Tanya Tucker was under contract to Columbia Records for only three years (1972 to 1975), not long enough to rack up 16 hit singles, so the title of this collection is a bit misleading. It actually contains nine of the ten tracks from her first Greatest Hits collection, her one Top 10 for Arista Records, and the remaining six are rare tracks that were not hits at all. That doesn't mean, however, that they aren't gems.

I purchased this CD to be a digitally remastered replacement for the (Columbia) Greatest Hits. I never listen to the old Greatest Hits anymore because the fidelity is just not up to par. 16 Biggest Hits does not disappoint in this respect. The big hits, "Delta Dawn", "The Jamestown Ferry", "What's Your Mama's Name" and "Would You Lay With Me (In A Field Of Stone)" are all represented. The only missing track from the original Greatest Hits is "Rainy Girl". But Sony more than made up for that exclusion by including four tracks that I'd never heard before - "Old Dan Tucker's Daughter", "Greener Than The Grass (We Laid On)", "Spring", and "You Are So Beautiful." The later three appear to have been recorded near the end of Tucker's tenure with Columbia, as she sounds a little more mature -- more like she sounded on her MCA recordings. The arrangement of these songs is much more lush, making liberal use of the string section, in contrast to the arrangements of the more familiar recordings.

An added bonus is the final three tracks, which were the singles from Tucker's only album for Arista Records, 1982's "Changes". In addition to the title track, are "Baby, I'm Yours" and "Feel Right." "Changes and "Baby, I'm Yours" were not hits. "Feel Right" made the Top 10 and became Tucker's last Top 10 hit until her big comeback in 1986 on Capitol Records. This is the first appearance of the Arista cuts on CD. I'd been looking for them for a long time. Their inclusion alone made the purchase of the album worthwhile.

I'm rating this CD four stars instead of five, only because nothing from Tucker's 1975-1982 stint with MCA Records is included. This is most likely due to licensing restrictions (Columbia and Arista both fall under the Sony BMG umbrella; MCA does not). But that's the only negative thing I can say about this collection. It's a great introduction to Tucker's earlier work and makes a nice companion piece to "20th Century Masters: The Best of Tanya Tucker" which contains some of her biggest hits from her MCA years.

The title is misleading as these are not her 16 BIGGEST hits, but in fact her EARLIEST hits (1973-1983; some very hard to find). It has been remastered, but it's not re-recorded thankfully; as it is a delight to hear Tanya's young voice - already then amazing.

I have to give this 5 stars as Tanya is an amazing artist who was way beyond her time with her songs. I do believe that if she was to release her old songs today they would all be a hit.

My favourites on this album: Love's The Answer, No Man's Land, The Man That Turned My Mama On, Would You Lay With Me, Spring and Feel Right!

I am usually tired of the endless reissues that the label cranks out but I find this to have some value. First it is a great sampling of her Columbia years. But even better is this has three of her Arista recordings that are rare. For this reason alone I find this collection worth getting. Two of these songs are on the very complete collection called "the upper 48 hits", but that is a bit expensive. This is a lower priced alternative.

I remembered purchasing and listening to this album long ago on vinyl and cassette tape - I purchased a piece of nostalgia and was not disappointed.

These songs and the singer sure know how to make the sounds of yesterday. Anyone who likes country music will love this.