The Ultimate Collection

The Ultimate Collection is a double-disc compilation album by American singer-songwriter Billy Joel. It was first released by Sony Music Entertainment Japan in December 2000, and subsequently issued in the most of European and Oceanian countries with slightly different track listings (replacing Japanese top-3 charting hit "The Stranger" with live version of "You're My Home"). This career-spanning compilation features some of Joel's early notable compositions and hit singles which were disregarded on his Greatest Hits series, although several fan favorites like "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant" and "Big Shot" were excluded alternatively. It became a smash hit worldwide, entering top-5 on the charts in several countries including United Kingdom. The Ultimate Collection was not issued in the United States, because Legacy Recordings released another similar compilation The Essential in October 2001.