Do you listen to greatest hits albums?

[Fragory123]

Given how I prefer listening to entire albums in one sitting and the popularity of an artist's songs mean nothing to me, Greatest Hits albums usually fly right by me.

[Mystlyfe77]

Only in extreme situations when a bands' standard albums are not available to me will I consider turning to a "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" album. They're an insult to music.

[Gowienczyk]

Only in extreme situations when a bands' standard albums are not available to me will I consider turning to a "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" album. They're an insult to music.

^

[Squaretriangles]

Only in extreme situations when a bands' standard albums are not available to me will I consider turning to a "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" album. They're an insult to music.

This pretty much sums it up for me. I spent half my life thinking that hits made a band, thanks to my mom ("Oh, them? They only had one hit....."), but as I branched out, I found the only way to appreciate any artist is to listen to their music as they intended it to be listened to.

[neckermanncj]

i made a mistake and bought a VU "greatest hits" 3 years ago called "Gold" (i think they have this gold thing for a lot of classic bands) but once i realized it was a greatest hits, i was like .......ehhhh.....uhhhhh......ugh.....damn!

[Gowienczyk]

Yeah, "Gold" is about as common as "20th Century Masters".

[neckermanncj]

Yeah, "Gold" is about as common as "20th Century Masters".

yup i didn't know:rolleyes:

[willdabeast21]

I prefer studio albums myself, but I do enjoy greatest hits albums now and again
Deep Purple, The Clash and Bob Marley all have greatest hits work on my ipod

[instantdeath999]

They're an insult to music.

I think that's definitely going a bit far. I think when taken too far you're absolutely right. Walk into a Walmart, go to the music section, and all you will see are newly released top 10 albums and greatest hits albums.

That said, I think it's perfectly "acceptable" (I use that term very, very loosely, since it's not exactly my place to judge what's acceptable and what isn't) to use a greatest hits album as an introduction to an artist with a vast discography, particularly for the casual or tightwad listener.

Of course, I think most greatest hits albums are very poorly put together. I'm not a fan of The Beatles "1" at all, and felt it left out many ideal choices while including some less than ideal choices. There are some very good ones though... Bob Marley's "Legend" is a good example IMO. Manages to be a solid introduction, offering enough to leave the listener satisfied with what they have, but also leaving them wanting more.

[AKALink]

I do if that is all I can get my hands on for the artist. It is a good way to see the lifespan of an artist.

[afterstasis]

i occasionally spin a greatest hits album, though it's very rare...

[Pleiadeez]

don't u guys download individual songs from the internet? or do u prefer buying CDs?

[Mystlyfe77]

don't u guys download individual songs from the internet? or do u prefer buying CDs?

It's very rare I download individual songs, but those are far from the only two options for getting music... :rolleyes:

[Gowienczyk]

I haven't downloaded a single for that reason in a long time. The only time I download tracks by themselves is if I'm missing a track on a digital release.

[KingProgdor]

Hate hate hate hate HATE greatest hits. They're worthless unless they're more along the lines of an anthology that spans two or three discs, or have a bunch of unreleased stuff/modernized recordings of old songs.

Other than that, just get me the band's whole discog.

[Runesmith]

I love greatest hits, best ofs, compilations, and studio albums equally. They all have their time and place.

[Tank9088]

I use greatest hits albums as a way to introduce myself to a band. Then, I find songs from the greatest hits album I like and look at the album it came from. It's actually helped me get into a lot of artists.

[SolidSnake526]

I honestly do.
It's RARE, but I do it.

My best example is Guns N' Roses, because the greatest hits album contains most of my favorite songs by them, and what I can't find there I can find on Appetite for Destruction.
Of course then there's also live material, which is obligatory for me. If a band sucks live, they suck period (in my opinion).

[Evilbottom]

It depends. If I'm gonna try out a new band, I usually have a good idea of whether or not I'll like them, and for the most part I only download bands I have a good feeling about, and will download some of their albums. If I'm really unsure about a band, I might get their greatest hits. Although, this has only happened about twice.

