Tammy Wynette - The Essential Tammy Wynette (2004)

There have been numerous Tammy Wynette compilations over the years, but Epic/Legacy's 2004 collection The Essential Tammy Wynette is one of the best. Since she had so many hits, it's inevitable that any 14-track collection will have some omissions, and there are notable songs missing here, including number one hits like "Good Lovin' (Makes It Right)." That said, this does contain her biggest hits from 1966-1976 -- "Apartment No. 9," "Your Good Girl's Gonna Go Bad," "I Don't Wanna Play House," "D-I-V-O-R-C-E," "Stand by Your Man," as well as her duet with David Houston on "My Elusive Dreams" plus one song with George Jones, "Take Me." With 20 songs Anniversary covers more territory and 16 Biggest Hits has a higher concentration of hits, but Essential has a sharp selection of hits and duets that arguably makes it a better introduction, even though it's hard to go wrong with any of these three excellent discs.