Clapton has a few diferent "best of" CDs, but this is the best. Clapton has an incredible amount of good material. This CD, however, covers most of the very best. It covers some of his songs with Cream. I would reccomend buying Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream, also. It has some of the best songs from Blind Faith and Derek And The Dominos, including Layla. Finally, it does a great job of covering alot of his solo songs up to 1980. Even though he has had alot of great stuff since then, the 60s and 70s were Clapton's best years. If you want one CD by Clapton, this is the one to buy.

Certainly this is the best release on the market that covers Clapton's 1968-1981 years. Nothing comes close. >>>HOWEVER>>>

Why has no one mentioned the abysmal sound quality of the first 5 cuts??? It is glaringly apparent that Polydor did NOT obtain anywhere close to first generation masters for the CREAM cuts. On this release they sound DREADFUL. Dull, muffled and sitting way back in the speakers. Particularly "Badge" which sounds like it was dubbed from a $19.95 Montgomery Wards cassette deck. <>

On the tracks which Polydor obviously had the masters to, cuts 6 on...this release sounds great, but because of the unforgivable taste of the sour cream..and the strange omission of "Lay Down Sally"...have to dock this from 5 to 3 stars.

"The Cream Of Clapton" chronicles Eric Clapton's 15-year stay with Polydor, and these 19 songs offer a very good overview of that period (1966-81), even if several good songs are obviously missing. But the CD runs for all of 79 minutes, and all the must-have classics are here: "Layla", "Bell Bottom Blues", "Wonderful Tonight", "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", "Blues Power", "Let It Grow" and five Cream tracks as well.

If you just want the very best (up until 1981, that is), this CD is a fine choice. It may even make you want to pick up the magnificent live album "Eric Clapton's Rainbow Concert" and the superb box set "Crossroads"!

If you are wanting just one CD of Eric Clapton's best work then this is the one to own. With one exception, all the great mainstream tunes are here. His work with Cream still sounds awesome. My only gripe is that the song, "Tales of Brave Ulysses" was excluded. "Knockin on Heavins Door" should have been replaced by it. But other that that, it is a grat CD of his work up till the 80's.

Often called the world's greatest guitar player, Eric Clapton is certainly in the upper echelon of the rock elite. His career has spanned five decades, as both a member of three successful bands and later a brilliant solo career.

"The Cream Of Clapton" contains 19 tracks from all stages of Eric's career, from his days in Cream ("Sunshine O Your Love", "White Room", "Crossroads", "Badge"), Blind Faith ("Presence Of The Lord"), Derek And The Dominoes ("Bell Bottom Blues" and of course "Layla") and his solo career ("I Shot The Sheriff", his great cover of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", "Cocaine", "Wonderful Tonight", "Promises, "I Can't Stand It"). All the songs sound great, even though they could still use a tad bit more tweaking.

My only major qualm with this collection is that there are a few good songs missing. "Lay Down Sally", for example, got all the way up to number three on the Billboard Hot 100, yet it did not make it onto this collection. Also, while it was most likely not included for personal reasons (though it made it onto the later, inferior collection "Clapton Chronicles"), "Tears In Heaven" was also a huge hit. "Forever Man" was one of Clapton's few quality recordings in the 1980s', and it also warrants a place on this collection. And last but not least, Clapton did have two pretty big hits after this collection was released: "Change The World" (which made it to number five on the Hot 100 and stayed there for nearly a year) and "My Father's Eyes". Granted, I know they came afterwards, but I'd like to see them appear on a collection someday.

Hopefully, Clapton will get a two cd collection of all his best work someday, but until now, "The Crwam Of Clapton" offers exactly, what it promises, even if it's only a sampler.