Best 105 Compilation Albums of All-Time!
*This article contains very strong language and content that many may find offensive. Discretion is advised*
Compilations are usually overlooked as a relic of the past. A staple of the 7" record and MTV generation, collecting the best tracks of an artist or group of artists as a handy introduction to them or their style. However with the advent of Spotify and music streaming in general, it seems that their use has fallen out of fashion. Completely writing them off as a forgone conclusion is incredibly wrong in my eyes.
To celebrate the cultural necessity of compilation albums, I have undertaken the task of ranking the 105 best compilation albums of all time. The only question is, can you write an article with 105 entries and keep it interesting the whole way through?
105. Now That’s What I Call Music! 1: A great start to a brilliant franchise which has survived the test of time. It is a staple of HMVs everywhere. Now that’s what I call music is the series you fell in love with as a kid, only to find your parents’ collection and fall in love with it all over again. This series transcends generations, it’s hard to choose a favourite but the clear winner for the 105th spot is the one that started it all off.
104. Now That’s What I Call Music! 2: Even better than the first edition, with great new tracks such as the summer classic ‘Radio Ga Ga’ by Queen which kicks the adventure off, the run of The Smiths, Fiction Factory and David Bowie is genius. Lots of replay value to this one! Great for long drives through the idyllic Cheshire fjords.
103. Now That’s What I Call Music! 3: This series just keeps getting better and better.
102. Now That’s What I Call Music! 4: An unbelievable continuation in what was thought to just be a passing fad. Now! knock it out of the park with this entry. This truly is one of the best compilation albums of all time.
101. Now That’s What I Call Music! 5:
100. Now That’s What I Call Music! 6: As a surprising twist, Now 6 is the 100th best Compilation album of all time! And why wouldn’t it be, with classics such as ‘One Vision’ by Queen, ‘Running Up That Hill’ by Kate Bush and the ‘Miami Vice Theme’ by Viami Mice. It is truly a journey from start to finish, which transports you back to the middling summer of 1985, a time unlike no other.
99. Now That’s What I Call Music! 7: This one will be best remembered for introducing the world to ‘Sledgehammer' by Peter Gabriel, truly an iconic way to kick off this adrenaline packed festival of a record. You may be wondering, Ed? Is this really going to be a list of all Now! records in consecutive order?
98. Now That’s What I Call Music! 8: This one will be best remembered for introducing the world to Pet Shop Boys with their infectious 80s dancefloor filler ‘Suburbia’. If you thought Peter Gabriel was old news, think again! Teaming up with Kate Bush, they release the infectious 80s dancefloor filler ‘Don’t Give Up’; A track that truly makes me want to don’t give up.
97. Now That’s What I Call Music! 9: Yeah, I wasn’t too fussed about this. There’s no Morrisey, where’s the Morrisey?
96. Now That’s What I Call Music! 10: A compilation album to beat all compilation albums, this one has the added bonus of not having Coldplay. They were deliberately removed from the track list as they wouldn’t be a band for 10 years. Instead it is packed full of fun gems such as ‘Crazy Crazy Nights' by Kiss and others.
95. Now That’s What I Call Music! 11: An already perfect record, but best known for its anthemic feel-good summer anthem ‘Sometimes I just feel like crying’ by Man Vorrison. Its moments like these which elevated the series to something of a British pop culture icon.
94. Now That’s What I Call Music! 12: Wow! It doesn’t stop getting better and better and better, with a double ‘whammy’ of two and a half Wham songs! Back to back we have ‘Last Christmas’, ‘Club Tropicana' and ‘Wake Me Up Before Y’. It deserves a place in this list just for that.
93. Now That’s What I Call Music! 13: I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. What really gets me about this series is that every iteration builds upon the last in surprising, but welcome ways. After 13 entries there is promise that this series will continue re-defining the idea of a hit. Is it really successful it it’s not on a Now! CD? Nope.
