The Who - My Generation - The Very Best of The Who (1996)

The Who have issued more greatest-hits collections than any other major artist, releasing a vast array of compilations while they were together and in the years following their breakup. Released in 1996, My Generation: The Very Best of the Who was intended to be the definitive single-disc collection, replacing all the others that preceded it. While it is a very good collection, it just misses being a definitive sampler. Essentially, My Generation is a replica of Who's Better, Who's Best that adds four tracks that were missing from the previous compilation, including the seminal post-Tommy single "The Seeker" and the original single mix of "Magic Bus." My Generation isn't strictly a singles collection, since it contains such album rock staples as "Baba O'Riley" and the full-length version of "Won't Get Fooled Again." It also spans the group's entire career, so it has a bit of a scattershot feel to it -- "You Better You Bet" sounds a little odd next to tense early singles like "Substitute" and "I Can See for Miles." The career-spanning approach doesn't make for as cohesive a collection as Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, but it does mean that My Generation is an excellent -- even necessary -- introduction. There's a lot more in the Who's catalog that needs to be heard, but My Generation does boil down the most essential items (even though the abominable "Squeeze Box" is included) to a fine single-disc set.~My Generation: The Very Best of the Who Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine