if Ringo ever had a best of album I doubt it would be a long set and include most of her singles (the point is to move albums after all) so when I see these lists I have to say I admit they look a bit tired to me. Marunouchi Sadistic, as much as I love it, has got to have been played at just about every live show Ringo has done in her career concert wise.

I think not including Jihen is the correct move since this is a Ringo best of and TJ is a seperate entity of itself. I think Jihen deciding to release another none-Ringo single puts a period after that statement. I do, however, think maybe HF era Gamble or Karisome Otome Death Vers should go on there. Maybe KYNK to show versatility. I think I am one of those rare folk who prefer KO DJV over the album cut.

Not counting the last.fm list, the 17-song list from golem09 (sorry), the Taiwanese bootleg, and my list that comes after this, here are the top 21 (so many tie votes, but you could also just ignore the tie for 14th place and get a solid 13-track recording!) as voted by the posters of this topic so far:

14. Identity, Okonomide, Gunjou Biyori, Koufukuron, Shuukyou, Remote Controller, Ringo no Uta, Nyuusui Negai (4)
10. Kuki/Stem, Shuraba, Himitsu, Marunochi Sadistic (5)
7. Gibbs, Kabukichou no Joou, Yami ni Furu Ame (6)
5. Mayonaka wa Junketsu, Souretsu (7)
4. Sounan (9)
3. Tsumi to Batsu (10)
1. Honnou, Meisai (11)



My 15 tracks to try and get people to listen? Hmm... I'll go chronologically for now and figure out arrangement later with some kind of edit. With the list comes half-assed commentary about the songs, feel free to call BS or something.

1. Akane sasu kiro terasaredo... - Truthfully, this is more for sentimental value than anything. It's simple and sweet, I suppose.

2. Gibusu - It's arguably her signature rock ballad. (read: I like it better than Superstar)

3. Honnou - This isn't ranked 1 so far for nothing. Even if the visual of the nurse outfit and broken glass doesn't come to mind, you can feel that type of energy in the song, which is its appeal. And if the visual does come to mind, congratulations, minor Seiteki Healing. (/lame)

4. Yattsuke Shigoto (ZCS ver.) - It's Ringo rock, to be sure, but I chose it over Identity because people would probably be able to follow it better, and then you could go with Identity and other things in the same vein if it piqued their interest.

5. Meisai (KZK ver.) - Like Honnou, it's just damn good. Both versions have their merits; KZK has more substance but is a bit slower and mellow, while HF is lighter and has a great build-up during the intro. However, HF does have that erratic ending, so the nod goes to KZK.

6. Torikoshi Kurou - Short and a little odd. Not Stoicism or Service odd, but again you can use this as a launch pad to those songs if you want.

7. Sounan - When I heard Shiina Ringo was forming a band, I was extremely wary until I heard Sounan. This allowed me to rest easy with the knowledge that there would still be a fair amount of quality stuff from the Tokyo Jihen incarnation of her career, a claim that has held up decently since then, even with recent experiments.

8. Genjitsu wo Warau - A little strange and not too creepy. I love Souretsu as much as anyone, but I feel it's one of those songs that people generally have to be slowly introduced to before they can really appreciate it. This make a nice substitute, and if people like it, then you can start getting them more on the strange and mystical stuff.

9. Koi wa Maboroshi FOR MUSICIAN - It's a better dance number than most people give it credit for. Maybe you can even teach your friends the weird steps from the music video that go with it! (This might not be in the right place chronologically, but meh.)

10. Himitsu FOR DJ - The only reason I'm using the FOR DJ version is because I appreciate comedy in all its forms and can laugh at Ukigumo spitting out the most unballer lyrics I've ever heard. In all seriousness, normal Himitsu is a great representative for the Adult song phase, because like Gunjou Biyori for Kyouiku, Shuraba sure as hell didn't win me over. I have a feeling I'm not the only one on this. :P

11. Tasogare Naki (Adult ver.) - This song really hits the spot after a long day of pimpi--- I mean, exams and work. Yes. I'm sure pimps could appreciate this song as well, but that's not the point. The point is, it's very therapeutic and would probably be the last song in my arrangement of 15. It really does fill people with a sense of reassurance even if you understand the lyrics, though the Adult version gets the nod because FOR MOTHER tends to go on for a while. A great alternative finisher for those who aren't the Izonshou type.

12. Gamble (Heisei Fuuzoku ver.) - Always the skeptic, I was worried about the remakes on Heisei Fuuzoku making me feel like I wasted money on only a couple unique songs that might not even be all that great. Then I played it and got hit with this right off the bat. If I were to make preliminary decisions on how to arrange my 15, this would be the first track. An orchestral hook can be quite powerful.