92. Now That’s What I Call Music! 14: What a great addition to a time-tested format.
91. Now That’s What I Call Music! 15: Beautiful
90. Now That’s What I Call Music! 16: Genial!
89. Now That’s What I Call Music! 17: Perfect in every way
88. Now That’s What I Call Music! 18: A classic to be remembered for decades to come
87. Now That’s What I Call Music! 19: Nah, not feeling this one, 2/10
86. Now That’s What I Call Music! 20: This one though, it is brilliant 11/10
85. Now That’s What I Call Music! 21: If I could rate this entire series in order of how much I loved each one, well, it would look something like this.
84. Now That’s What I Call Music! 22: What can I say about Now! 22? A lot of things, such as this.
83. Now That’s What I Call Music! 23: I’ve just realised that the correct album title is ‘Now! That’s What I Call Music’. I don’t have the mental energy to go back through all of the entries and change it so we will just have to live with it.
82. Now That’s What I Call Music! 24: Fun fact! This album is incredibly popular, yet infamous with conspiracy theorists everywhere. If you listen to track number 17 on the first disc ‘Jesus He Loves Me’ by Genesis and turn the bass up on your speaker. You should listen deep into the right speaker, then at 1:43 you will hear absolutely fucking nothing you mouth breathing cretin.
81. Now That’s What I Call Music! 25: A return to form for the series and truly deserves the 81st spot on this list. With contributions from Take That, Shaggy and Lenny Kravitz, it is a perfect time capsule that is not only a fun listen, but reflects the tense political climate of the time.
80. Now That’s What I Call Music! 26: Great album, just an interesting choice why they chose to put 42 minutes of static on each side of the album.
79. Now That’s What I Call Music! 27: After the avant garde release of the Now! 25, the gang return to basics with 35 tracks of blood curled screams at various tempos! This is certainly a must have for any budding vinyl-head’s collection.
78. Now That’s What I Call Music! 28: The Now Boys mix it up with a sprinkle of Peter Gabriel, a dash of Kajagoogoo, a squeeze of Lemon, two cloves of garlic and finely chopped thyme.
77. Now That’s What I Call Music! 29: Perfect
76. Now That’s What I Call Music! 30: In
75. Now That’s What I Call Music! 31: Every
74. Now That’s What I Call Music! 32: Single
73. Now That’s What I Call Music! 33: Wingle
72. Now That’s What I Call Music! 34: Way
71. Now That’s What I Call Music! 35: Not this one though, this album has a lack of Morrisey on it and I am afraid that it is the only thing holding it back from the top spot.
70. Now That’s What I Call Music! 36: This album brilliantly predicted ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonzi by having the track ‘Despacito’ by Luis Fonzi at the end of the second CD, 20 years before it was released.
69. Now That’s What I Call Music! 37: Why this one reminds me of the nights down the local pub with my work mates after a long night at the office. It was a stormy, miserable, Thursday night in Edinburgh, but that didn’t stop us. We had all finished the latest project, fixing the back end of our web systems, and decided to pre-emptivley spend our bonuses on a couple rounds of drinks. We bought a few for the girls round the other side of the bar. They looked like young professionals, too young to want to spend time with us no doubt. But we were drunk and messing around, so what can you do. They came over and laughs started rolling. The pub felt like a carnival, with drinks flowing, music blaring, and more money than we had sense. One of the guys we were with stopped and stared, wide-eyed at his phone. It was his wife, she knew. She knew of his infidelity, his string of one-night stands, mistresses and tinderellas. Not only had she found out, they had contacted her, warning her about his inappropriate behaviour, to say it lightly. What should he do? Nothing, he thought. This is my fate, I deserve this. I have had fun at the expense of others and now it is my time to receive penance. I deserve no remorse, not that any will be sent my way. His name? Joseph Stalin, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Then the music stopped, the bar fell silent. We had reached the end of the first disc of Now! 37, and wow, what a thrill ride that was.
68. Now That’s What I Call Music! 38: A stellar addition to the Now music catalogue. With additions by artists such as Bryan Adams, and Freddie Mercury’s solo work. Highlighting an interesting point that older musicians are only just making an appearance on these records, in the second and third legs of their careers. The appearance from Peter Gabriel is a surprise, but a welcome one. This album does however have a lack of Morrisey on it and I am afraid that this is the only thing holding it back from the top spot.
