The Essential Michael Jackson vs Number Ones?

Which greatest hits album is better?

  • The Essential Michael Jackson

    Votes: 15 88.2%
  • Number Ones

    Votes: 2 11.8%

  • Total voters
    17

Nite Line

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These two albums are Michael's most well know greatest hits albums and they both are regulars on the charts. But which one is better?

The Essential Michael Jackson

Pros:
- Shows love to Michael's material with the Jackson 5 / The Jacksons.
- Shows some love to MJ's post 80s material by including various songs from Dangerous & History.

Cons:
- US version completely neglects History by including just one song from that album.
- No love shown to BOTDF & Invincible
- No new song.

Number Ones

Pros:
- A brand new song, One More Chance.
- A live version of Ben, which is gorgeous.

Cons:
- Completely abandons Michael's pre Off The Wall career. Hello, Michael's career began in 1969, not 1979.
- Very little love shown to 90s albums, especially Dangerous. It only features one song from Dangerous, which is mind boggling.
- Pointless inclusion of Break of Dawn. Like I love the song, but it wasn't even released as a single and nor did it go to number 1 in any market. Why was it included?

Overall, I think The Essential Michael Jackson is easily superior, as it gives a better representation of Michael's career.

What do you guys think?
 
I have both of these in my collection. I chose "The Essential Michael Jackson", mostly for the PRO reasons you gave in your post. It definitely gives a better coverage of Michael's career.
 
the first half of the 'essential' collection is practically perfect, and lives up to its title. i'm speaking of the second uk edition released in 2010, which omitted 'enjoy yourself' and contained the single/radio versions of the songs.

the track-listing is in chronological order, and the hits flow nicely into each other. I can literally hear the growth as it progresses.

the only songs I really skip is 'she's out of my life' and 'ben'. I understand why their there though..

I would have included: 'farewell my summer love', 'somebody's watching me', 'say say say', 'ease on down the road', and 'one day in your life'
bonus j5/jacksons hits: 'never can say goodbye', 'looking through the windows' and 'show you the way to go'

honestly, it was fine the way it was though :)
 
I like the Number Ones. while the essential has everything since he was a child Number Ones had a new song and live version of Ben. so I picked the Number Ones.
 
The essential has a better tracklist.

They released so many greatest hits packages over the years it's ridiculous. If they had released just one it would have accumulated all the sales and it would stand over 20 million by now.
 
Essential has the better tracklist, but if I were to choose an "essential" Michael Jackson greatest hits album, it would be neither of these options. I think the Ultimate Collection is the best greatest hits album that's been released.
 
The essential has a better tracklist.

They released so many greatest hits packages over the years it's ridiculous. If they had released just one it would have accumulated all the sales and it would stand over 20 million by now.

I agree that MJ has too many greatest hits, and that definitely affects the sales of his less popular albums imo.

But regardless, both The Essential and Number Ones are great sellers. Number Ones has sales of 13 million worldwide and The Essential just over 7 million, which are pretty good numbers.

Essential has the better tracklist, but if I were to choose an "essential" Michael Jackson greatest hits album, it would be neither of these options. I think the Ultimate Collection is the best greatest hits album that's been released.

First of all, welcome to the forum.

Secondly, I completely agree with you. Aside from including Michael's greatest collection of songs from throughout his career, Ultimate Collection also includes quite a few previously unreleased demos and songs. A shame it isn't nearly as well known as Number Ones and The Essential.
 
It's funny to realize both of these came out when he was doing trials etc. they both sell it pretty good through like nite line said the essentials sell it lesser than the number ones.

but they still sell it pretty well through.
 
Always felt that number one's was just another notch for mj to get away from his album obligations in his contact
 
I never understood the point of both of these when HIStory already was a greatest hits album. The ultimate collection was a huge difference. I remember spending $55 on it & it took me so long to get it. The book was lit & even had Michael moonwalking with a flip book on each page. Came with a dvd & a bunch of never before heard stuff. I used to go to the mall when fye was still around & listen to those clips for hours & hours. I even remember they didnt have it out. U literally had to request it.
 
Essential has the better tracklist, but if I were to choose an "essential" Michael Jackson greatest hits album, it would be neither of these options. I think the Ultimate Collection is the best greatest hits album that's been released.


I absolutely agree with you, regarding The Ultimate Collection. I think it's amazing and it's a pity that it doesn't receive greater recognition.
 
I pick Essential Michael Jackson as the best CD, followed by HIStory.

However, I'd probably pick Number Ones as the best DVD.
 
Of these 2, Essentials is the best one. I like that there are radio versions of some of the songs like Black Or White (which I prefer to the album version).

But for me personally, the best hits package is The Ultimate Collection. I wish Michael released more boxsets in his lifetime.
 
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