The Kinks: The Essential Album-By-Album Guide

THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION (2002)
Reason for Existing: Because when all was said and done, the Kinks were a great singles band.
Quick Take: Even more than the Kinks' contemporaries from the Sixties, when singles still ruled, the Kinks were ill-served by the album format. The CD reissues of those early albums try to rectify this historical fact by adding singles that didn't appear on the originals, but you really have to hear a compilation like this to grasp how the Kinks ruled radio.