67. Now That’s What I Call Music! 39: Yes
66. Now That’s What I Call Music! 40: No
65. Now That’s What I Call Music! 41 Yes
64. Now That’s What I Call Music! 42: Just happens to be the answer to life, the universe and everything.
63. Now That’s What I Call Music! 43: Maybe
62. Now That’s What I Call Music! 44: If you play this CD backwards, at the 23 minute mark you can hear Michael Jackson’s confession to everything, in excruciating detail.
61. Now That’s What I Call Music! 45: If you play this CD backwards, it will just sound really shit lol.
60. Now That’s What I Call Music! 46: Brilliant album, only questionable choice is why they decided to include the Kids Bop version of ‘Baby got Back’ by Sir Mixalot and why it repeats 44 times with only one other track. You’ll have to guess what that track is.
59. Now That’s What I Call Music! 47: Plethora. It might not look like much, but trust me, it means a lot.
58. Now That’s What I Call Music! 48: Rest in peace Biggie. He’s not on this album I just had a thought and it made me sad
57. Now That’s What I Call Music! 49: This CD is the closest in the Now timeline to 9/11. Never forget.
56. Music! 50: This is it, the diamond anniversary of Now! And how do they celebrate? Fucking Westlife.
55. Music. 51: All I can say is wow, just wow. Slow clap for this one, but then a fast clap with all sincerity as they truly deserve it for being innovative on this one.
54. Muuuuusic. 52: My biggest problem is that this article will be obsolete in 4 months. What happens then? Now 106 comes out. Then Now 107. These records have always consecutively gotten better. What if one of them is a middling record, where will I rank it? How will I feed my kids? Will my wife leave me? What is Obama’s last name? All this and more in the next episode…
53. Now That’s What I Call Music! 53: Not the UK, version, the US version. Yeah baby, that’s what I’m talking about. Yeah It’s got MKTO, it’s got Paramore, you like that? You fucking like that? Yeah you do you fucking bitch. Won’t get that in Britain you fucking tea drinking queen shagging tossers.
52. Hark! Doth Thoust Notice Music Coming From Thine Heavens? 54: However this one’s the UK version now so you can rest easy
51. Now That’s What I Call Music! 55: So is this one
50. Now That’s What I Call Music! 56: And this one
49. Now That’s What I Call Music! 57: Not this one though
48. Now That’s What I Call Music! 58: Hmmm
47. Now That’s What I Call Music! 59: Uhh…
46. Now That’s What I Call Music! 60: Wow this is getting stale isn’t it? I’m surprised I lasted until, what, number 60? That’s not bad going for a rookie journalist like me with big dreams in the big harsh city of L.A.
45. Poop Di Scoop Di Whoop Music! 61: So how has your week been? Yeah, sounds good. Oh, me? Yeah not too bad actually, had to put the cat down though. Shame, really, had her for years actually, dug out a few nice pictures. Funny thing is, my cousin Alice got back together with her boyfriend. Funny that. Life does come in circles sometimes.
44. Now That’s What I Call Music! 62: Cool story I just remembered, when I was 11, I had to live with my Uncle Grant for a year and as part of his ‘Parenting’ was to forbid me from listening to any Explicit music. He wouldn’t let me buy the new Jessie J album ‘Who You Are’ when it came out. I was having new, exciting, pubescent feelings and I didn’t know how to express myself. And he just had to come out and rub my nose in it.
43. Now That’s What I Call Music! 63: You know what? I asked for that album for my birthday and instead he bought me Now 73. Now 73!!! Un-fucking-believable. No wonder I reported Uncle Grant for molesting me. I mean he didn’t, I wouldn’t, like, look at him, I wouldn’t get near that clapped bastard with a 10 foot pole.
42. Now That’s What I Call Music! 64: I’m still livid about it, and I’ve spent three album summaries ranting about it now. Fuck me what an arsehole.
41. Now That’s What I Call Music! 65: And now back to the music. This album features the likes of _____ and a brilliant new addition of ______. However, I am not too keen on ____ which is why this record only features at number _____ on my list.