[DerTommissar]

I've ripped all the cd's that I own; then I delete the songs I don't enjoy. What's left, I listen to.

[Cpt. Overkill]

Only if I can't find the album I want.

[defenestrater]

I prefer studio albums, but greatest hits have their time and place. When I tried to get into Rush I started with a greatest hits album. It gave me plenty of material of to listen to, and it covered a big chunk of their career, which made it easier for me to figure out which one of their 5000 actual studio albums to check out next. I don't see anything wrong with that.

I don't really care if I'm not listening to music the way an artist intended (which I guess in this case we're assuming is a full length album). The artist's job is to create art, but what I choose to make of that art once its been completed and presented is completely up to me, and just as valid as anything the artist could have intended.

[Indy44]

I use greatest hits albums as a way to introduce myself to a band. Then, I find songs from the greatest hits album I like and look at the album it came from. It's actually helped me get into a lot of artists.

This.

I'm still in college and buy all my cd's so it's not possible for me to buy the entire discography of all the bands I like. Greatest Hits are a great way to get introduced to an artist you're unfamiliar with. After that, you can eventually branch out to buying the different albums you like. In my case it happened with quite a lot of my favorite bands, including Megadeth, Anthrax and The Beatles.

To all the people who say greatest hits are an insult to music: how about live albums? Often they are some kind of greatest hits compilation as well. But if it's live it's suddenly okay to listen to it because it's the way the musicians wanted it to be heard by the audience. Sorry, but I really don't see the logic in that at all...

[ElectricWankery]

I used to get Greatest Hits albums when I was trying to get into a band I didn't listen to , but now I prefer getting album recommendations and going that way. When I have a greatest hits, I feel less inclined to buy albums by the band ont he grounds that I would often have a few tracks from several albums, and I wouldn't want to rebuy them (this was a big problem with The Doors 2-Disc Greatest Hits, where I would then have about 75% of several different albums). It's great going off of one album and then expanding if I like the music because then I start building a collection of their work. Such as with Sonic Youth, I started with Evol, and I've slowly bought more albums, and now have 10 of them. I would advise against Greatest Hits for the most part to people looking into new bands because they are only getting an impression of one aspect of a band's sound. You often miss out on the non-single songs that are just as important. I also still like the idea of an album as a unified piece of music and listening to it from start to finish.

I will still get Greatest Hits/Compilations/Anthology discs under some circumstances. I got both Dead Kennedy's Give Me Convenience Or Give Me Death and The Buzzcock's Singles Going Steady so I could get some B-sides. I also got The Adverts Anthology because it features a version of every song they wrote, as well as a live recording. Then sometimes I'll get Greatest Hits albums because I have no idea where to start with a band, such as The Jam: Gold or Donovan Greatest Hits.

[Meatwad555]

Ugh... I voted for the wrong thing.

[synthesizedpiano]

I usually prefer albums, but for some bands I get greatest hits because I only like their popular stuff (Beatles) or they have a ridiculous amount of albums that vary in style quite a bit (Jeff Beck, Prince)

[Sportzter]

Depending on the Artist...yes I do listen to the Greatest Hits

[Oscar-Rio]

not usually, but i do own some. Mostly gotten them as gifts or freebies from rec companies.

[cherokeesam]

I think that's definitely going a bit far. I think when taken too far you're absolutely right. Walk into a Walmart, go to the music section, and all you will see are newly released top 10 albums and greatest hits albums.

That said, I think it's perfectly "acceptable" (I use that term very, very loosely, since it's not exactly my place to judge what's acceptable and what isn't) to use a greatest hits album as an introduction to an artist with a vast discography, particularly for the casual or tightwad listener.

Of course, I think most greatest hits albums are very poorly put together. I'm not a fan of The Beatles "1" at all, and felt it left out many ideal choices while including some less than ideal choices. There are some very good ones though... Bob Marley's "Legend" is a good example IMO. Manages to be a solid introduction, offering enough to leave the listener satisfied with what they have, but also leaving them wanting more.

