The Best of

Radiohead | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 3, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B0017KP944
• Also Available in: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,597 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #11 in Music > Indie Music > Dance & DJ > Electronica
  • #12 in Music > Alternative Rock > British Alternative > Britpop
  • #13 in Music > Alternative Rock > Indie & Lo-Fi > Electronic Pop

Editorial Reviews

1. Just
2. Paranoid Android
3. Karma Police
4. Creep
5. No Surprises
6. High and Dry
7. My Iron Lung
8. There There
9. Lucky
10. Optimistic
11. Fake Plastic Trees
12. Idioteque
13. 2+2 = 5
14. The Bends
15. Pyramid Song
16. Street Spirit (Fade Out)
17. Everything In Its Right Place

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 4.5 Stars... Excellent overview of Radiohead's EMI studio albums, June 3, 2008

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Best of (Audio CD)

Music: 5 Stars... Compilation: 4 Stars

When Radiohead decided with the "In Rainbows" album not to re-up with EMI, it was only a matter of time before the label would squeeze a few more drops out of the money machine that Radiohead was for EMI. The label simply had to find a good time and excuse to do so, and that time has come (new tour!). The band has made clear that it has nothing to do with this "best of", all the while also acknowledging that EMI has the legal right to do this. Now the question is: is this compilation any good?

"The Best of Radiohead" (17 tracks; 76 min.) not surprisingly focuses on tracks from three albums: a whopping 6 tracks from 1995's commercial breakthrough album "The Bends", including the singles Just, My Iron Lung, High and Dry, Fake Plastic Trees, Street Spirit (Fade Out) and also the fabulous title tracks. 1997's "OK Computer" album, viewed by many as one of the most important albums of the 90s, gets 4 tracks, including the singles Paranoid Android, Karma Police, No surprises, and also Lucky. 2000's "Kid A" gets 3 tracks: Optimistic, Idioteque, and Everything In Its Right Place. With that, 75% of this "best of" compilation is filled. The remaining 3 studio albums get a mere 4 tracks: the monster hit Creep from 1993's "Pablo Honey"; Pyramid Song from 2001's "Amnesiac; and finally There There and 2+2=5 from 2004's "Hail to the Thief".

In all, it is difficult to argue with that selection. Only 2 singles did not make in on here (Knives Out from "Amnesiac" and Go to Sleep from "Hail to the Thief", but this is not "The Singles of Radiohead". I will say that I am not crazy with the sequencing of the album (notice that the 3 tracks from "Kid A" are buried in the second half). But all in all, EMI actually did make a pretty good job of it, imagine that! For anyone not all that familiar with Radiohead, this is a great place to start. If you are wondering whether to buy this, or instead the 2CD "Special Edition" (which comes with an additional 13 songs on a second CD), I'd recommend to buy this single CD compilation. If you like what you hear, the next step is to explore the individual studio albums of Radiohead.

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Why Bother?, June 5, 2008

By 

Patrick Kennedy (Michigan, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of (Audio CD)

Each of these songs is fantastic, so if you're the kind of person who would like to be able to say that you've "heard" Radiohead, this purchase will be ok. You will at least have 17 great songs that you didn't have before. On the other hand, if you listen to the samples and notice that you like what you hear, you might be interested in knowing that Radiohead now have seven whole albums of songs at least as good as what's presented here.

You should also know that each of their albums is a fairly cohesive work, and is best taken as a whole. So, even if you're not looking to buy seven disks straight up (which is still a great idea if you like what you hear), I think you'd do better to buy one of the complete albums rather than this collection.

Pablo Honey is their first and easily their weakest album, but is still fairly good (and yes, it has "Creep" on it). If you're looking to just satisfy your curiosity about this Radiohead that you keep hearing about (and I'm sorry about that; Radiohead fans can be a rabid bunch), then buy OK Computer. I guarantee you that having one complete album with 12 tracks is better than having this collection of 17. Once you have OK Computer and you want more, you can either go to Kid A and Amnesiac for more weird and electronic, or to The Bends for less weird.

Once you've done that, if you realize that you would still be interested in more (and I hope you are), you might as well just order Pablo Honey, Hail to the Thief, and In Rainbows in one shipment, giving yourself about a week to listen to each of the last two.

I hope that's helpful. Enjoy!

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A pretty good overview of the best band currently out there, June 4, 2008

By 

finulanu ""the mysterious"" (Here, there, and everywhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Best of (Audio CD)

First off, let me say that I am somewhat obsessed with Radiohead - they're my favorite band other than the Beatles, and easily the best group currently making music. So when I first learned of a Radiohead compilation, I almost flew into a "Pacifist's rampage". That is, I almost threw assorted harmless objects such as cloth napkins and pillowcases within a five-inch radius in an otherwise empty room. But then I calmed myself down, and realized that this is a great intro to a fantastic band. See, the thing about Radiohead is that a compilation actually works for them. Their albums (particularly the Bends, OK Computer, Kid A and In Rainbows, though they have yet to disappoint me) are all very good, or at least have very good moments, and they've never made a bad one. But their best songs make perfect sense out of album context (other than "Treefingers", a brief instrumental that serves no purpose other than to link the first and second halves of the album). So they're not like Pink Floyd, whose albums you have to hear entirely in order to get where they're going. Nor are they the Beatles (the greatest band ever, by the way) who have too many hits, famous songs, and whatnot, to fit on four CD's.
So, basically, the casual Radiohead fan should just go for it. It contains all of Radiohead's most significant hits not found on In Rainbows, after all - "Creep", "High and Dry", "Fake Plastic Trees", "Just", "Paranoid Android", "Karma Police", "No Surprises", "Lucky", "Optimistic", "Pyramid Song", "There There" and so forth; and a few album tracks, too! I have to give them the thumbs-up for including "The Bends", which rocks like hell, and the apocalyptic techno "Idioteque", a fan favorite.
I don't know what else to say, really. If you're new to Radiohead, and just want all the hits on one disc, scoop it up. But be warned: this group can be addicting.