. Most bands who deserve one wouldn’t work in that setting. I’d like to see more reissues than greatest hits collections. Though I think it would work great for Daft Punk and Basement Jaxx. These collections do work better with dance than the other genres.
Daft Punk has Musique vol 1, and Basement Jaxx released The Singles in 2005 with a bonus disc of b-sides, alt takes, and live stuff… you are right, both are pretty awesome. Underworld and Chemical Brothers also have really great collections as well.
Al Green, Elvis, and the Beatles would like to have a word with you…
…and don’t forget about a little album called “Legend” by some dude named Bob Marley…
I think Alive 2007 by Daft Punk is basically a greatest hits.
The term “Best of” is in the eye of the beholder. Every music fan knows that the best songs are usually not singles. Why not call it “The Singles” compilation?
Fans hate these money grabbing schemes (I know I do) but a well put-together compilation could be a great initiation piece for new fans. I recently got Kitchens of Distinction’s Capsule and it’s pretty solid.
TVOTR
I agree, Modest Mouse would be good.
NOFX?
Ehh, Modest Mouse? DCFC? Too soon first of all, and you also gotta realize that if a “best of” for those bands are released, it will only feature the work made on their major label albums, which isn’t much at this point. That’s all thanks to all the legalities and rights to songs related to which label they were released on.
Dinosaur Jr. ? Built to Spill ?
BUILT TO SPILL
damn, you beat me to it dustin g
ben folds 5 – this time with instruments
MF Doom.
He’s got a crazy discography spread across albums under several different aliases and a ton of guest appearances. Include the best of those and throw in a few tracks from his early 90′s KMD days and you’ve got a great compilation.
Nine Inch Nails.
I have no idea if they have one already.
Yet, since nearly every post in this site continuously and unnecessarily mentions Trent,
I was afraid he’d be left out of this one.
Greatest hits are for housewives and little girls.
ala The Doors
I can’t believe it took so long for someone to quote that classic line.
Will Young.
[/close topic]
Considering that the album is pretty much dead, and we all have the internet, make your own. That being said, there is a distinct art in being able to collect the proper tracks and sequence them in a way that works. Sometimes chronological works, and sometimes you need to mix it up. Here are my suggestions:
double CDs:
AC/DC & Van Halen – one disc per singer. should’ve been done ages ago.
Jay-Z – obviously! probably the best singles artist of the last decade+
Metallica – …because their songs are so long
Beastie Boys – c’mon Def Jam. get with the program and play ball
Sonic Youth – ditto with their past labels
R.E.M. – …and again…
Red Hot Chili Peppers – …once more – re-do What Hits and the Warner comp as one package.
Nine Inch Nails – duh! the Halos are numbered!
Neil Young – time for ‘Three Decades’
single CDs
Weezer
Tool
Snoop Dogg – again with the labels getting along
Outkast – fix that terrible ‘Big Boi & Andre present’ mess
Rage Against the Machine
Common
The Roots
Mos Def, or Black Star + solo hits
Deftones
White Stripes – the old 7″s up against the new stuff would work nicely
Rancid
Sublime – hey, I’m sick of hearing the hits on the radio too, but do the man some justice
in the spirit of ‘Introducing the Minutemen’…aka, not really radio hit bands…
Husker Du
Spoon
Pavement
Wilco
Built to Spill
Ghostface
Ryan Adams
Bright Eyes
Afghan Whigs
Ted Leo
NOFX
MF Doom (and his various aliases)
Flaming Lips
Les Savy Fav
Fugazi
Queens of the Stone Age
Redman
Elliott Smith
should wait:
Coldplay – you could take the 3 singles from each of the 4 albums, but it just seems too early (though it has been a decade)
Afghan Whigs had a really good retrospective greatest hits released maybe two years ago:
http://www.amazon.com/Unbreakable-Retrospective-1990-2006-Afghan-Whigs/dp/B000N0LIBW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1251669786&sr=8-2
Sonic Youth!!! Great songs on most of the albums, but only a couple albums that are great. A prime greatest hits comp band.
They put one out last year: The tongue in cheek “Hits Are for Squares” on that Starbucks label.
Nice! I had no idea. Gotta go to Starbucks more often…
The Hold Steady
Nick Cave? Does he have one?
Red House Painters. Not necessarily greatest hits but reissues. They just reissued Songs for a Blue Guitar on vinyl which I was really grateful for. Any of their other albums would be awesome though considering they were a little before my time and now the only way to get a hold of one of their albums on vinyl is too fork out 100 bones on ebay.
Its too early now, but one day Phoenix will have a killer best of comp.
Love the fact that Pavement still doesn’t have a greatest hits album and I don’t foresee one coming. (Although, now that I said that I probably just jinxed it.
Eagles
“[Sonic Youth's] tounge in cheek “Hits Are for Squares” on that Starbucks label.”
Wow, Sonic Youth on Starbucks…what’s next, Pearl Jam doing a Target ad?! Oh wait…
New topic of discussion- why doesn’t The Most Serene Republic get enough positive attention?
