Very Best

This overview of soulful Scottish singer/songwriter Frankie Miller features his three big hits "Darlin'," "Be Good to Yourself," and "Caledonia," as well as key album cuts like "Highlife/Brickyard Blues" and "I Can't Change It." Miller never found the same amount of success overseas as he did in his native U.K., but his raspy brand of Rod Stewart, Tom Waits and Bob Seger-infused pub rock, blue-eyed soul, and R&B earned him a loyal following that will covet this fine collection of impassioned '70s goodness.

Hard as it is to believe but there has not been a proper Ringo Starr hits collection since the first, 1975's Blast from Your Past – that's not counting 1989's Starr Struck: Best of Ringo Starr, Vol. 2, which was designed as a companion to that earlier set – until 2007's Photograph: The Very Best of Ringo Starr…

Since Rhino released an exhaustive four-disc ZZ Top box in October 2003, some may question the appearance of a double-disc retrospective in June 2004, a mere eight months after the box set. The two may be released awfully close to each other, but they do play to different audiences – in other words, there are a bunch of fans who want all the hits, but not a full box set, and that's what the 38-track Rancho Texicano: The Very Best of ZZ Top delivers…

The 1990 collection The Very Best of Elton John (available in the U.K. and Australia) is an excellent 30-track summary of his peak years, running from "Your Song" to "You Gotta Love Someone." In a sense, it's the concise counterpart to the box set To Be Continued, released that same year but spanning four discs and filled with rarities…

There's one thing wrong with The Very Best of Daryl Hall & John Oates, and it's minor – the promotional 12" mix of "Adult Education" is included in favor of the 7" version. This isn't a big deal and it doesn't mar what is the best overview of Hall & Oates' RCA years, the era when they became the biggest-selling duo in the history of rock…

There's a certain relief that the 2002 double-disc set The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac doesn't even attempt to dabble in the early blues work of the Peter Green band, and treats the addition of Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks as ground zero…

Peter Green is regarded by some fans as the greatest white blues guitarist ever, Eric Clapton notwithstanding. Born Peter Greenbaum but calling himself Peter Green by age 15, he grew up in London's working-class East End. Green's early musical influences were Hank Marvin of the Shadows, Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Freddie King, and traditional Jewish music. He originally played bass before being invited in 1966 by keyboardist Peter Bardens to play lead in the Peter B's, whose drummer was a lanky chap named Mick Fleetwood…

Covering all of his crucial eighties material, Spark to a Flame: The Very Best of Chris de Burgh offers up most of this songwriter's best work, while also including a few of his better pieces from early in his career…

Live archive release from the American R&B/Soul/Funk outfit. On the occasion of their 40th anniversary, Kool & The Gang gave a concert in Denver, Colorado in the summer of 2005 to celebrate four decades of success all over the world…