40. Now That’s What I Call Music! 66: I can’t review this album as I lost my CD of it when I was 7 down the back of the sofa. Bet it was great ☹
39. Here Is Music! 67: A stellar addition to the Now music catalogue. With additions by artists such as Bryan Adams, and Freddie Mercury’s solo work. Highlighting an interesting point that older musicians are only just making an appearance on these records, in the second and third legs of their careers. The appearance from Peter Gabriel is a surprise, but a welcome one. This album does however have a lack of Morrisey on it and I am afraid that this is the only thing holding it back from the top spot.
38. Now That’s What I Call Music! 68: A Stella addition to the Now music catalogue. With additions by painters such as Aryan Bdams, and Mreddie Fercury’s solo work. Highlighting an interesting point that musicians are only just making an appearance on these records, in the daddy long legs of their careers. The appearance from Geter Pabriel is a surprise, but certainly one. This album does however have a lack of Morrisey on it and I am afraid that this is the only thing holding it back from the top spot.
37. Now That’s What I Call Music! 69: Nice
36. But What Do You Call Music? 70: A stellar addition to the Now music catalogue. With additions by artists such as Benny Benassi, Benny Benassi and Benny Benassi’s solo work. Highlighting an interesting point that Benny Benassi is only just making an appearance on these records, in the Benny and Benassi legs of his career. The appearance from Benny Benassi is a surprise, but one. This album does however have a lack of Morrisey on it and I am afraid that this is the only thing holding it back from the top spot.
35. Now That’s What I Call Music! 71: Did you know that 71 backwards is 17? Its these little things in life that really keep me going man
34. Now That’s What I Call Music! 72: I’m just impressed that they got two of The Saturdays’ songs on this one. No wonder it’s a keeper! It brings out the inner teenager out of me, wanting to sing and to dance around on my bed, with the torch on, waving it until dawn.
33. Now That’s What I Call Music! 73: Fuck you Uncle Grant
32. Now That’s What I Call Music! 74: Lily Allen makes a triumphant return on this collection. Showing the world that she has it in her to still make music despite still making music on a regular basis and refusing to give up which is what we need from a Lily Allen of her calliber.
31. Now That’s What I Call Music! 75: I remember the meeting I was at when I agreed to write this article. You know, I have big aspirations. So when the editor asked me to write an article, or a ‘listicle’ as he called it, funny guy, about the 105 best compilation albums I was initially thrilled. I said to him ‘won’t it be a lot of work?’, but then he grinned and said ‘not for me it isn’t’. Then we both laughed a hearty laugh and took another sip of single malt, 1985, Courviosier whiskey, on the rocks (obviously!) whilst adjusting our slacks and lighting another cigar.
30. Now That’s What I Call Music! 76: But then I realised that none of that ever happened and I was just tripping balls on acid the entire time. So everyone’s a loser I guess.
29. Now That’s What I Call Music! 77: This is just a filler review. No one really remembers Now 77, it just kinda happened. It didn’t shift the musical landscape in the same way that the rest of the series did. There’s also no Soija Boy or Morrisey.
28. Now That’s What I Call Music! 78: A modern day classic from start to finish, although there are some lyrical missteps, such as on the track ‘Witch Doctor’, with the chorus ‘Ooh Eee, Ooh Ahh Ahh, Ting Tang, Walla Walla Bing Bang’. Although they did apologise publicly for these remarks, it has damaged their public image significantly. Who is ‘they’ you may ask? I’m afraid that my lawyers tell me I’m not at liberty to say.
27. Now That’s What I Call Music! 79: I’m gonna be honest, I dunno who Fiction factory are in my Now 2 review, I just googled the track list and was like here you go.
26. Spank My Ass And Call Me Sally, It’s Music! 80: In fact, the entire review for Now 38 was made up, I’ve never listened to it in my life. I never will, and I will die happy.
25. Now That’s What I Call Music! 81: The rest of them though, 100% genuine.
24. Now That’s What I Call Music! 82: I’ve been awake for 12 hours writing this, I’m living off of Pot Noodle, painkillers and adrenaline.
