A Guide for Barbra Streisand's Music: What to Get, What's Next and What to Avoid

Barbra Streisand's discography can be a bit daunting for a neophyte: she has over 60 albums, and they are all in-print, which can intimidate people who don't know what's worth getting. Streisand is a strange recording artist because initially in the 1960's, she was primarily a singer, so lots of attention was paid to her music career, therefore her first few albums are her strongest; in the 1970's onward, she began to act, direct, produce and preach, essentially spreading herself out a bit. Though she still made good music, she became a singles artist, her albums becoming mixed bags. In the 1980's and 1990's, she started to release albums at a snail-like pace, and despite stellar sales (she would sell millions into the 2000's), her work was decreasing in quality. She has commented that singing is her least favorite talent, and she chooses not to sing or listen to music on her off-time. Her lack of attention to her pop career does reflect in the quality of her later, more recent recordings. Still, she is one of the most talented individuals in pop music, with a virtually perfect voice, that has virtually unaged in the last four decades. Her commercial success, also has remained consistent, despite trends and shifts in pop music.

The Essential: What to Buy First

Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits, Vol 2 (1978) * * * * *: A great single-disc compilation of Streisand's ballad hits, this collection not only expertly summarizes her 1970's work, but it also is the best adult-contemporary album in the genre. Artists such as Mariah Carey, Bette Midler, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion have patterned their songs after Streisand's work. The album is almost a blueprint of a type of popular music that blended the trends of the 1970's with the traditional pop music of the prerock era. It's an important album to have, and possibly the first Streisand album one should buy, and if you only want one Streisand CD in a collection, this is the set to buy.