People seem to be a bit confused with this CD. It is NOT a Greatest Hits disc. Mary has been on several talk shows promoting Reflections (A Retrosepctive)and she has said that it was not intended to be a greatest hits. MJB has gone on to say that she wanted to put together a collection of songs that she gets a lot of emails and letters about, from her fans, telling her how much these peticular songs have impacted their lives.

With that being said, she has chosen some pretty big milestone songs in her career. Mary obviously included the song that put her on the map -"Real Love". Everyone knows this as her first bonafide hit and takes you back to that early 90's sound. She also took such great tracks as "I'm Going Down", "Be Happy", "Not Gon' Cry", the gut wrenching: "No More Drama", the song we ALL tore the dance floors up to: "Family Affair", and she also took us into the now and re-invented the classic "My Life" and also included the recent smash: "Be Without You".

Mary has 4 brand new songs on here with: "King & Queen" (Featuring John Legend), "You Know", "Reflections (I Remember)" and "We Ride (I See The Future)". All 4 are good but "Reflections" and "We Ride" are standout tracks that are 100% raw Mary!!! 2 very good midtempo songs that you will just warm up to immedietly.

The bad: I have ALWAYS loved the song: "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By" but, why did they have to remix it??? I do not like this remix at all! I wish they would have just remastered the original and put that one on here instead of this bland remix. PLUS Method Man is all edited - UGH! In my opinion, I feel there are just a few songs on here that could have been excluded to make room for a couple different songs that I am sure have made more of an impact of Mary fans.

I have and always will love Mary. She does not have a bad song. I just think people need to understand that this was never intended to be a greatest hits. We know when one does drop, it will be a box set!!! :)

The long awaited and highly anticipated greatest hits collections has finally arrived. The one but very important criticism I have is why is the North American version 3 tracks short!! It's missing the key singles like the duet with George Michael "As" as well as the one with U2 and the coveted MJB Da MVP. I urge all fans to petition Geffen to release Mary's cds with their full tracklistings. After all, did she not gain international status from support here at home!

When I first heard about this CD coming out I thought I was going to get remastered versions of the hits from her early albums, to replace to poor sounding quality of the original albums. When I picked the album up today I was extremely disappointed. There's only 15 tracks (should have been a double CD for all the hits she has), and there's only 8 or 9 hits from Mary's albums. The other songs include 4 new tracks, a remix she did with Method Man on his first CD, 911 with Wyclef that was on his album a few years back, and then 8 or 9 of her own actual hits. I agree with the other reviews, I feel like I got ripped off and they'll release the "real" greatest hits album in the next couple of years. Save your money, unless you're a die hard fan and just want the couple of new songs.

When will record companies learn how to release a hits collection? Hits collections should include all of an artists' big hits (or as many as they can fit on 2 discs), and the songs should be the versions that were released as singles (except for bleeping out words). I've bought multiple hits albums from artists looking for the version of a song that I really liked, rather than the crappy album version that couldn't be released as a single because it was mediocre so it had to be totally reworked. But you almost always end up with the album versions, or crappy remixes or live versions instead of the song as it was released to the radio/video. Get your crap together guys, and give the fans what they want. And if you want to throw on a fan favorite remix or live track, put the single version on as well instead of replacing the good version with a sub par track.

First, something should be cleared up. Reflections (A Retrosepctive) isn't a greatest hits. It's more of a sampling of Mary J. Blige and some of her best vocal showings. If this is indeed a greatest hits, you'll find that many worthy songs are left out, such as "Take Me As I Am" or "Rainy Dayz" or "I Could Love You Better".

What makes this a bit of a let down and weak is that there isn't a good spread of songs from her entire career. It has four new songs, "We Ride (I See the Future)" truly being the gem and the best. It's very much in the same production and vibe as "Be Without You". It's kind of interesting that 'No One Will Do', which is a great track, made it on as opposed to many other of her songs. More variety in the songs, and different points of her career, would have really made this release a bit more strong. Instead of feeling like a showcase of her big career and big hits, it just feels like a mini-sampler that doesn't fully do her or her career justice.

Besides that, the vocals are of course great. I think "We Ride" is one of her best songs; big vocals, rather epic, great instrumentals and a potential hit. "You Know" is an interesting song, it stands out from the other new songs like "Reflections". Duet wise, the "911" duet with Wyclef is great and makes the "King and Queen" duet with John Legend just seem a bit flat and dull. The Razor Shapr mix of "I'll Be There For You/You're All I Need To Get By" is worth listening to as well.

In all, this is just what it says it is, a retrospective. Nice for your Mary J. Blige collection or if you haven't really heard many of her songs and are curious of what she has to offer. Check it out.

This CD unlike the Breakthrough, is a good, but not a outstanding Cd. Many of the songs from What's the the 411, My Life, and Share my World that hardcore fans like myself fell in love with. There are some quality duets Mary does with John legend and Wycleff Jean. Her 2006 version of my life is appealing, but you should get the other CDs to get the true essence of MJB.