For the novice fan, The Best of Santana vol. 1 and 2 may be all that you need. And like the Beatles "1," it covers most of the highlights of the band's career. But in the case of Santana, You have a couple of other options. Of the thirty tracks on these two discs, fully half of them are from Santana, Abraxas and Santana 3. For the same price as these two best-of's, you could buy the remastered versions of those three essential albums--including bonus tracks--as a 3-pack! If you want more, get 1988's well-chosen anthology Viva Santana! Sure, you won't get the later hits like the re-makes of "She's Not There" (vol. 1) or "Stormy" (vol. 2), but these were calculated moves to get radio play and don't necessarily represent Santana's best work. This is all terrific music, but decide just what exactly is it that you're looking for BEFORE you buy.

Like its predecessor, THE BEST OF SANTANA, VOL. 2 contains Santana's best work from sometimes uneven albums. Carlos Santana's belief that the Indonesian drug-smuggling conviction of a young Australian tourist was unjust and trumped-up makes this an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience. If you're just starting a Santana collection, get this and THE BEST OF along with the first three albums, ESSENTIAL SANTANA, and GREATEST HITS- preferably all at once.

If you want a mere quick study of Santana, this sequel compilation to the first greatest hits set is certainly appropriate. The first three songs Persuasion, You Don't Care, and a live version of Black Magic Woman are definite keepers. Also quite special is Guajarina, L'Touisanit De Overture, and the mellow Stormy.

Personally, I would explore the first three classic Santana recordings as those CD's have many other high quality tunes not available on this compilation. Also, Carlos Santana has so much talent brimming in his fingers that it would be worthy to check out his other CD's to gather a better feel for his latin flavored styles which always soothe the soul. However, this sequel is fine for those who merely want the quick study approach.

This rock 'n roll hall of fame group has recorded many classics. Since Sony could not include them all in their first "Best of" compilation, volume two gives us many of the tunes they missed. With tracks like "Persuasion," "Se A Baco," "Hope You're Feeling Better" and "Everything's Coming Our Way" you get some of the early tracks that belong in any Santana retrospective. You also get their cover of "Stormy" (which hit the top 40) plus a couple of awesome live versions of two songs from the earlier compilation (these are better than the studio versions). Once you get this CD you won't need the "Greatest Hits" any longer (this is the 70s compilation originally released on vinyl with the bird on the cover). If you purchased volume one ("Best of") then you got to get this one to complete the set. Order now!

Vol. 2 gives out an okay collection of Santana songs that haven't been heard by the crowd. Most of their songs are pretty much okay (not as good as Vol. 1 obviously) but some just don't bring out the feeling of Santana. Big Santana fans that have listened and love every, I repeat, every song he's ever written (In which I highly dought), then this is a great album for your collection. I also recommend this album for those that want to hear more of Santana but no for those who want to experience Santana for the first time. It your decision really.