This is an excellent introduction to the work of the great Louis Armstrong. In my opinion, Armstrong is the greatest musician America has ever produced, and is one of the world's all time great artists. This is an anthology of his most popular songs. I have never heard an Armstrong song I have not liked, and this collates some of his best, such as "What A Wonderful World" (the real deal, not that Kenny G travesty); my personal favorite, "Kiss To Build A Dream On"; "Skokiaan"; & more.

I want to add, that I am a music critic for a local metal/goth 'zine and NONE of the musicians I review would be where they are if it wasn't for Louis Armstrong. He is the father of American popular music.

Five stars simply is not enough for this album. No matter what genre of music you are into, even if you don't like jazz - run out and get this album! It's a winner!

Deciding at the age of 21 that it was high-time I spread my musical tastes from stuff produced during my own lifetime, Louie Armstrong is the first artist I turned to. He is, by the accout of his peers as well as artists today, the father of American popular music. I looked through racks of CDs for almost an hour, and this is the best single-disc compillation that has been produced of his work. It starts with the classic "What a Wonderful World" and features other popular songs such as "Mack the Knife" (popularized by Bobby Darin) and "Gone Fishin'" (duet with Bing Crosby). It also has other fifteen other Armstrong favorites that I never would have known were favorites without reading the highly informative CD jacket. I have no idea how anyone who likes music could dislike this album and I think that Satch's "All Time Greatest Hits" is a great buy for those who are conisseurs of his music, as well as for those who have no exposure at all.

This CD is wonderful! Every song is excellent, every tune fun and nice to listen to.

All of Armstrong's best known songs are present from "Hello Dolly" to "Mack the Knife." One of my all time favorite songs from Armstrong is on this CD as well: "Sittin' in the Sun." Moreover, "A Kiss to Build a Dream On" a song which also appears on the "Sleepless in Seattle" soundtrack, and "What a Wonderful Life," probably one of Louis most famous songs are present as well.

As always Louis has a very distinctive voice which sounds great with all the tunes. The mix contains ragtime style, to pure Jazz, to big band style. Every song on this CD is great! There are no bad apples in the bunch! If you are a big Jazz fan, then you will not want to be without this CD. This CD always puts a smile on my face when I listen to it because Louis' music is so fun to hear. This one of my favorite CDs in my overall collection!

I am often amused by how seriously some folks write these reviews. Considering Mr. Armstrong's long career, isn't it a bit foolish to think any one album could have ALL his best -- just marketing hype. DUDE! take things in stride (more like ... all the best tracks MCA had that didn't cost that much to include ... huh?).

What can be said for sure is that there are many tasty numbers on this CD. I GET IDEAS is a really cute tune - paying great homage to how much a talented songwriter AND performer can "SAY" about human "relations" (if you will) without actually saying anything. Another less known treasure on this disk is THE DUMMY SONG. Really shows LA's playful side as does his take on that early 1900's hit CHLOE which has oft been lampooned for its overt sentimentality (think of it as the "Feelings" of the WWI era). Louie does a great job walking the fine line that makes for a great performance -- at one point he actually answers the chorus' baleful cries of "Chloe? Chloe?" . Check out Spike Jones for another classic "interpretation" of this old, old standard.

Seems to me the criteria that might have been used to pick these recordings were:

1. Lush orchestrations - most all these have those 50's string orchestral sounds you might hear behind Steve Lawrence, Judy Garland, Tony Bennet etc. IMHO very classic and tasteful stuff.

2. Good recordings - All the recordings are of "modern" quality.

3. Middle-of-the-Road - Everything here is G-rated and not even mildly controversial.

These criteria result in a "packaged" sound perhaps, but nice-to-da-ears. To round things out you will need earlier recordings with more bluesy material that have more of a anxious and raw edge. Look for one with BLACK AND BLUE (one of my all-time LA fabes) It will serve as a good marker for a "different" set of tunes.

I didn't find anything remarkable about this album. It seems that I have heard lots better Armstrong arrangements than what is represented here. I recommend Louis Armstrong Greatest Hits (RCA Victor) instead, even though it has fewer selections and totally different selections, except for What a Wonderful World. Even that song is slightly different on the other album. This is not a bad album and it may claim to have Armstrong's All Time Greatest Hits, but there are better Armstrong albums out there. Gone Fishin' is a pleasant enough ditty but I don't know that it belongs on this album. This album is a little disappointing because it could have been so much better. As one reviewer pointed out a 2-CD album would have been nice and more inclusive of some of the great Armstrong songs. Where is Basin Street Blues, St. Louis Blues, Mood Indigo and Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?