There are very few remaining artists who can really showcase true talent and acclaim while still making an impact on the charts. Shery Crow is one of these very few. Since her 1993 breakthrough debut album "Tuesday Night Music Club," she has proven time and time again that women can really make it big in this business. She is a critics-darling with ordinary looks and an average voice, but strap a guitar on her, and she'll prove why she's lasted for ten years in this tough and competitive world of music.

"The Very Best Of" is the most essential collection package you will come across all year, with ten years' worth of awesome lyrics, catchy melodies and superb production. It has wisely not been called Greatest Hits, because anyone will tell you that the songs in Sheryl's career have been a little hit-and-miss. However, when Sheryl has a hit on her hands, she knows it and so does the world. How many times has your local radio station played a Sheryl Crow song to death in the mid-Nineties? It happened over and over for years, and when looking back, it's not hard to understand why.

Her debut album provided Sheryl with the mammoth classic "All I Wanna Do," which starts off this compilation. Perhaps Sheryl's best-known song, this is a country/rock anthem that is quite literally one of the all-time great songs. Another three songs from that particularly vivid debut album follow, in the form of "Leaving Las Vegas," "Strong Enough," and "I Shall Believe." The first two were big hits, while the latter is more of a crowd-pleaser that always gets fans going at her live shows. No less than four singles from Sheryl's self-titled sophomore masterpiece from the fall 1996 dominate the album. These four singles are truly the best of Sheryl, and are worth alone the price of this album! The first song from that second album is "Everyday Is A Winding Road," which was one of the most heavily-spinned songs of that awesome decade, while "If It Makes You Happy" is one of the greatest and heaviest rock anthems I've ever heard. "A Change Would Do You Good" was another huge hit, and with a guitar melody that borders on insanely-catchy, it's not hard to see why! "Home" rounds off the collection of hits from the self-titled album, and it's a beautiful country ballad where even Sheryl's vocals seem whispered.

We get only three songs from Sheryl's third album "The Globe Sessions," which is a bit of a disappointment because the songs from that album were all utterly awesome. "My Favourite Mistake" is the lead single, and it's just a stripped-down rock song, with rough and raw vocals and a beautiful chorus that warms the heart. "The Difficult Kind" is Sheryl's most criminally-underrated song ever. This is a masterpiece in ever sense of the word - listen and be amazed. "There Goes The Neighborhood" is one of Sheryl's most up-tempo tracks ever. The jazz-force is high on this classy and zesty number where Sheryl lets it all hang out. We get two songs from Sheryl's latest studio album "C'mon, C'mon," which is a bit of a blessing in disguise as that wasn't her best album. "Soak Up The Sun" was the summer tune of 2002, and had everyone grooving, while "Steve McQueen" is a firm fan favourite.

This brings us to the latest new material that features on here. Firstly we have a cover of the Cat Stevens classic "The First Cut Is The Deepest." This version has flopped in the UK, barely scraping the Top 40, but it's very underrated in my eyes. "Light In My Eyes" is another new song just for this album, and it really is Grammy-worthy. This takes Sheryl right back to her roots, with a catchy melody and brilliant lyrics. "Let's Get Free" closes the album, but it's a bit of a poor song which I feel should have been left off the album. "Picture" is Sheryl's mammoth duet with Kid Rock from last year, and it's also included on here.

OVERALL GRADE: 10/10

Sheryl Crow's "The Very Best Of" is my tip for the best 'greatest hits' package of 2003. Fans and casual listeners have been waiting ages for this, and it's finally arrive in such a grand way. All of Sheryl's biggest hits from the past ten years (and then some!) are included for your listening pleasure. Once you finish listening to this, you'll not only feel compelled to buy all of Sheryl's amazing studio albums if you don't already own them, but you'll feel certain that this rock Goddess has a long and shining career ahead of her. With a new studio album due in 2005, the only way is up for Sheryl Crow! She hasn't faltered yet. Her albums just gets better and better, and I feel certain that Sheryl will maintain this in the remainder of her career.

So I was only 8 years old when Sheryl released "All I Wanna Do" from the Tuesday Night Music Club album. I remember the summer of 1993 well, and that song is one of those which sparks memories of where you were and what you were doing. A lot of radio play, maybe? Or the video? I don't know. But Sheryl's music and sound is definitely signature. This Very Best Of collection brings some of her hits together with some relatively lesser known songs. Conveniently included is information about each song's achievements and placing on the charts. If you want the hits, get this album.

However, I love reviewing Greatest Hits and Best Of collections because they are never complete (except for maybe this new Eagles collection they have out). "Can't Cry Anymore" and "Anything But Down" are missing, replaced by "The Difficult Kind" and "There Goes the Neighborhood." I'd prefer the former two over the latter two. "Picture" should stay with Kid Rock's music, but it would have been cool to see "You're an Original" on here instead (and C'mon C'mon). Wouldn't mind including her version of "D'yer Maker" as well. Thus concludes my random thoughts on this album. Thank you.

Sheryl Crow has always been one of my favorite artists, with her intense and deep lyrics, and great voice. I always enjoyed her music, it was so original and just different from everything out there, to me at least. So it comes to no surprise that there is a collection of greatest hits for such a prolific artist and entertainer. They have compiled a pretty good collection of her work. My only complaint is that there's a few missing tracks, obviously not enough room, but "Anything But Down", "Sweet Child of Mine" and the James Bond theme are noticably missing. "There Goes The Neighborhood" is a nice song, but it seems like an odd choice as it was not a big hit. Either way, there is some great stuff here. I enjoy the ballads "Home", "The Difficult Kind", "I Shall Believe", "Strong Enough" and more. Everyone knows the big hits "Soak Up The Sun", "Everyday Is A Winding Road", "My Favorite Mistake", "If It Makes You Happy", "All I Wanna Do", and so on. The new tracks are good, her version of "The First Cut Is The Deepest" is a great rendition. I love the other new song "Light In Your Eyes", which has a great melody and vocals from Crow. The Deluxe Edition also comes with a DVD of 13 of her videos, so a must have for all fans. Overall you can't go wrong with this collection.

I've always liked Sheryl Crow but I never bought any of her albums. So I was very happy that she released a greatest hits and I was not disappointed. A great compilation! I bought in Canada so maybe the tracklisting has tiny changes, but I think it's the same at the US:

1. All I Wanna Do

The tracks that I love from Sheryl Crow are: Tracks 1, 2, 3, 5, 9 & 13. Basically all her biggest hits. I also like tracks 4 & 6. All the songs are good in fact. The only songs that are missing and that I would've liked to have are "Sweet Child O Mine" because I thought she did a great job covering the Guns N Roses classic and also the theme from James Bond. But no compilation is perfect and I'm glad that they at least included the huge majority of the hits. Highly recommended!

I have been a Sheryl Crow fan for years and would definitely recommend this CD. It is the best compilation of all of her greatest and most popular songs. I have only had this CD a short time, but play it over and over in my car. Would be great listening on a long road trip turned up loud! Turn up the volume and enjoy!