Well said.

Greatest hits albums are a good jumping off point for me to get involved with artists I don't have any albums from.....if I see that one studio album in particular contains most of those hits, I'm far more inclined to buy that album, too, and see what the filler and B-sides sound like.

[JukeBoxHero]

Hmm it depends. Some bands, particularly older artists' music is found on singles primarily, and sometimes a Greatest Hits is a good way to listen to their music. Otherwise I listen to studio albums(with the occasional bootleg or live album I get), not because it's how the artist intended to be listen to, I just like it that way.

[gmarsh]

I don't prefer greatest hits albums over regular albums, I listen to them and pretty much enjoy them equally.

[Soror_YZBL]

In the day and age of being able to instantly download almost any song by any artist, why the hell would *anyone* get a greatest hits album? You can now make your own.

Of course, there are greatest hits staples that most holdovers from the CD era still cling to (bob marley's legend comes to mind), and rightfully so.

For me, though, the only reason for a greatest hits collection is so that record companies can just stick the hits up for you to download without worrying about the rubbish. I mean, seriously, who needs "New Miserable Experience", when you can just download a few tracks from the Gin Blossoms' greatest hits? Saves disk space LOL.

[afterstasis]

yeah, i typically burn my own greatest hits discs for the car for bands whose LP's don't quite cut it... of course, half the time it's the singles that get left out. :)

[iwolfe]

I voted yes because I tend to listen to singles mostly. I realized that I'm not a fan of any particular band. I'm just a fan of good music. I like to have a wide variety on my playlist with only the best songs from each band.

[LegendofRock3021]

Only in extreme situations when a bands' standard albums are not available to me will I consider turning to a "Greatest Hits" or "Best of" album. They're an insult to music.

I agree.

[cherokeesam]

For me, though, the only reason for a greatest hits collection is so that record companies can just stick the hits up for you to download without worrying about the rubbish.

That's *always* been the reason record companies compiled greatest hits albums, even since the 1960s. No need to go into the studio, no need for engineering, no need for new songs, no need to do anything except repackage existing material and sell it at inflated prices to the fans.

Greatest hits albums only help the labels, not the bands. Hell, most bands actively try to block releases of their greatest hits albums.

[Mega-Tallica]

No, I don't like to getting bombarded with a lethal amount of good music all at the same time. It would cause me to spontaniously combust.

[Alright_Computer]

I'll buy box sets and compilations of a band's work occasionally. Hell, I just bought Minor Threat's entire discography on a single disc yesterday. However, I rarely, if ever, listen to greatest hits. In this digital age, I can make my own greatest hits albums for free, so why should I get one with nothing but rehashed material?

I've occasionally bought a greatest hits album to get into a band that isn't particularly known for its album cuts, but otherwise, I'm a purely studio albums guy.

[mercury11]

I only buy compilations if the band has singles that aren't on the albums like The Smiths or Joy Division

[Alright_Computer]

I only buy compilations if the band has singles that aren't on the albums like The Smiths or Joy Division

Ah, I forgot about those. New Order's Substance gets quite a bit of play time from me because it has Blue Monday, my favorite New Order song, on it. Same thing goes for the Smiths, except with How Soon Is Now instead. I also play Joy Division's Substance because of its B-sides and non-album singles. Still, as a whole, I'll typically reach for those bands' studio albums when I want to listen to them instead of their compilations.

[neckermanncj]

Ah, I forgot about those. New Order's Substance gets quite a bit of play time from me because it has Blue Monday, my favorite New Order song, on it. Same thing goes for the Smiths, except with How Soon Is Now instead. I also play Joy Division's Substance because of its B-sides and non-album singles. Still, as a whole, I'll typically reach for those bands' studio albums when I want to listen to them instead of their compilations.

yeah, when i DL'ed Still & Substance i got rid of duplicates on Still and kept the ones on Substance because i don't need multiple songs

also Louder Than Bombs is awesome, Hatful of Hollow is okay, like the above statement i deleted all the duplicates and kept them on louder than bombs instead