Not many artists can boast a greatest-hits album by their 21st birthday, but then not everybody logs a Lolita-ish hit at age 13, as the precocious Rimes did with the retro "Blue" in 1996. In many ways, that auspicious debut was her finest hour, full of hypnotic, yodel-laced magic and savant-like promise. Since then, she's recorded a fair amount of bankable pop ("One Way Ticket," "Can't Fight the Moonlight") and a seemingly bottomless well of tripe ("You Light Up My … mehrLife," "Written in the Stars" with Elton John). It all sits back-to-back on this collection of 16 familiar tunes, braced with a second DVD disc and three new audio recordings: "This Love," "Last Thing on My Mind" (a duet with Ronan Keating), and the holiday favorite, "O Holy Night." Alas, of the new songs, the first two point up the weakness of much of Rimes's career--her connect-the-dots emotionality. That leaves the heralded Christmas classic, on which she attempts some nervous Whitney Houston canoodling. Best advice: Put the player on "repeat," and enjoy the royal "Blue" treat that got this career rolling, before the aerobicized videos and the embarrassing lawsuit with Daddy. --Alanna Nash weniger

CD 1
01 - Blue
02 - How Do I Live
03 - Can't Fight the Moonlight [Graham Stack Radio Edit]
04 - One Way Ticket (Because I Can)… mehr
05 - Commitment
06 - I Need You
07 - Written in Stars
08 - Unchained Melody
09 - Light in Your Eyes
10 - On the Side on Angels
11 - You Light Up My Life
12 - Nothin' New Under the Moon
13 - Big Deal
14 - Life Goes On
15 - We Can
16 - Last Thing on My Mind
17 - This Love
18 - Crazy
19 - O Holy Night weniger