Tammy Wynette - Tammy Wynette - 16 Biggest Hits (1998)

Unlike "greatest" hits or "best-of" compilations, whose titles imply a qualitative element, 16 Biggest Hits is measurable solely by commercial success. And by that measure, Tammy Wynette's 16 Biggest Hits is exactly what it says it is, presenting the singer's 16 number one country hits from 1967 to 1976 in chronological order, from "I Don't Wanna Play House" to "You and Me," with standards like "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Stand by Your Man," and "'Til I Can Make It on My Own" in between. (Her chart-topping duets with David Houston and George Jones were not included.) Wynette was the queen of the plaintive heartbreak ballad on many of these tracks (five of which she co-wrote), though there were occasional expressions of domestic contentment such as "He Loves Me All the Way" and "My Man (Understands)," and more pieces of womanly advice in the tradition of "Stand by Your Man," such as "Run, Woman, Run" and the cautionary "Good Lovin' (Makes It Right)." Released only a couple of months before her death, 16 Biggest Hits was a fitting tribute to Wynette. © William Ruhlmann