23. Best of Spandau Ballet: Bet you stopped reading this ages ago. So I’ve thrown in this curveball to get things rolling. Gold is a fucking perfect track by the way. Not that that fucking matters to you, you illiterate fuck. I bet the page is upside down, half eaten, covered in your AIDS-riddled slobber. I’ve done this entire thing for you and this is how you repay me? Wow, an apology, that’s rich. I bet that’s the most coherent words you’ve every strung together in a sentence. Fuck you.
22. Now That’s What I Call Music! 84: A side note, the last album had ‘Bom Bom’ by Sam and the Womp. That got to number one. How the hell did that happen? It is possibly the worst song I’ve ever heard. Christ I’ll need a doctor, dentist, surgeon and exorcist after listening to that earsore to save me from the brink of death.
21. Call The Cops, There’s Music! 85: Or I could just listen to Now 85 as it is truly the musical elixir of life. What a way to extend the canon of the series, deepening the dense lore that keeps music fans coming back for more! With tracks from newcomer Ed Sheeran, Meghan Trainor and James Blunt! What’s that bastard doing here! Cheeky boy, always weaselling his way in. haha, love him really.
20. Wow Nhat’s That Y Mall Cusic! 86: Bet you thought you had a stroke reading that album title didn’t you? I did and I wrote the thing lol
19. Now That’s What I Call Music! 87: Fuck the last 86 entries, this is where it gets serious. The Now! crew take a balls to the wall, hands to the sky approach to music curation which produces hit after hit after hit after hit after hit.
18. Music Is What I Call This Thing I Perceive! 88: That was until Now! 88 came out and knocked all pre-conceived notions of what a music compilation album could be out off the ball park. This album is a home run, strike, goal, hole-in-one, 10 second supermarket sweep. Not to mention it features the likes of Ke$ha.
17. You’ve Been Hit By, You’ve Beem Stuck By, Music. 89: A fantastic addition to the Now franchise, with entries from heavy hitters such as the legendary Sam Smith (fresh off of recording an uncharacteristically camp and bombastic Bond theme!), a brilliant sweeping track of ‘Superheroes’ by The Script, and Meghan Trainor! As well as the soon-to-be classic ‘Rude’ by Magic! They may be a one hit wonder but their ‘magic’ will never leave us! This album does however have a lack of Morrisey on it and I am afraid that this is the only thing holding it back from the top spot.
16. Now That’s What I Call Music! 90: Wow! 90 editions and they are still jumping from strength to strength. Truly a masterpiece of music curation, kicking things off with the blood pumping, high octane masterpiece of ‘Uptown funk’, as well as the wacky, lip moving track of ‘Lips are moving’ by Meghan Trainor. This album does however have a lack of Morrisey on it and I am afraid that this is the only thing holding it back from the top spot.
15. god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives god never forgives beelzebub is watching
14. Now That’s What I Call Music! 92: It’s not bad to be honest. I don’t mind it. It gives me my fix of chart madness.
13. Now That’s What I Call Music! 93: My real big question is who the hell keeps buying these? Like seriously, these top the charts every single year. But, like, Spotify exists. Surely they can all be found online without much hassle.
12. Now That’s What I Call Music! 94: And these CDs cost like £14! Who the hell pays that for a CD in 2020? Like there’s a homeless man near my house who keeps trying to give me a copy his CD’s he mortgaged out his house out to record. And I’m like fuck off, you smelly bastard, pretty sure the Salvation Army’s a few miles up the road.
11. Now That’s What I Call Music! 95: I’m like 85% sure that the only people who buy them are 50 year old housewives who feel disenfranchised from their own kids, realising that its not the 90s anymore, whilst simultaneously not realising that their car has a Bluetooth connection and they can fucking stream the entire album for free.
10. Now That’s What I Call Music! 96: These albums are like the modern day cigarettes, they cost just as much, you have to buy them more frequently, and they do far more damage to your body.
9. Now That’s What I Call Music! 97: Here we are, home stretch… just a few more to go. Clocking in at number 9 is the modern day classic Now 97! It introduced the world to a 97th edition of this beloved franchise. Like my Grandad used to say, 97th time’s the charm!
