This is as good as any single disc out there for people wanting only one Johnny Cash hits collection. ( Sorry, you can't put almost fifty years of recordings on one album or box set. ) This cd covers his early period, the live prison songs and the rest of the best. Much has been said about "The Man In Black", for me my favorite part of his music is how well he does train songs, which are found on "Get Rhythm/Story Of Trains And Rivers". He's also one of the best concert performers I've ever seen. Every fan of music needs one Cash album. So, start here and follow up after hearing the various tracks.

While the Amazon review was correct in asserting that 16 songs hardly does justice to the legacy of Johnny Cash, this is still a fine starting point showcasing the lyrical pinache that has made Cash endure for decades. Everybody knows "Ring of Fire" and "A Boy Named Sue," but don't forget "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer," "Daddy Sang Bass," "One Piece at a Time," "The Ballad of Ira Hayes" and the other 10 songs here. Every song is a story detailing the lives of the neighbors you never had in Nebraska. Everyone will like Johnny Cash at some point in their lives so do yourself a favor: buy this and begin the journey down the road with the Man in Black.

I've always wanted to have a little Johnny Cash on the shelf, so I went for this collection. It's got many of the standards, which is nice. BUT A TRACK OR TWO HAS BEEN EDITED TO REMOVE PROFANITY. I find this to be profane. While there may be an indication that this is the case somewhere in the item information, I missed it. Now I will have to buy (from a music store where I can listen to the tracks first and ensure they are not modified) some more Johnny Cash to get the real track. . .

Johnny recorded so many types of songs. No 16-song collection can truly capture the big picture, but this product does a great job using only 16 tracks.

It is perfect for playing in the car or for hitting those special few commercially-popular recordings that we all love.

Bottom line: using this CD I have created several new fans of Johnny Cash. I'd buy it again, and again.

Johnny Cash is such a famous musical superstar that there are many collections of his songs. This one is probably as good as any, and better than many.

This one is from Columbia Records, a major label, so the sound quality is up to industry standards. Unfortunately, many Johnny Cash collections are put out by tiny, off brand record companies, so it is always a plus to buy product from a major label selling Johnny's stuff. Actually, Columbia was Cash's second major label, after he left the (tiny but) influential Sun Records, due to Sun's reluctance to allow him to do Gospel music. So Columbia was his record company for years.

This album has songs originally released between 1956 through 1979, ranging in length from 2:22 for "In the Jailhouse," to 8:26 for "The Legend of John Henry's Hammer," but it is the big, famous songs that are the main reason to buy this CD, and I just ignore some of the lesser tunes.

This CD has many great, classic tunes. "I Walk the Line," "Daddy Sang Bass," "A Boy Named Sue," and "One Piece at a Time" are the biggest radio hits, and I believe these are the versions that were the hits.

"Folsom Prison Blues" is live. "Ring of Fire" has Mexican horns sounding off, which sound great, but I have heard this song on the radio with and without the horns, so I am not sure which version was the first, actual hit.

"Man in Black" tries to explain why Johnny liked to wear black clothing.

There are also some famous songs that Johnny covers but wasn't necessarily the artist who first made the songs famous (I think); "Ghost Riders in the Sky," "Sunday Morning Coming Down."

Among Johnny Cash's other albums, I really enjoy his AMERICAN IV: THE MAN COMES AROUND, and he has a priceless, but affordable, spoken word 16 CD set of his totally great reading of the Bible's New Testament, which I highly recommend to any Johnny Cash fan!

The Johnny Cash biography movie, WALK THE LINE is an incredible film and a great way to learn and understand the career and influence of this great man of American music, and the movie's Soundtrack CD is a really enjoyable listen that will remind you of the great movie, (though it has no Johnny Cash performances, but is a great tribute, sung by the movie's actors, and is recommended by me, if you enjoyed the film).