Hard to believe, but Capitol’s 2008 collection Idolize Yourself: The Very Best of Billy Idol is only the second Billy Idol hits album to be released in America, following the first — 2001′s Greatest Hits — by just seven years. Greatest Hits weighed in at 16 tracks and Idolize Yourself spans 18, adding two OK new songs to the mix (the moody “John Wayne” and the ham-fisted “New Future Weapon”), swapping out a live acoustic “Rebel Yell” and a cover of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” for the latter-day cuts “Speed” and “World Comin’ Down,” but otherwise this is built upon the same core 14 hits as Greatest Hits. This means that either compilation would serve the needs of most Idol fans well, but Idolize Yourself gets the edge, as the latter-day songs are just a bit better and it’s also available in a deluxe edition with a DVD containing almost all of Billy Idol’s music videos (two, “Hot in the City” and “Cradle of Love,” are present in previously unreleased alternate cuts), which are essential to truly appreciating an artist whose fame was built in large part on his videos. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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