Definitely definitive, at least for pre-'80s.

Great artist + great collection + great sound = 5 stars, no question. I'm a little confused as to why a collection made in the year 2000 with no indication about time range stops at the 1980s and therefore omits some nice '80s songs like "That's What Friends Are For" and "Déjà Vu," but since I was primarily interested in the 1960s-1970s, this album was absolutely unbeatable for me. In my opinion, this is the only Dionne Warwick pre-'80s greatest hits album worth owning: every other such album I could find was missing some songs I wanted. The songs appear to be in chronological order, and my favorites tended to be the active ones clustered at the end of the first CD, like "I Say A Little Prayer," "Do You Know The Way To San José," and the powerfully romantic "This Girl's In Love With You," derived from Bacharach's original "This Guy's In Love With You" (also good). The included booklet has some interesting history, though I was a tiny bit disappointed that the year of release and maybe peak chart position wasn't always shown for each song.

Great Stuff!

Dionne Warwick is one of those performers who has been around for so many years and has had so many hits, its impossible to find a compilation set with everything on it. (Why has no one put out a box set?) The fact that she's been on 3 labels complicates matters. This double CD is the best deal if you are looking for her early and middle career hits. I especially like this one as it has hard to find hits from her late 60's period like Odds and Ends, Paper Mache, Who's Gonna Love Me and Let Me Go To Him. Also covered is her middle Warner Bros. period which is also hard to find on her reissues. The Rhino compilation is also very good, but it ends too early. Pick up this and a best of her Arista years CD and you'll be all set. I know, its expensive, but Dionne is worth it! But if you only want one set of her Bacharach period and 70's hits, this is it!

The Very Best Dionne Set You Could Own...

I mainly purchased this CD set because of the rare inclusion of tracks from Dionne's Warner years during the 70's. This is the first CD release worldwide I am aware of that includes TRACK OF THE CAT, and this is the full album version from the album of of the same name. For those fans who never were able to obtain the two Austrialian CD's of JUST BEING MYSELF and THEN CAME YOU, some of those tracks are included here from those albums. The digital remastering done by Warner Germany is fabulous, as mostly all the songs have no hiss and sound better from many of their counterparts from around the world, including the US Rhino reissues. Another rare Scepter track included is ODDS AND ENDS, a personal favorite of non-album tracks. For a thorough overview of Dionne's 60's and 70's best in one collection, this is the one to own. It is worth the imported price.