A solid, if skimpy, ten-track best-of that gathers the most important songs from Janis Joplin's solo career, as well as her stint with Big Brother & the Holding Company. The compilation 18 Essential Songs offers a wider selection, but does not include the original version of "Me and Bobby McGee," which makes Greatest Hits the better purchase for those who only want one Janis Joplin disc, even if it isn't definitive. The 1999 CD reissue adds two bonus tracks, "Maybe" and {&"Mercedes Benz   [ read more ]

CD $7.59

This three-CD box set is the most thorough and valuable retrospective of Janis Joplin's career. Besides including all of her most essential recordings with and without Big Brother & the Holding Company, this 49-song package features quite a few enticing rarities; 18 of the tracks were previously unissued. These include a 1962 home recording of the Joplin original "What Good Can Drinkin' Do," which marked the first time her singing was captured on tape; a pair of acoustic blues tunes from 1965 wi   [ read more ]

CD $45.58

This companion album to the hit musical features spoken word excerpts of Joplin's letters home to her family, read by the cast member playing the troubled, deceased star. Thankfully, it's Joplin herself singing all the familiar tunes. "Piece of My Heart," "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)," and "Me and Bobby McGee" are all dusted off once again for yet one more repackaged spin. Any of the existing Janis compilations serve the material better. ~ Michael Gallucci, All Music Guide

CD $7.59

18 Essential Songs is a one-disc distillation of the triple-disc Janis box set. Running 70 minutes, it is a more extensive best-of than the ten-track 1973 Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits album. But it is denied "first pick" status because, unlike that album, it does not contain the hit version of Joplin's only number one single, "Me and Bobby McGee." (It does, however, contain an alternate demo version of that song.) ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide

CD $8.54

Columbia has managed to squeeze an impressive, perhaps excessive, number of compilations out of Janis Joplin's relatively slim body of recordings. With this two-CD set, The Essential Janis Joplin, the label's at it again, though it's a good one to get if you don't want to collect all the Joplin releases, and certainly don't want to get the expensive Joplin boxes, but want more than what fits onto a single disc. Including both solo recordings and highlights of her stint with {$Big Brother & th   [ read more ]

CD $15.19

Janis Joplin's second masterpiece (after Cheap Thrills), Pearl was designed as a showcase for her powerhouse vocals, stripping down the arrangements that had often previously cluttered her music or threatened to drown her out. Thanks also to a more consistent set of songs, the results are magnificent -- given room to breathe, Joplin's trademark rasp conveys an aching, desperate passion on funked-up, bluesy rockers, ballads both dramatic and tender, and her signature song, the posthumous numbe   [ read more ]

CD $7.59

CD $10.43

The Sony/BMG Steel Box series is a simple marketing gimmick to put greatest-hits packages into new containers. The compilers shift a few tracks around, and maybe toss a rarity in here or there, but there is little difference in the quality or sources of the music contained herein, or anything else that really matters. If you have any of the previous best-of collections by Janis Joplin on Sony/Columbia Legacy, it's more than likely you do not need this for any reason -- unless you like your   [ read more ]

CD $11.38

Madacy Entertainment has compiled three different Janis Joplin recordings in a single box here, all of which have been released before. Disc one is Janis Joplin Live, disc two is the 1982 release Janis, and disc three is Kozmic Blues with a few Woodstock outtakes added as bonus material. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

CD $20.88

CD $31.33

Sony repackaged and re-released the major albums Janis Joplin released -- Big Brother & the Holding Company's Cheap Thrills, I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!, and Pearl -- as a slipcased box set. It's not a bad way to acquire the albums if you don't already own them, but there are no bonus tracks or new packaging or remastering, which means it's of marginal interest to hardcore collectors. [The 1995 box should not be confused with the similar 2000 version, which was issued under a ne   [ read more ]

CD $28.48

CD $20.88