13. Kuki/Stem (Heisei Fuuzoku ver.) - Stem is just another one of those staples that every fan is familiar with, whether by choice or by force. Emanating a mix of slight sadness and hope doesn't hurt, either.

14. OSCA - Yes, I'm aware that this is filled with "Ukigumo Petrol". I expect bricks to the face later on. Still, I'm going to give it clearance using the justification of cover songs being fair game. She puts a nice spin on the song anyway, so it's no big deal. It's probably the throwback to the '60s that compels me to put it on the list of top 15 (and I didn't want to use the "Yer Blues" cover on a Best Of), but it's a great song even without that sentiment. The split between the slow half and the fast half provides enough contrast to prevent it from becoming what would have been an otherwise monotonous song in either tempo. Also, people seem to love the "da-na-na-na-na-na-na-na!" part that starts off the refrain and plays really fast at the end; we even use it as a sound effect in videos.

15. Karada - This is the only easy listening/slow jazz-style song she's done, but... I love it. I'm even willing to forgive "Mr. Sweet Sensation" (I give Ukigumo too much leeway, I swear) and pretend it's just the Pips (y'know, Gladys Knight and the Pips... "Midnight Train to Georgia"), because I can't help but melt a little bit when she sings like that. The only downside is that outside of covers, performances, and the like, this is pretty much the only sampling of her in this style, not to mention that it's a B-side. Still, it does show off some versatility, and perhaps people will respect that.

8 SR, 7 TJ.
1 MM, 2 SS, 1 ZCS, 2 KZK, 2 Kyouiku, 2 Adult, 2 HF, 1 Variety, and 2 Tokyo Jihen B-sides, one of which is both a cover and alternate version.

So do I win the award for worst top 15 ever? Karada alone has got to cost me 80 points :D

Heh, did you decide to make a best of list that avoids the top 13 songs you compiled? But anyway...

My dear Positron, out of the many wonderful covers SR/TJ did, you chose possibly the worst one (in my opinion anyway.) What about Kurumaya-san? You really gotta give them a lot of credit for putting the Jihen 1.0 jazz-rock spin on an enka classic. It's certainly one of those songs that can rock a stadium, plus it doesn't suffer from the sluggish tempo that bugs most of OSCA.

...Kurumaya-san is great, I'll give you that. However, I don't want to revoke OSCA just yet, though; I've had actual success using it on others, and considering how important arrangement is, I could put it as the second, third, or whatever song needs a build-up to a rock session. Plus, I don't think I could justify choosing it with anything other than "hey, I just really dig this song, top 15 coming atcha"; I already did that with my first and last songs on the list. I would have originally put Yer Blues but too many people recognize Beatles songs and that might actually work against the album (though it's still a good rendition). With the exception of the first song, I still stand by my choices pre-Variety, but if I had to make replacements...

Akane sasu kiro terasaredo... ---> Sid to hakuchuumu
Torikoshi Kurou ---> Poltergeist
OSCA ---> Yer Blues, Kurumaya-san, or a song that has her brother on it
Karada ---> ...whatever song people believe she sounds the sexiest in

omg, 15!!!!
I was able to do 20, but 15!!! >_<
It took me about forever to decide, whether to take Ichijiku no Hana or Ringo no Uta... not to mention the Honnou VS Shoujou Robot(secretrez-ver.)-Distress ... ;__;
To make it easier, I decided not to include any covers (excluding self-covers).

1. Gamble (HF)
2. Tsumiki Asobi (MM)
3. Himitsu (Dynamite Out!+)
4. Honnou (SS)
5. Torikoshi Kurou (EM)
6. Gunjou Biyori (Kyouiku)
7. Mellow (ZCS)
8. OSCA (Variety)
9. Ringo no Uta (Single)
10. Kenka Joutou (Adult)
11. Tsumi to Batsu (Otakara)
12. Meisai (KSK)
13. La Salle de Bain (RSRF04)
14. Sakuran (ONKIO Ver.) (KYNK-Single)
15. Rakujitsu (JCHI)

First of all, the norm these days seems to be releasing a "best of" album per 3-4 studio albums. by that standard, there's waaaaay too many songs in the Ringo catalogue to be put into a mere 15-track album, not to mention they're released under to seperate entities. so my tracklist is strictly for solo materials under Shiina Ringo's name ONLY. Tokyo Jihen only has 3 albums so far and not a lot of rarities, so a "best of TJ" album can wait.

i wanted to show thru the tracklist how Shiina progressed as an artist and moved thru different genres, so the first half of the album was filled with more edgy and rock-oriented songs, while the second half is made up of more laid-back ballad.