This one seems obvious to me: The New Pornographers. They could have one now, but maybe they’re not well-known enough yet… Someday.
Yo La Tengo =(
I’d buy that. I’d love to beef up on their stuff, but they’re so prolific it’s difficult to catch up.
Not quite as prolific, but equally legendary and deserving of a greatest hits are WILCO
Yo La Tengo already have a very good 3CD-best of.
I think The Killers could do one if they haven’t already. I’m sure there’s a ton out there that could do it too. Probably not Death Cab For Cutie.
I already have all these albums as playlists.
I agree that Wilco should have one soon, though it seems they continue to release great stuff so maybe not yet. Maybe after the next album.
Bob – Will Young is set for a Greatest Hits for Christmas this year…as for Ben Folds, they released a Best Of In Japan only earlier this year, check it out here: http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/product/detail/3510745
Oasis had a Best Of Compile, under the banner of ‘Stop The Clocks’ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stop-Clocks-Oasis/dp/B000HDZAY6/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1251759351&sr=1-7
Yes Nick Cave has had a best of, http://www.play4me.com.au/product/best_of_nick_cave_the_bad_seeds_527598_154621.html
I love that AC/DC haven’t put out a best of, gives emphasis on the albums, and their albums aren’t available for download!! god bless em!
Coldplay have enough material for a Best of as outside of america they have released contless singles and they ahve all charted high…
p.s. PJ Harvey needs to put out a compile and whilst her label is at it, do a comprehensive dvd with all her stunning videos to date!
Well it’s been a few years now. I think the Rolling Stones are due for yet another one.
i still don’t believe in active bands releasing greatest hits.
it’s kind of like throwing yourself a birthday party.
Sigur Ros.
They have so many great songs, for sure. But do they actually have any hits? lol
Ryan Adams and Conor Oberst in all their guises need anthologising,there’s a lot of material scattered across a lot of albums, as do The Mountain Goats..
Belle & Sebastian as well.
Bright Eyes definitely….
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Of Montreal would have to be coming up, but their catalog from beginning to end is bizarre.
Destiny’s Child?
I’ve always felt that the Dead Kennedys aught to have one, as they’re one of the few hardcore bands I still enjoy listening to even as I’ve outgrown most other bands in that genre. Like most punk bands their albums were pretty uneven, too, so distilling all of their most fiery singles would probably lead to a better work than any of their studio albums.
Unfortunately beef between the band actually *would* be a major issue there.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milking_the_Sacred_Cow
wish granted?
blues traveler
The Blood Brothers, suckas.
The Blood Brothers, suckas.
faith no more could use another one….they only have six greatest hits (that’s one per album!).
the funny part is that out of the six greatest hits, the tracklisting is 98.4% the same.
as for the melvins..they did kinda do one w/ “neither here nor there”
Boredoms
Yes!
I would like a Conor Oberst one so we could get some non-Bright Eyes tracks on there as well.
At The Drive-In
“The term best of is in the eye of the beholder” – totally agree! That’s why I think bands with large back catalogues like Death Cab and Modest Mouse should do two disc sets. One with songs chosen by the band and one with songs selected by fans via internet voting. Most greatest hits collections really are just contractual obligations, though. How many times have you heard bands say one of the following: A) “We didn’t want to release a greatest hits” B) ‘We did it to finish our contract”.
since there are no such thing as hits anymore unless you listen to commercial radio stations where it’s a playlist of 10 artists and 20 songs on repeat, greatest hits today are going to be getting more and more subjective. but when it comes down to it….fuck greatest hits, discover the artists yourselves and pick your own favorites
Agree and disagree. It’s more likely that a greatest hits will be something like, “A Collection Of Our Most Downloaded iTunes Tracks”. And we can certainly all hold out hope that radio will stop sucking some day. But Greatest Hits, whatever that means, are important because they DO expose people to new music. Especially around Christmas when they’re given as gifts. There’s a lot of times when someone hears one song they like, but end up discovering that the band has 3, 5 or 15 albums to choose from. In that case, when a greatest hits is available it’s often the album that ends up being purchased. I worked at Tower Records for quiet a while and there’s actually solid data to back this up.
Don’t know if they were mentioned yet, but The Dandy Warhols are in a dire need of a singles comp or greatest hits cd. Their full albums are iffy but their singles are always great.
The only answer for this question is AC/DC.
Just try to tell me that a two-disc compilation with one disc of Bon Scott songs and one disc of Brian Johnson songs wouldn’t be the best CD of all time. It totally would be.
How about Yeah Yeah Yeahs?
‘Wheels’ is by far their best song…
muse
I feel a greatest hits is called for once a band’s musical relavance prime is over. I never really felt like Radiohead needed a greatest hits. They are still at the forefront of music and even if their power is slightly waning, I would still consider them in the later days of their musical prime. After hearing Modern Guilt and Merriweather, i can’t help feeling the same way about Beck and Animal Collective. But I guess i am also just predisposed against the idea of a greatest hits in general. i prefer studio albums or even singles collections
kings of leon
Best name for any best of cd…
“Besterberg, the best of Paul Westerberg”
Pavement, The Birthday Party & Can