Billy Joel

The piano man, a guy who writes pretty fun songs.

Information: Billy Joel
Suggested first purchase/best of: Greatest Hit. Vol. 1, 2, & 3.
Suggested first album: An Innocent Man.

Greatest Hits Vol. 1 & 2 (1973-1985) -- Greatest hits are probably the way to go with Billy Joel, and this covers most of the hits from his classic period, though you'll probably want to invest in one of the other ones that has some of the latter hits. B

Storm Front (1989) -- An album I enjoyed a lot when it first came out, when I was fourteen, and it's still not too bad. It's got "We Didn't Start the Fire," a classic listy/rambly song in the vein of "It's the End of the World as We Know It" and "Subterranean Homesick Blues." I loved it as much as everyone else back then (still think it's pretty good), though I still don't see how having kids listen to it in school is exactly educational (it's just a list of stuff, after all, not an explanation). The original version of "Shameless" here should be heard if you're only used to the Garth Brooks version. And "And So It Goes" managed to break my teenage heart. The main songs are covered on the greatest hits, so you don't really need it unless you're a big Billy Joel fan, but it's nice enough. B

Greatest Hits Vol. 3 (1985-1997) -- Picking up a few stray things that the first collection(s) left off, then going on with some songs that aren't as good, since Billy was losing some of the joy by this point. If you want the songs from this, best to get it in a combination with the earlier ones. C

The Complete Hits Collection: Limited Edition (1973-1997) -- This happens to be the one I have, but only because I was able to pick it up cheap. The one I actually recommend is the next one; this one is simply that collection plus one more disc of a question and answer session CD (mixed with some outtakes) that's only worth listening to once... which would be nice enough to have as a bonus if it didn't cost more (if, like me, you find this used, go ahead and get it). B

Greatest Hits Vol. 1, 2, & 3 (1973-1997, 2000) -- All three hits collections stuck together. Get them separate or get them like this, whichever is easiest/cheapest. It's got pretty much everything you need. A