Since it's a cross-licensed, 21-track collection, it stands to reason that 's 2003 is finally the collection that gets it right, presenting a fully rounded portrait of her long, winding, multi-label career. It's not, but it's closer than any previous collection, eclipsing 's 2001 by containing hits from every aspect of her career, from 's to her 1999 comeback, and beyond to the new, -produced (yes, it does feature heavy vocoder work). Where other collections emphasized her '70s hits, this focuses on the work, which may be appropriate since they rarely appeared on hits compilations before this, along with the late-'90s comeback on . This is all pushed toward the front, taking up the first 11 songs, which, frankly, is infuriating sequencing, especially since it bounces between the and the post- , neo- of the years. Also, there is simply too much material, given that apart from it was entirely too generic and also not big hits. They nearly knock the collection off track by providing a dead stretch in the middle of the record before it regains momentum with 1979's and then more or less works its way back to her beginning. This is a bewildering choice in sequencing, and it hurts the general listenablity of the record; even if all periods are represented and all the big hits are here, the lack of logic leads to a herky-jerky sequencing that is tiring on the ear. That said, this does have all the big hits -- among them. And even if the presentation leaves a lot to be desired, it's still nice to have all these in one place. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine