Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Great band, collection falls flat
I would really give this collection 3 1/2 stars for the inclusion of a lot of top-notch Floyd songs, and the fact that somehow the edits make the songs flow pretty well from one to another. I have a major problem with certain songs selected, however. The songs chosen from the band's "Classic" period are hard to argue with: One of These Days and Echoes from Meddle; Time, Money, Great Gig and Us & Them from DSOTM; Shine On and the title track from WYWH; Sheep from Animals; and Another Brick, Hey You and Comfortably Numb from The Wall (I don't really think of Happiest days as a song - it's more like a segue). My only complaints here: "Dogs" is one of their best tunes, and was passed over because of length issues...and God only knows why "Run Like Hell" was excluded. Though I'm not really a Syd Barrett-era Floyd fan, I realize the significance of that era's music and the necessity of including a good number of Barrett songs. Of the five included here, the only one I really don't care for is Jugband Blues. I think they would have been better off including another one of the early singles, or maybe another track from Piper. Also: two tracks chosen from Saucerful of Secrets, but none from Atom Heart Mother or Obscured by Clouds? There's something wrong there. What really steams me about this collection are the choices for the Gilmour-era songs. The five songs included here are High Hopes, Marooned, Sorrow, Learning to Fly, and Keep Talking. Alright, High Hopes is a terrific and powerful song, and well worth having; Learning to Fly is one of the better songs from the sub-par Momentary Lapse. However, besides High Hopes, the very best songs from this era of Floyd are not represented on this collection: "On the Turning Away," "Poles Apart" (an incredibly underrated song from Division Bell), "Coming Back to Life," and "Take it Back" all completely outclass most of the Gilmour material included here. Marooned? I don't care if it won one grammy or 10 grammies...it's still a boring, pointless song. And Keep Talking? That pick really gets me...that may be the single worst Gilmour-Floyd song. Rounding out the set, we have a random Final Cut song that seems out of place, and When the Tigers Broke Free, which is basically included for the sole purpose of attracting hardcores who already own all the cd's. It's an average song: there's a reason why it was left off The Wall in the first place. All in all, I suppose this compilation does serve its purpose for the average fan. It does include the overall best songs from the best era of the band. At the very least, they did make it two discs, and including Echoes (the song) was a good move. That notwithstanding, the collection could have been rounded out a bit better. Some songs have no right to be called "the best of Pink Floyd."
Rating:  - Oh Yes. THE BEST of Pink Floyd.
Pink Floyd are a great band, but their albums are often affairs permeated one too many filler instrumental, or not enough tracks. So where to begin if you don't own every album? Simple answer - this Best Of collection. It is thorough in that it offers a cross-section of the different musical styles employed throughout the Floyd's 10 albums, and picks the best tracks from each, and its value for money is unbeatable, with the two CDs clocking in at over 155 minutes, yet rarely dipping in quality. From 1967 to 1994, the Floyd were consistently producing excellent music, and this is testament to this fact.Highlights include the classic No. 1 single 'Another Brick In The Wall'; long epics like 'Echoes' and 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond'; the pleading 'Hey You'; 'Comfortably Numb', with one of the best guitar solos ever; 'Us and Them' and 'Time', two classics from 'Dark Side of the Moon'; and one their newer tracks, 1994's 'Keep Talking'. 5 stars.
Rating: - Best of Pink Floyd, nearly...
Pink Floyd has always been a band that has not ever been easily defined or contained, as is proof by this new compilation. The compilers of this package have attempted the impossible to compact the 36 year history of one of rock's most innovative bands into a 2-CD set. They almost succeeded. Hardcore Floyd fans will no doubt be annoyed by what's not included("Careful With That Axe Eugene" from Ummagumma, "Dogs" from "Animals", editing the title track down from its original 22-minute length, "Alan's Psychedelic Breakfast" from "Atom Heart Mother", "Run Like Hell" from "The Wall", and several others), but then again Pink Floyd has never been defined by hit singles. Their music is always best heard in the context of a complete album. On the plus side, the remastered sound through out is excellent, and is especially noticable on the Syd Barrett tracks. For someone new to their music this is an excellent introduction.
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