''The Ultimate Collection'' is a

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by American singer-songwriter

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

. It was first released by

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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 A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' series, although several hits and fan favorites like "

Only the Good Die Young "Only the Good Die Young" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 rock album '' The Stranger''. It was the third of four singles released from the album. Song information "Only the Good Die Young" was controversial for its time, with the lyrics written ...

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Scenes from an Italian Restaurant "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" is a song from Billy Joel's 1977 album '' The Stranger''. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked it the 324th greatest song of all time on their updated 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. Release Although never rel ...

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" 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

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released another similar compilation '' The Essential'' in October 2001.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Billy Joel

Disc one

Disc two

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Album

Video

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultimate Collection Billy Joel compilation albums 2000 greatest hits albums