8. Now That’s What I Call Music! 98: When I was first starting out as a journalist, I had the opportunity to interview a POW. He was an incredibly spectacular man, with a firm, claylike, handlebar moustache, yet his hair was a magnificent, auburn toupe. He was the kind of man who could turn you gay and then turn you straight again, only to help you find the woman of your dreams for you just to turn gay for him again. Escaping out of a 70s Siberian prison must not have been an easy task. Drunk off of the money funneled into them by the Soviets, the prison was infamous for its convoluted and agonising torture devices. It had been years since they had successfully extracted any vital intelligence from anyone, as most of the prison population were civillians and inebriated soldiers. It became just another heinous act that the guards took part in to pass the time. His escape was costly, the exits were guarded by two beautiful Moscovian Saber-tooth Tigers, as beautiful as they were deadly. Unfortunatley for him he lost both of his arms in the fight, as well as his right leg and his neck. In fact, he lost the fight, and died 45 years ago. I had the pleasure of interviewing his urn, where I was told that his ashes were. I’m pretty sure that they were his ashes as snorting them did absolutely nothing of interest to me. We were both there for 90 minutes. Do you know how much a pile of ashes has to say for 90 minutes? A surprising amount actually, but it was still an absolute pile of wank. I wanted to die, I wanted to be the one in the urn. But no matter how bad that experience was, it was nowhere near as terrible as that time I had to listen to ‘Sing’ by Gary Barlow and the Commonwealth Band. What a trainwreck. I mean, wow. Sometimes, just because you could, doesn’t mean that you should. And they couldn't, so this was multiple levels of cum-stained wank all flopping on top of each other. And not only was the childrens’ choir unbearable, it also makes my last metaphor rather problematic. This song isn’t even on the album, it was on like now butt-fuck whatever, like, 70? 82? I don’t fucking know, but I know that I hate it. And I need you to know that I hate it. What’s the moral of this story? There is no moral, I wrote this article, write your own.
7. Now That’s What I Call Music! 99: Yeah I need to pass out after that last album summary.
6. Now That’s What I Call Music! 100: I got this one for my 18th birthday. The fact that they coincided is like the stars aligning and beginning the apocalypse. I never listened to it; it sits on my CD rack with my now CDs no. 66 to 91. Wish I was joking…
5. Now That’s What I Call Music! 101: After the unbelievable success of Now 100, it seemed like the Now! team were out of ideas. Which is what makes this record such a startling left-turn. Introducing the concept of not only having the greatest chart hits of the modern day, but having old chart hits that they had on previous now CDs, as well as generally less tracks, all for the same price! I wish I was making that up, but I’m not. That’s ballsy for a company with a business strategy so old it should be shoved in a care home and drugged up on horse tranquilizers.
4. Now That’s What I Call Music! 102: Clocking in at number 4 is Now 102. I genuinely give up now. Thanks for sticking around this long.
3. Now That’s What I Call Music! 103: Will this series ever get stale? Not in my lifetime, that’s for sure ahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. This album does however have a lack of Morrisey on it and I am afraid that this is the only thing holding it back from the top spot.
2. Now That’s What I Call Music! 104: This is it, the penultimate album. It’s got the perfect mix of not just Ed Sheeran, not just Stormzy, but Ed Sheeran AND Stormzy! On the SAME TRACK!!! Oh my god I need a clean pair of pants. However this is number 2, we’ve made it this far and wow, it’s been a journey, brace yourself for number 1. Seriously, mama’s been cooking up something spectacular.
- The Best of Morrisey: Morristacular!
Honourable mentions: Now That’s What I Call Music! 157: I mean, it’s not out yet. But honestly something tells me that we’re in for a real treat with this one. It’s gonna shake up the formula. You can take Nows 1 through 156 and shove them up your gaping, bloody, arsehole. This is it. This is the one. I have just sold my car to put money on this album doing bits. Big bits. Like wagon wheel sized bits. Stay tuned.
Did you enjoy this list? I didn’t. Fuck you.
