The Velvet Underground - 20th Century Masters: The Best of The Velvet Underground (2000) [Official Digital Download 24/96]

The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection is a compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was initially released for the North American market by Polydor in October 2000 as part of their "20th Century Masters" series of budget compilations celebrating the turn of the century.

The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection is a straight, chronologically-sequenced trawl through the studio and live albums that the band recorded for Verve Records, MGM Records and Mercury Records (now all under the Universal Music Group umbrella). The record's budget scope did not allow for inclusion of Atlantic Records-owned Loaded tracks, so Polydor, the UMG label that oversees the reissuing of Velvet Underground back catalogue material, resorted to their usual tactic of including live substitutions of "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll".

The album includes Velvet Underground signature tune "Sister Ray"; however, its sheer length of 17:22 meant that other possibly equally valid selections could not make the cut. Additionally, the compilation disregards contributions Nico made to the band's debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico.

The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection was initially released in the United States and subsequently in the same configuration for the European market. In the United Kingdom, the album was quickly superseded by another budget compilation, Rock and Roll: an Introduction to The Velvet Underground, which had its own selection of tracks.

AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
It seems rather silly for the ultimate cult band to have a volume of Universal's 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection series, since even if the Velvet Underground were often song oriented, they were never singles oriented, and if this series is anything, it's singles oriented. That doesn't mean VU's 20th Century Masters doesn't work, though. Most of their big songs – "I'm Waiting for the Man," "Heroin," "White Light/White Heat," "Sister Ray," "What Goes On," "Pale Blue Eyes" – are here, as are live versions of "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll" (the studio versions were on Loaded, the one studio album the Velvets didn't do for Verve and therefore unavailable for the compilers). While some could argue that "Candy Says," "I'll Be Your Mirror," "Ocean," "I Heard Her Call My Name," or several other songs should have been included instead of the three remaining songs – which, for the record, are "Run, Run, Run," "Beginning to See the Light-" and "I Can't Stand It" – these tunes are nevertheless beloved by Velvets fans (but what VU song isn't?). Then again, this is designed for the casual fan or the curious listener wanting a good sampler. And this certainly is a good sampler of one of the greatest bands in history even if, to trot out the old rock critic cliché, you really should just own all of their albums in the first place.

Tracklist
1. The Velvet Underground & Nico – I'm Waiting for the Man (04:40)
2. The Velvet Underground & Nico – Run Run Run (04:22)
3. The Velvet Underground & Nico – Heroin (07:12)
4. The Velvet Underground – White Light / White Heat (02:47)
5. The Velvet Underground – Sister Ray (17:25)
6. The Velvet Underground – Beginning to See the Light (Closet Mix) (04:40)
7. The Velvet Underground – What Goes On (04:55)
8. The Velvet Underground – Pale Blue Eyes (Closet Mix) (05:41)
9. The Velvet Underground – I Can't Stand It (03:24)
10. The Velvet Underground – Sweet Jane (Live from the Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (04:01)
11. The Velvet Underground – Rock and Roll (Live from the Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (06:02)