1. Koufukuron (Etsuraku Hen) - a perfect way to open the album, loud and clear and fast. tho it's only chosen b'cuz it's a single. or else Keikoku might work just as fine.
2. Morphine - it's just such an eyebrow-raising track it has to be there.
3. Marunouchi Sadistic - this song speaks a lot for 1999 Shiina persona.
4. Onaji Yoru (Ze-Chyou Syuu Studio Version) - i struggled between the MM and ZCS version, but went for the louder version.
5. Yami ni Furu Ame
6. Tsumi to Batsu
7. 17 - again, this song IS what Shiina was at the time she wrote it. it needs to be there.
8. Yattsuke Shigoto (Ze-Chyou Syuu Studio Version)
9. Mellow - it could have been Gamble as well, but this is a personal fav of mine that more people need to know about.
10. Kuki (KSK ver.) - a personal fav. i think the KSK version works better than single version when it comes to appealling to new fans.
11. Meisai - again, tough choice between Meisai and Poltergeist. the former made the cut as it is catchier to new fans
12. Okonomide - it was Okonomide or Odaijini. the catchier one made it.
13. Kuki (HS ver.) - two versions of Kuki? yes. just to show off her ability in working a song in so many different ways.
14. Hatsukoi Shoujo - i think the last few tracks demonstrate perfectly the laid-back side of Shiina's.
15. Ringo no Uta - one of the previous posts explained why Ringo Catalogue may not be for new fans better than i ever could.
16. Hai-Hai (Ze-Chyou Syuu Studio Version)(special bonus track) - there's somethin' bout this song... more people need to about it.

- As you might have noticed i've deliberately avoided the hits. the thing is, Shiina as a solo artist was such a iconic figure her biggest hits (Koko ni Kissu Shite, Honnou, Gips, etc.) would have been way too well known. if potential fans weren't intrigued by these songs when they heard it, they wouldn't be intrigued by finding it on a "best of" album either.
- As for us good'ol fans, there should at least be some previously unreleased materials to award us spending the extra money. in this case i've put in studio versions of a couple of live tracks from ZCS.
- As for track 16, that was a complete optional bonus. seeing there are two versions of Kuki we may very well swap it with one of the Kuki's, and it would work just as fine.

Thanks to karateexplosion's "similar thread" for allowing me to bring this back from the grave.

I'm going to exclude Jihen as a matter of form, not principle. And with SG, Ariamaru Tomi, and Ringo Expo, there's so much more to choose from than in 2007 anyway.

Symmetrical in character count, but not quite symmetrical in character type. Close enough.

1. 幸福論
2. 罪と罰
3. ありあまる富
4. やっつけ仕事
5. 浴室
6. 都合のいい身体
7. 映日紅の花
8. 茎
9. 尖った手口
10. 歌舞伎町の女王
11. 迷彩
12. やっつけ仕事
13. りんごのうた
14. 同じ夜
15. 依存症

1. Koufukuron (Electric Mole) -- The full version. Not cut-off. Otherwise, the MM version would have to be good enough.
2. Tsumi to Batsu (Single) -- Definitely the single version, unless they mixed it without the lead-in to Stoicism (and even then, the single version works better before Ariamaru Tomi).
3. Ariamaru Tomi (Single)
4. Yattsuke Shigoto (KSK)
5. Yokushitsu (SS)
6. Tsugou no Ii Karada (SG)
7. Ichijiku no Hana (KSK)
8. Kuki (Baishou Ecstasy) -- I wouldn't have anything but STEM as the spine track. I like the KSK version more, but would rather have this one here.
9. Togatta Teguchi (SG) -- The track ends with a split second of Irokoizata, but could be re-mixed to blend right into Kabukichou's drum intro instead. Heck, I made it sound halfway decent in Audacity without access to the masters.
10. Kabukichou no Joou (MM)
11. Meisai (KSK)
12. Yattsuke Shigoto (ZCS) -- Yeah. It wasn't even a matter of deciding between the two...I just wanted both on here.
13. Ringo no Uta (Single)
14. Onaji Yoru (ZCS)
15. Izonshou (SS) -- It was either this or Souretsu...and as much as I love Souretsu, I don't think it or Shuukyou belong on this album.

This is all fun and all, but if there was actually to be a real Ringo best of, it will just consist of singles and 2 new tracks.

And probably MaruSadi and Suburedai, because Ringo really loves those two songs.

Though, artists like Chara release best-of albums that skip singles and include album tracks. Who knows? My bet for a Best-Of would be all of the songs that were singles or had Seiteki Healing PVs (+MaruSadi and Suburedai)

Loving the ZCS love here.