The Ultimate Collection (Billy Joel album)

The Ultimate Collection
Greatest hits album by Billy Joel
Released	December 20, 2000[1]
Recorded	1973–1993
Genre	Rock, pop
Length	153:09
Label	Sony/Columbia
Producer	Phil Ramone Michael Omartian Billy Joel Mick Jones Danny Kortchmar Joe Nicolo David Thoener
Billy Joel chronology
2000 Years: The Millennium Concert (2000) The Ultimate Collection (2000) Fantasies & Delusions (2001)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]

The Ultimate Collection is a double-disc compilation album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. It was first released by Sony Music Entertainment Japan in December 2000, and subsequently issued in the most of European and Oceanian countries with slightly different track listings (replacing Japanese top-3 charting hit "The Stranger" with live version of "You're My Home").

This career-spanning compilation features some of Joel's early notable compositions and hit singles which were disregarded on his Greatest Hits series, although several hits and fan favorites like "Only the Good Die Young", "Captain Jack", "Vienna", "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant", "Pressure" and "Big Shot" were excluded alternatively. It became a smash hit worldwide, entering top-5 on the charts in many countries, including United Kingdom.

The Ultimate Collection was not issued in the United States, though Legacy Recordings released another similar compilation The Essential in October 2001.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel

Disc one

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Just the Way You Are"	The Stranger, 1977	4:50
2.	"My Life"	52nd Street, 1978	4:43
3.	"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"	Glass Houses, 1980	2:57
4.	"An Innocent Man"	An Innocent Man, 1983	5:18
5.	"Piano Man"	Piano Man, 1973	5:37
6.	"You're My Home"	Piano Man	3:12
7.	"Everybody Loves You Now" (Live version)	Songs in the Attic, 1981	3:11
8.	"The Entertainer"	Streetlife Serenade, 1974	3:40
9.	"Streetlife Serenader"	Streetlife Serenade	5:16
10.	"New York State of Mind"	Turnstiles, 1976	6:03
11.	"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"	Turnstiles	4:38
12.	"She's Got a Way" (Live version)	Songs in the Attic	3:00
13.	"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"	The Stranger	3:29
14.	"She's Always a Woman"	The Stranger	3:20
15.	"Honesty"	52nd Street	3:49
16.	"You May Be Right"	Glass Houses	4:12
17.	"Don't Ask Me Why"	Glass Houses	2:57
18.	"Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)" (Live version)	Songs in the Attic	5:09

Disc two

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Uptown Girl"	An Innocent Man	3:16
2.	"Tell Her About It"	An Innocent Man	3:50
3.	"The River of Dreams"	River of Dreams, 1993	4:07
4.	"The Longest Time"	An Innocent Man	3:37
5.	"We Didn't Start the Fire"	Storm Front, 1989	4:47
6.	"Goodnight Saigon"	The Nylon Curtain, 1982	7:02
7.	"Allentown"	The Nylon Curtain	3:49
8.	"All for Leyna"	Glass Houses	4:12
9.	"This Is the Time"	The Bridge, 1986	4:59
10.	"Leave a Tender Moment Alone"	An Innocent Man	3:53
11.	"A Matter of Trust"	The Bridge	4:08
12.	"Modern Woman"	The Bridge	3:50
13.	"Baby Grand" (Duet with Ray Charles)	The Bridge	4:04
14.	"I Go to Extremes"	Storm Front	4:21
15.	"Leningrad"	Storm Front	4:03
16.	"The Downeaster 'Alexa'"	Storm Front	3:43
17.	"You're Only Human (Second Wind)"	Greatest Hits Volume II, 1985	4:48
18.	"All About Soul" (Remix)	Greatest Hits Volume III, 1997	5:58

Charts

Weekly charts 2001–2006 weekly chart performance for The Ultimate Collection Chart (2001–2006) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[3] 12 Australian Music DVD (ARIA)[4] 9 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[5] 2 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[6] 36 French Albums (SNEP)[7] 12 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[8] 58 Irish Albums (IRMA)[9] 1 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[10] 19 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[11] 2 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[12] 3 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 3 UK Albums (OCC)[14] 4

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for The Ultimate Collection Chart (2001) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[15] 89 Irish Albums (IRMA)[16] 16 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[17] 16 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 66 UK Albums (OCC)[19] 36

Certifications

Album Certifications for The Ultimate Collection Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[20] 2× Platinum 140,000^^ Japan (RIAJ)[21] Platinum 250,000^^ New Zealand (RMNZ)[22] 2× Platinum 30,000^^ Norway (IFPI Norway)[23] Gold 25,000^* Sweden (GLF)[24] Gold 40,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Platinum 300,000^^ ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Video Certifications for The Ultimate Collection video Region Certification Certified units/sales Australia (ARIA)[26] 5× Platinum 75,000^^ New Zealand (RMNZ)[27] Platinum 5,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Gold 25,000^* ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Sony Music Online Japan International -Billy Joel-". sonymusic.co.jp (in Japanese). Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
2. https://www.allmusic.com/album/r526907
3. "Australiancharts.com – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
4. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mount Martha, Melbourne, Victoria: Moonlight Publishing.
5. "Danishcharts.dk – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
6. "Dutchcharts.nl – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
7. "InfoDisc : Tout les Titres par Artiste". Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved September 22, 2009.
8. "Offiziellecharts.de – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
9. "Discography Billy Joel". irish-charts.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
10. "(Highest position and charting weeks for reissue of The Ultimate Collection by Billy Joel)". oricon.co.jp. Oricon Style. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
11. "Charts.nz – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
12. "Norwegiancharts.com – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
13. "Swedishcharts.com – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection". Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
14. "Billy Joel | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
15. "ARIA Top 100 Albums for 2001". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
16. "Best of Albums 2001". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
17. "The Top 50 Albums of 2001". Retrieved February 4, 2015.
18. "Årslista Album – År 2001" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
19. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2001". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
20. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
21. "Japanese album certifications – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 24 December 2020. Select 2007年5月 on the drop-down menu
22. "New Zealand album certifications – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
23. "Norwegian album certifications" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
24. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2001" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
25. "British album certifications – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 December 2020.
26. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 DVDs" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
27. Scapolo, Dean (2007). The Complete New Zealand Music Charts: 1966–2006. Maurienne House. ISBN 978-1-877443-00-8.
28. "British video certifications – Billy Joel – The Ultimate Collection". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 December 2020.