For someone on a budget who is interested in the music of this legendary artist, look no further than this single disc album. The sound and track selection here are excellent. Anyone interested in early Rock 'N Roll needs to have at least one Chuck Berry album in their collection and you can't go wrong here. For those of you have a few extra dollars around, I strongly suggest 2 disc set, "Anthology 2"; or upgrade even further to the 3 disc "The Chess Box" set. "The Box Set" can easily be considered one of the foundations of rock n roll & the Mt Olympus of Chuck Berry collections.

****July 2006 Update. The release of the "Definitive Collection" now puts "Great Twenty-Eight" in the #2 slot. "Definitive Collection" has every track included here (in basically the same order), but includes two more tracks: "Promised Land" & "My Ding-A-Ling". So if you're budget dictates a single disc album purchase, "Definitive Collection" should be your choice.

Some of the newer "remastered" packages have better sound quality, but if you are looking for a restrospective sampling of some of the best "roots of rock n roll" music ever, this might well be it. 28 songs on one cd, I mean you will feel like you have died and gone to Chuck Berry heaven. The full staple of hits is here, including some gems little heard. My favorites next to the ones everyone knows would be "30 Days"...a real cookin classic and "Nadine". This version of "Roll Over Beethoven" is simply the best ever done...not many songs will give a person goose bumps or send a shiver down the spine, but this is one of those....absolutely fantastic! It is no wonder so many of the world's greatest rock n roll groups were influenced by Mr. Berry...he had the soul to make rock n roll great.

We've waited a long time for a stellar one-CD set of Berry's music, and this is it! The sound quality is very good, there are no live versions (which mar other Berry "greatest hits" packages), and there is nothing but great music here.

It's a shame that Chuck Berry is not universally recognized as one of the greatest rock lyricists and most innovative figures. This CD will convince even skeptics of his brilliance. Without Chuck Berry, there would be no Beatles, Rolling Stones or Kinks, or at least in the forms they eventually took.

This CD contains all of Berry's original recordings, pristine and beautifully remastered. Who can deny that his way with words was umatched: "He never, ever learned to read or write so well, but he could play a guitar just like a-ringing a bell..." It's a tragedy that most people have grown up listening to inferior musicians do paltry cover versions of the songs Berry wrote and performed better than anyone else.

This set is an absolutely essential component of any collection, of any genre. Chuck Berry was a pioneer with words and music and his influence is sorely underestimated today. Had Chuck Berry been born white, he would be regarded as a rock God instead of being neglected and virtually forgotten in many circles. These 28 magnificent songs just about cover his catalogue of hits. This is a great sampling, but incomplete, so if you want to experience Berry's real genius, branch off into his lesser known songs. But for the money, this one rocks!

All right Elvis fans admit it. You know Chuck Berry was the true king of rock 'n' roll, and is forever the godfather of rock 'n' roll. No one wrote catchier lyrics (capturing all the attitudes of a teen in the '50's) or catchier riffs (is there a better known riff than the opener to Johnny B. Goode.), as he created all the joy that could be pumped out of a guitar. His best singles (Maybelline, Thirty Days, Roll Over Beethoven, Johnny B. Goode, Rock and Roll Music, the list goes on and on.) are as essential and vital to the music world in 2002 (and a lot better than any of it) than it was in 1958 (when it was still better than anything on the scene).

The Great Twenty-Eight, though nowadays difficult to find, is the definitive collection of Chuck Berry, containing all of his hits and greatest songs in one disc without any of his latter day filler. It is passionate, fun, and lighthearted without sounding dated. From Maybelliene all the way through to I Want to Be Your Driver, every track here is not only essential to fans of Chuck Berry, the inventor of rock 'n' roll. This is for everyone who simply loves GOOD music!

I previously downgraded this CD due to some rather substantial flaws in the audio. Several tracks include clipped vocals and guitars ("Roll Over Beethoven" "Oh Baby Doll"), and at least one track ("Come On") has some phenominal noise underneath the guitar solo. Not having a copy of the original 2-LP vinyl version of this collection (or the original Chess singles), it was unclear whether this was a problem with the original master tapes, the archiving of the master tapes over time, or an issue with the transfer from analog tape to digital.

I still don't know the answers to those questions, but given that Universal's latest 2-CD collection, "Anthology," displays the exact same aural defects, I have to believe this is the best you can get at this point. If the original Chess singles sounded better, the tapes that were used to wax them are either not to be found, or have been irreversably damaged.

Given that caveat, this is a rich 28-track single-disc collection of nearly 70 minutes of Berry's best and best-known cuts. Also included are lesser known (but no less great) tracks such as "Havana Moon" and "I'm Talking About You." It's hard to believe one person created this many great songs.

The liner notes to this set are skimpy, and the personnel listings are incomplete. Given the availability of the 50-track 2-CD "Anthology" (with superb liner notes and vastly improved session information), this single disc collection (if you can still find it) is really only for those trying to save a buck or two. For anyone with a real interest in Berry's music, "Anthology" is a much more satisfying buy.