Vinyl Compilation Albums: Best-Ofs, Anthologies and Series to Know
What is a vinyl compilation?
A vinyl compilation is a record that gathers tracks previously released elsewhere, chosen around a common thread: one artist (the greatest hits album), a genre, an era, a label or a DJ's selection. Unlike a studio album, it isn't conceived as a single work but as a curated set of songs. This section covers various artists compilations across every genre, from rock and electronic music to funk / soul, jazz, reggae and world music.
The format goes back a long way. In the 1970s, K-tel sold hit compilations through TV ads, and the "Now That's What I Call Music!" series launched in the UK in 1983. Since then, specialist labels have turned compilations into serious archival work, with detailed liner notes and tracks that had become impossible to find.
Greatest hits, anthologies and DJ mixes: types of compilation LPs
Not every compilation serves the same purpose. A greatest hits record introduces an artist, an anthology maps out a scene, and a DJ selection captures the feel of a club night. Before you buy, figure out which family a record belongs to, because that decides what you'll actually be listening to:
- greatest hits: an artist's best-known songs, for example Johnny Cash or Oasis
- hits compilations: the big songs of a year or decade
- label or scene anthologies: a catalog told through its tracks
- themed series: one volume per style, country or era
- DJ selections, such as the "DJ-Kicks" series from !K7
Compilation series every collector should know
Some compilations have become landmark records. "Nuggets", assembled by Lenny Kaye for Elektra in 1972, defined the canon of 1960s garage rock. Soul Jazz Records has documented reggae, dub and punk in widely followed series, Numero Group digs up forgotten soul in its "Eccentric Soul" series, Ace Records mines rock and roll, soul and rhythm and blues, and Trojan Records covers reggae in themed box sets.
For African music, Analog Africa and Strut Records release carefully researched anthologies. The Paris label Born Bad Records has released acclaimed compilations of French rock and cold wave, such as "Des jeunes gens mödernes". On the club side, Ministry of Sound compilations soundtracked 1990s house and dance music, and they still turn up often on the used market.
How to choose a compilation on vinyl
Start with the track list. Original versions, later re-recordings and live takes are not the same thing, and some budget collections of 1950s and 1960s standards rely on re-recordings. Then check the source (recent remaster, mono or stereo), the number of discs and whether there's a booklet: with an anthology, the liner notes are half the point.
To focus on a genre, use the subcollections: rock compilations, electro compilations, jazz / blues compilations, funk / soul / R&B compilations, world music compilations, reggae / ska / dub compilations, rap compilations, pop compilations, hits / top compilations, French pop compilations, international variety compilations and kids' compilations. Each record page then compares offers from several partner stores.
