General opinion on Greatest Hits and Best Of compilations.
 

I think a greatest hits album is a good way to introduce someone to a band or to complete a collection. There have been some so/so collections and some decent ones.

What is your favorite and least favorite?

I think they are a good start. It was through greatest hits compilations that I got into Zeppelin, Floyd, Yes, The Doors and The Who.

And sometimes a compilation can be a band's definitive album, like if they were a singles band or something. Singles Going Steady for example.

For artists that I'm very much into, for example Frank Zappa, I don't really listen to best of collections. I do get them for artists which I don't know that well though, but that's mostly so that I will have something from them. If someone says "Do you have anything of Donna Summers?" then I'll point at my best of collection.

I also agree with Boo Boo, some bands are interesting for their hits and then it makes sense. Now and then, you can get stuff like Burt Bacharach & David Hal best of collections which is excellent because these guys were songwriters and their songs were and are played by a variety of artists, so putting them all in one compilation is brilliant!

Yeah I credit a best of comp for getting me into Zappa too. Strictly Commercial.

Joe's Garage here! For getting into artists and not just accumulating their most known stuff, I usually go for famous or at least widely appreciated albums.

In general i stay well clear of compilation albums. Personally i like to just start at the beginning of a discography and work through it. However, of course sometimes i do look at an artists back catalogue and the sheer size of it and just opt for a compilation to get me started.

I think they have their purpose for sure. My main problem isnt with the compilation itself but for those people who get a greatest hits and then judge a band, never hearing one complete album.

It's been ages since I've checked out a best-of release. I was more keen on the idea when I was younger, and they definitely serve a purpose. But I'm too into albums these days and if I want to check out an artist, I'll just pick an album to start with. Sometimes the beginning, sometimes their highest rated, sometimes the one that appeals to me most for whatever reason. Depends on the artist.

Albums are too easy to acquire these days. I used to start every time with a best of...then if I liked them enough I would work through the discography starting with the album that had my favorite singles. I haven't bought a best of in years, though.

I feel like really good albums have a bunch of songs connected by a similar vein. They're brilliant because they're the way the artist intended them to be. "Best Of"s have their place but its not in my mp3 file.

I think the only compilations that I still listen to these days are these:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...-Queen_gh2.jpg
(And the first one obviously)
Not that I don't like Queen's normal studio output, I love it. It's just that sometimes I'm in the mood to only listen to their singles.