Should we purchase Greatest Hits Albums?

K Shep · « **on:** 24 Aug 2009, 01:21 am »

When I was a young lad, one of my older friends suggested I refrain from buying Greatest Hit's Albums. The reason he said was we should support our favorite artist's and purchase all of their albums of which most of the tracks come from. I was reluctant to suggest a Sheryl Crow album on another thread on this site, remembering what my wise friend had shared. In the last 3 months I average 5 CD purchases per week. In the end I am supporting the artists I enjoy.

Gentleman please help me with this old tale.

Kirk

JP78 · « **Reply #1 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 02:37 am »

kirk - with the advent of itunes, the ipod, digital music selection, and playlists....i feel it's no longer relevant to purchase entire albums since it's no longer a common practice to listen through albums anymore.

or, more truthfully, i do now buy greatest hit albums, and i just said all of the above to quell my feelings of being a sell-out.

bpape · « **Reply #2 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 02:40 am »

There's a lot of good music to be missed by not listening to entire albums. I find myself listening to 1 or 2 songs more and more lately from an album. It's still nice to go back and listen to the whole thing the way the artist intended at times though.

Bryan

rajacat · « **Reply #3 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 02:42 am »

SlushPuppy · « **Reply #4 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 04:01 am »

When I'm branching out and exploring artists that I don't own any of their material, occasionally I'll pick up a greatest hits album to give me direction on where to start buying. A good example would be someone wanting to try some of Todd Rundgren's music. The guy has 20 albums to his credit, not including his live work. How would someone know where to begin without a greatest hits package listing the albums their favorite tracks came from?

bunnyma357 · « **Reply #5 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 04:22 am »

I like Greatest Hits packages, especially since I have a lot of stuff on vinyl that I don't want to digitize, and a hits collection gets me a format that is car & iPod friendly. I also have a lot of Genre collections, which is a great way to find artists, or get a specific song, although less useful than in the pre-internet days

The only Greatest Hits packages I avoid are the ones with new material in a marketing attempt to force you to buy it.

Jim C

SlushPuppy · « **Reply #6 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 04:31 am »

Quote from: bunnyma357 on 24 Aug 2009, 04:22 am

I like Greatest Hits packages, especially since I have a lot of stuff on vinyl that I don't want to digitize, and a hits collection gets me a format that is car & iPod friendly. I also have a lot of Genre collections, which is a great way to find artists, or get a specific song, although less useful than in the pre-internet days

The only Greatest Hits packages I avoid are the ones with new material in a marketing attempt to force you to buy it.

Jim C

Yeah, I love Tears for Fears and have all their albums, but good grief, they have more greatest hits packages than studio albums - throwing in the odd remix at the end to make you feel you "need" to have it. That's when these things get silly.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #7 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 05:52 am »

Sure, why not? If that's all you want, that's what it's there for.

JohnR · « **Reply #8 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 10:02 am »

I've found that I generally prefer the complete original albums. "Greatest hits" are a bit disjointed, somehow lacking coherence. This is not universally true (in either direction, greatest hits lacking coherence or original albums having them) but just an observation in general.

On my (recently acquired) iPod I listen to whole albums, I disable shuffle. Am I out of touch? Probably

ecramer · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 10:14 am »

when i do buy a greatest hits album it is usually after i have most or all of the cd's albums all ready so i do have a overview of an arist.

ED

zybar · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 11:18 am »

Quote from: K Shep on 24 Aug 2009, 01:21 am

When I was a young lad, one of my older friends suggested I refrain from buying Greatest Hit's Albums. The reason he said was we should support our favorite artist's and purchase all of their albums of which most of the tracks come from. I was reluctant to suggest a Sheryl Crow album on another thread on this site, remembering what my wise friend had shared. In the last 3 months I average 5 CD purchases per week. In the end I am supporting the artists I enjoy.

Gentleman please help me with this old tale.

Kirk

This sounds more than a little silly to me.

First off, you or anybody else, should buy what they want and not feel like you "have to" buy anything.

While greatest hits albums don't have the same impact today as they did in the past (due to the ability to download individual songs), they still are a great way to expose people to an artist. I absolutely recommend greatest hits albums as a way to "hook" people on an artist, which can lead to purchasing additional albums.

