While this "Essential" collection has some positive qualities to it, the negative qualities are far more glaring and prevent this from being of any use to an already dedicated Billy Joel Fan. Let's look at the problems:

1) Every song on these two CDs is available in the exact same format on another CD - none of which is hard to come by. To any fan who has collected all of Billy Joel's albums - this album is entirely useless.

2) As many people have pointed out, this album has failed to include what is arguably Billy Joel's best song, and certainly one of his most popular songs in live performances - Scenes From an Italian Restaurant. There is no way, and I stress NO WAY, that any "essential" collection of Billy Joel material would omit this song.

3) This album has also removed key hits from Billy's repertoire including Big Shot, Pressure, and This is the Time. Although the album does try to make up for this by adding some classic, often overlooked gems (such as Miami 2017), it fails by not only adding some less essential material (You're My Home), but failing to add some more deserving fare (Angry Young Man, No Man's Land).

4) The inclusion of the two classical pieces on the end is less a problem than an enigma. Why are they there? Die hard fans who don't want to buy the full classical album will probably not need to buy this collection just to sample those two songs. Casual fans probably are buying this album for the pop material, and have no need for the two samples. While the classical tracks hold their own merit and help to display the versatility of Billy Joel, they don't fit on an essential collection.

So, why this collection? It's cheaper than buying all of his albums. It's also cheaper than buying either the 4-CD Box set or the three Greatest Hits albums separately. If I had to recommend a greatest hits option, I would strongly recommend the 4-CD box set. In that case, there are only mild omissions (I would still love to see Miami 2017 and Angry Young Man) and the fourth CD of discussions and live performances is an excellent addition.

As for the material that actually is on this album - it still shows the wide variety in music that Billy has created throughout his career and it is a testament to his well-crafted songwriting skills that he has honed throughout the years...

This is a decent summation of Billy Joel's career, especially for newcomers, but to say that it's "essential" is false advertising. First of all, where is "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant"? This is Joel's finest song, and it was wisely included on his first hits package. For some reason it is discarded on this one for lesser tracks such as "Leningrad" and "You're My Home". Those songs weren't even majors hits on the radio, so their inclusion here is a rather odd happening.

And why is "Storm Front", one of Joel's weaker albums, represented in greater number over "The Stranger" and "Turnstiles"? Any album that disregards "Summer, Highland Falls", "Pressure", "Angry Young Man" and "Big Shot" for a lot of mediocre later-day Joel songs is running into trouble. Despite these shortcomings, it does hit on a lot of high-points. And it's nice to see "Miami 2017", a great bit of satire, getting the recognition it deserves. As a sampler of Joel's considerable talent, it does its job well. But its glaring ommissions deem it far from "essential". It would be best to stick with "Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II", as it gives a better overview of Billy's finest work.

Billy Joel is an artist that belongs in your collection of notable pop singer/writers, but I am not sure that this is your best choice. Look over the selections in Volumes 1 & 2 of his greatest hits, because that may well be more what you're looking for.

This collection does emphasize his development through a chronological arrangement of the pieces, and it does bring one right up to date with a taste of his classical composing. And it has his basic early signature hits such as "Piano Man", "Captain Jack", "New York State Of Mind", "Only The Good Die Young", and "Just The Way You Are". and a fair taste of later popular radio hits including "Uptown Girl", "Allentown", "We Didn't Start The Fire" and "River of Dreams". So along with two excerpts from the classical "Fantasies & Delusions" CD, the high spots are covered, but much is missing. So compare what you're getting with this one with what you'll get with the two greatest hits albums.

In all, definitely not a bad set, just one that you might not find the best.

For a few years, I had been looking for a great collection of Billy Joel's best songs, but all I could find was his three volumes of greatest hits. I didn't really want to shuffle out the loads of money needed to buy both of the albums, so I figured I'd wait and hope that a more complete compilation would be available one day.

Last Christmas my wish was granted when I saw an album entitled The Essential Billy Joel on the store's shelves in the electronics section. I saw that it had two cd's included and that it was a little cheaper than buying Billy Joel's three volumes of greatest hits. The second I picked it up, it was like my fingers were glued to the album and they refused to let go until I walked over and paid for it.

The reason The Essential Billy Joel is so great is that it has almost all the best songs from Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Volumes 1 & 2, and Volume 3, with 'almost' being the key word. Most of his greatest hits are here in this compilation, all the way from the early storytelling songs ("Piano Man", "Captain Jack", "New York State of Mind", etc.), the radio-friendly classics ("Just The Way You Are", "My Life", "Uptown Girl", "The Longest Time", and so on), and the later gems ("A Matter of Trust", "We Didn't Start The Fire", "River of Dreams", etc.).

As with all compilations, The Essential Billy Joel has its ups and downs. By getting THIS compilation, you'll get some hits that are not in his other compilations, such as "Leave A Tender Moment Alone" and the sorely missed "Honesty". Also included are a couple of brand new classical tracks from the new path that the classic performer has taken. But the album does have its flaws. Missing are some 'essential' songs such as "Big Shot", "Pressure", and "Scenes From An Italian Restaurant", among others.

But that's what it comes to, if you don't have all his albums and you're looking for a comprehensive Billy Joel compilation from his stellar career, you can shell out the money needed to buy both of his previous Greatest Hits albums or you can save a few dollars and get The Essential Billy Joel. I recommend getting this one, The Essential Billy Joel, myself, but either way you can't go wrong; you'll be spending your well-earned money to get yourself some of the best music ever made from one of the greatest and most influential artists of all time.

Some people (customers) have reviewed this collection negatively here at Amazon but it seems as though they may have missed the point of the cd. Yes, it does leave out a few songs that these people mentioned should be included. But this collection is supposed to be for all Billy Joel fans and the compilation includes hits (and some that weren't huge "critical" hits) from his career. Everyone will find a song they feel should have been included. I like this collection because it includes many songs that do not appear on any of his greatest hits cd (hence the title "Essential"!). As for the comments that it includes a lot from the 80's and 90's that's true. He became extremely popluar during this time with a whole new group then. Many of those songs aren't on Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and2 or on 3 so it makes sense they are on here now. I feel it's an excellent representation of his career and whole-heartedly recommend it!