Dolly Parton - The Essential Dolly Parton (2010)

The Essential Limited Edition 3.0 is an expanded 3-CD set of the Essential series. It contains a bonus disc of rarities and lesser known releases from the artist. Released as a fold out Digipak.In a review of the album for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that it "is one of the handful that gets it right" doing "a tremendous job of picking the biggest and the best" of her songs, and concludes by saying "Dividing her material in this fashion makes each disc consistent within itself, and helps make this a more listenable set than such similar career-spanning collections as 1993's The RCA Years".[1] In her review of the album for PopMatters, Maura McAndrew stated that it consists of "twin discs that span her legendary career" while noting that it "makes me feel as though I suddenly understand the cultural fascination with Dolly Parton. She's a queen of contradiction: she may have outlandish style, but she makes honest, pure, American music and has a true American story to tell."[4] In a review for Record Collector magazine, Terry Staunton summarized it by saying that "This is a rounded, if not wholly satisfying package; a few more selections from her bluegrass recordings (2001's Little Sparrow, in particular) would have been welcome, but having said that, there are very few misfires among the 37 tracks that made the final cut."