Best Aerosmith compilation?

I collect compilations from all sorts of genres and always tend to aim for the best. I'm looking to buy an Aerosmith compilation but unsure which I should get.

Is the super-popular Greatest Hits with the red cover worth getting? I also remember downloading one that was several discs that covered a wider section of their discography but I can't remember which that was. Let me know. Thanks!

There are several. Some cover the Geffen Years, other Columbia. Depends on which era you like best. Personally I dig the Geffen Years.

This is the one I have - O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits.  My copy is a bit annoying in that it's one of those CDs that's had something done to it so that it won't play on a computer, but I don't know if that's true of every copy.  It's the only Aerosmith album I have so I can't really comment on the tracklist but it does seem to give a good overview, covering both the Columbia and Geffen years.



Disc 1

1. Mama Kin
   
2. Dream On
   
3. Same Old Song And Dance
   
4. Seasons Of Wither
   
5. Walk This Way
   
6. Big Ten Inch Record
   
7. Sweet Emotion
   
8. Last Child
   
9. Back In The Saddle
   
10. Draw The Line
    
11. Dude (Looks Like A Lady)
    
12. Angel
    
13. Rag Doll
    
14. Janie's Got A Gun
    
15. Love In An Elevator
    
16. What It Takes
    

Disc 2

1. The Other Side
   
2. Livin' On The Edge
   
3. Cryin'
   
4. Amazing
   
5. Deuces Are Wild
   
6. Crazy
   
7. Falling In Love (Is Hard On Your knees)
   
8. Pink (South Beach Mix)
   
9. I Don't Want To Miss A Thing
   
10. Jaded
    
11. Just Push Play (Radio Remix)
    
12. Walk This Way (Run-DMC Version)
    
13. Girls Of Summer
    
14. Lay It Down
    
15. Come Together
    
16. Theme From Spider-Man
    
17. Toys In The Attic
    

If you really are set on just a compilation, I would get 3 (and they are cheap, so it's okay).

The Aerosmith Greatest Hits (the red cover you mention) is a suitable collection of their 70s hits, but since you hear most of those songs daily on the radio, it's kind of boring. It's cheap, so grab that one.

At the same time, grab Aerosmith Gems. It's sort of a compantion to GH. It's tunes from the same era, but not radio hits. Good stuff on this one.

Finally, if inclined, you can grab The Big Ones. This focuses on their late 80s and early 90s hits. It's not essential, but they had some good songs at this time.

These are all like $7 on Amazon.

THIS is the best one....


And THIS acts as a "Part 2" to the above...


You don't need anything else, IMO

ZombieHavoc wrote:

If you really are set on just a compilation, I would get 3 (and they are cheap, so it's okay).

The Aerosmith Greatest Hits (the red cover you mention) is a suitable collection of their 70s hits, but since you hear most of those songs daily on the radio, it's kind of boring. It's cheap, so grab that one.

At the same time, grab Aerosmith Gems. It's sort of a compantion to GH. It's tunes from the same era, but not radio hits. Good stuff on this one.

Finally, if inclined, you can grab The Big Ones. This focuses on their late 80s and early 90s hits. It's not essential, but they had some good songs at this time.

These are all like $7 on Amazon.

Agreed. The single best Aerosmith disc to get is Rocks. But if you just want compilations, these three are the ones to get.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

THIS is the best one....


And THIS acts as a "Part 2" to the above...


You don't need anything else, IMO

^^ What Shawn sez.

Shawn Of Fire wrote:

THIS is the best one....


And THIS acts as a "Part 2" to the above...


You don't need anything else, IMO

I agree with this, 'Gems' has some deeper cuts, the only thing I don't like about the 'Greatest Hits' album is some of the tunes have been edited for some unknown reason

Yes, I would skip that red cover greatest hits album. The bass intro to 'Sweet Emotion' is completely edited out. And it skips over anything from 'Night in the Ruts', with the exception of a Shangri-La's cover of 'Remember Walkin in the Sand'. Lame. It only pulls songs from their first 5 albums and it's the radio hits you already know. According to Joe Perry, who was already gone from the band, this album was put out by Columbia Records and he had no idea it existed until a fan showed him a copy and asked Joe to sign it.

I always direct anyone new to Aerosmith to the Gems album. Great comp of their classic 70's era deep cuts. No real radio hits, but a good arguement for anyone that doesn't think Aerosmith were heavy in the 70's.

The only other one I own is Big Ones, which covers their latter Geffen years stuff pretty well, but it's not a frequent spinner for me. Since that one came out in '94, they've probably released 5 or more other comps, but I've nevered bothered with them. The one or 2 "new" songs they throw on there isn't enough to justify the purchase.

You can get Pandora's Box pretty cheap nowadaze. Covers ALOT of the era that matters

James B. wrote:

You can get Pandora's Box pretty cheap nowadaze.   Covers ALOT of the era that matters

Agreed. An excellent box set, but might be too much for a casual fan that's just looking for the hits. The deep cuts and alternate takes might be overkill.

How can somebody only be a casual fan of old Aerosmith ?  

James B. wrote:

How can somebody only be a casual fan of old Aerosmith ?  

Ask someone that thinks Alter Bridge is better than the Beatles, Led Zepplin and the Rolling Stones.  

Gems.  The red Greatest Hits also contains their cover of Come Together (the only reason I ever bought it), aside from that it's all over-played material.

Go with Gems. Great intro to the band.

I have the Essential Aerosmith 3.0 which covers all the radio hits, some live albums and includes the track w/Run D.M.C. as well as some deeper cuts. I like it but then I bought for my Aerosmith fix while I work on the full discography.