Greatest-hits albums, now minus the hits

Artists are rushing out ‘best of’ compilations; it is just about the cash?

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Kryptonite? You could argue that Mandy Moore's acting career has cast a shadow over her singing. But that hasn't prevented her from hopping aboard the greatest-hit train.

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updated 7:55 p.m. ET Aug. 26, 2005

NEW YORK - A greatest-hits album once stood as a watershed — a milestone chronicling a collection of top-rated hits, culturally significant songs or the end of a stellar career.

But in recent years, a flood of “best of” titles from acts with only few years in the business — and performers with even fewer hits — have called into question how great a greatest-hits collection is.

Last fall, Britney Spears released “Greatest Hits: My Prerogative,” a retrospective of her chart-topping, multiplatinum recording career — all six years of it. The Backstreet Boys put out “The Hits: Chapter One” in 2001 — just four years after releasing their first album.

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“I don’t know what you’d put on a record if you’ve only been making records for five years. I don’t know what those greatest hits would be,” said veteran rocker John Mellencamp.

At least Spears and the Boys had a steady collection of hits — or can say they have more than just one.

Among the more questionable greatest-hits collections that have popped up in recent years: “Toy Soldiers: The Best of Martika” (with one hit from the 1980s); “The Best of Mandy Moore,” from an entertainer who had more success as an actress than she ever did as a singer; and “The Best of O.D.B.,” from the late rapper who will best be remembered for his wild behavior and legal troubles than his chart-topping hits (or lack thereof).

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Do you buy "best-of" albums?

'Disposable' music
And while teen queen Hilary Duff has sold millions of albums, she’s only released two discs — the first one in 2003 — and neither spawned a top 10 hit. Her “best of” collection, “Most Wanted,” hit record stores Aug. 16.

“I guess with music becoming so disposable, things just happen so much faster now,” said Collective Soul singer Dean Roland, whose band put out a greatest-hits album of its own in 2001. “The short answer to the whole thing is it comes out to a money issue. The labels can put a greatest-hits album out and it’s going to sell.”

They can be wildly popular. The Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits: 1971-1975” is the best-selling album in U.S. history, selling more than 28 million copies. They’re also cheap to produce and promote.

Sheryl Crow, whose “The Very Best of Sheryl Crow,” was a multiplatinum hit in 2003, agrees that in some cases, thoughts of profits weigh heavily. “Part of that is record labels continually try to work their catalog so they always have money coming in,” Crow said.

CONTINUED : 'All the hits in one place'

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