Sarah Vaughan - 20th Century Masters: The Best of Sarah Vaughan (2004)

As one of the few Sarah Vaughan compilations to make it onto the shelves of most music stores (until it too is supplanted), MCA's 20th Century Masters collection has large shoes to fill. Since MCA owns the Mercury catalog -- for which she recorded during the '50s and '60s -- listeners shouldn't worry that they're purchasing substandard material. Still, the compilation doesn't present a complete picture of what made Vaughan special; it focuses on the big-time standards that found Vaughan backed by pillowy productions (half of the selections come from the crossover dates Vaughan With Voices and Vaughan and Violins). Like Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald, the other two in the triumvirate of female jazz vocalists, Sarah Vaughan sparkled in any setting, and she brought the highest level of artistry and interpretive grace to the most sublime standards. Surprisingly, even the liner notes are exemplary, including Sarah Vaughan reminiscences shared with David Ritz by Little Jimmy Scott, Carmen McRae, and Andy Bey.