While greatest hits albums can be disjointed and don't have the flow of a complete album, let's face the reality that many albums are simply not worthy of listening to from start to finish. Now that I think about it, the amount of albums that I want to hear from start to finish is relatively small and definitely doesn't make up the majority of my collection.

Either way, enjoy the music.

George

DARTH AUDIO · « **Reply #11 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 11:27 am »

This is why Radiohead will no longer make full length records and will only release singles.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #12 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 11:40 am »

Quote from: DARTH AUDIO on 24 Aug 2009, 11:27 am

This is why Radiohead will no longer make full length records and will only release singles.

Hopefully more bands will follow their lead. The obligation to have enough material for a disc all too often yields much chaff.

woodsyi · « **Reply #13 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 01:10 pm »

I am a sucker for well marketed and well remastered compilations.

Last two greatest hits: Mothership (Led Zeppelin) and Echoes (Pink Floyd) on vinyl.

woodsyi · « **Reply #14 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 01:22 pm »

Also there are some artists that are well served by having just one best of album. For example, Joan Jett, The Cure, Village People, Cheap Trick, Sonny and Cher, The Smiths, Jane's Addiction are among those artists who are represented in my music collection with just one best of album.

Len_Dreyer · « **Reply #15 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 01:47 pm »

I buy greatest hits albums for artists that I'm not that familiar with. It gives a good overview of some of the artist's/band's work. Keeping in mind that most of the time it is just an overview of their work for a specific label. If I like the music, I'll start buying their other stuff.

droht · « **Reply #16 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 02:05 pm »

Buy what you want, imo, but I agree with others who say that you will likely find some gems by branching out beyond Greatest Hits.

JoshK · « **Reply #17 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 02:38 pm »

Quote from: woodsyi on 24 Aug 2009, 01:22 pm

Also there are some artists that are well served by having just one best of album. For example, Joan Jett, The Cure, Village People, Cheap Trick, Sonny and Cher, The Smiths, Jane's Addiction are among those artists who are represented in my music collection with just one best of album.

Agreed. Also agree that its an easy way to get exposure to artist you are not particularly familiar with. Other times I just buy their most notable release.

BTW, Jane's Addiction, to me, is Ritual De La Habitual. There are only two or three songs on any of their albums that are worth a damn IMO.

K Shep · « **Reply #18 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 04:13 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 24 Aug 2009, 11:18 am

Quote from: K Shep on 24 Aug 2009, 01:21 am
When I was a young lad, one of my older friends suggested I refrain from buying Greatest Hit's Albums. The reason he said was we should support our favorite artist's and purchase all of their albums of which most of the tracks come from. I was reluctant to suggest a Sheryl Crow album on another thread on this site, remembering what my wise friend had shared. In the last 3 months I average 5 CD purchases per week. In the end I am supporting the artists I enjoy.

Gentleman please help me with this old tale.

Kirk

This sounds more than a little silly to me...

Either way, enjoy the music.

George

George,

If my idea of a thread sounds silly to you, then don't participate. If you would like to discuss light hearted topics about this hobby, then join in. I am here posting and participating to learn. If I missed your point please explain. I am enjoying the music and sharing my experience along the way.

Kirk

zybar · « **Reply #19 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 04:38 pm »

Quote from: K Shep on 24 Aug 2009, 04:13 pm

Quote from: zybar on 24 Aug 2009, 11:18 am
Quote from: K Shep on 24 Aug 2009, 01:21 am
When I was a young lad, one of my older friends suggested I refrain from buying Greatest Hit's Albums. The reason he said was we should support our favorite artist's and purchase all of their albums of which most of the tracks come from. I was reluctant to suggest a Sheryl Crow album on another thread on this site, remembering what my wise friend had shared. In the last 3 months I average 5 CD purchases per week. In the end I am supporting the artists I enjoy.

Gentleman please help me with this old tale.

Kirk

This sounds more than a little silly to me...

Either way, enjoy the music.

George

George,

If my idea of a thread sounds silly to you, then don't participate. If you would like to discuss light hearted topics about this hobby, then join in. I am here posting and participating to learn. If I missed your point please explain. I am enjoying the music and sharing my experience along the way.

Kirk

Kirk,

I apologize if you were upset by my comment.

I simply expressed an opinion and gave reasons why that opinion was expressed.

George