I was really looking forward to hearing this disc, but it sure turned out to be a huge disappointment. First, as others have noted, why do we need Supremes tunes on a Diana Ross album? Aren't there enought Supremes compilations out there? And who decided which tunes would be chosen? Why five? Why not seven? Nine? Well, now that I've gotten started....

Diana's solo career has been a great one, and several of the good tunes are included. "Theme from Mahogany" I consider to be a great, but largely ignored love song. Diana does a beautiful job, probably the best of her career. Several other very good tunes follow before the last five or six songs which all sound the same and go absolutely nowhere. This wouldn't bother me so much, but where are songs like "It's My Turn," "Last Time I Saw Him," "I'm Coming Out," and "Home" from 'The Wiz,' (an absolutely stunning tune)??? But the last straw was the last tune, a pathetic version of the original vocal track of "Someday We'll Be Together" mixed with what sounds like a drum machine. Really low-class, far below what you would expect on a Diana Ross disc. But, until a better one-disc compilation comes along, this one will have to do.

If there is one complaint to be made about Diana Ross' "The Ultimate Collection," it's that the 6 Supremes tracks included should've been omitted. Blasphemy, perhaps, but there are plenty of Supremes compilations on the market. Had those 6 numbers been sacrificied, then perhaps "The Boss," "I'm Coming Out" and "It's My Turn" could have taken their rightful place in Ross' "ultimate" collection. But no matter--what IS included is, by and large, excellent. Never truly recognized as the pop pioneer that she is, Ross' remarkable versatility has served her well through the decades. Those pesky 6 Supremes songs still stand as cornerstones in American pop music; "Where Did Our Love Go," "Baby Love," "Stop! In the Name of Love," "You Can't Hurry Love," "Reflections" and "Someday We'll Be Together" (included in its Frankie Knuckles remixed format) are universally recognized, the soundtrack to a generation and then some. Ross' solo career ranges from the defining diva moment, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," to the gorgeous MOR ballads "Touch Me in the Morning" and "Theme from Mahogany," to the boogie fever of "Love Hangover" and "Upside Down." Admittedly, the collection lags a bit when it covers Ross' post-1981 singles; "Missing You" and "Chain Reaction" stand the test of time, but Ross' uninspired remake of "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" was ill-advised from the start. And while the most recent songs included here--"When You Tell Me That You Love Me," "One Shining Moment," "If We Hold on Together," "The Best Years of My Life"--are all strong performances, they suffer from the monotonous sequencing of too many ballads in a row. Still, this collection serves as an able primer for anyone interested in knowing just why Diana Ross is one of the most instantly recognizable voices in the world.

I don't normally listen to so-called "diva" music, and I honestly didn't really know much about Diana Ross until I picked this CD up in an attempt to broaden my music collection. Damn, I should have bought it earlier. I didn't even know she sang half these songs. The Supremes hits I knew, all her solo stuff I've heard a bagillion times but never realized who it was, and I remember going clubbing a few years ago and hearing that remix of "Someday We'll Be Together." This is really a terrific Greatest Hits collection. No filler, no tossing songs in any old order, just a great skimming of the Greatest Hits from a pop legend. Spanning from the 60's to the 90's, it is definitely a necessity, and one that I regret not buying earlier. Nice disc!

This compilation represents just some of Ross' excellent, longstanding career. Every track is a true classic but you can't help but conclude that there are a lot of other good material missing from this with such obvious choices being, "I'm Coming Out", "The Boss", "It's My Turn", "Surrender" and "Remember Me". The Supremes selection are good although only a handful of the classics included. The more gritty soul tracks are left out here like "Love Child", "Someday We'll Be Together" and "I'm Living In Shame" which represents Ross' diversity as an artist. On the whole though an excellent compliation, well worth having as every track is great music and is the perfect introduction to someone who knows nothing about this true soul legend!

These choice of songs features Diana Ross' divesity as a singer. It takes us from the 60's to the 90's as her style changes; a little bit of pop, rock, R&B; even easy listening. Diana Ross is still definately the Boss.