The Essential Billy Joel

The Essential Billy Joel
The Essential Billy Joel
Greatest hits album by Billy Joel
Released	October 2, 2001
Recorded	1973–2001
Genre	Rock
Length	154:58; 188:53 (reissue)
Label	Sony; Legacy;
Producer	Billy Joel, Michael Stewart, Phil Ramone, Mick Jones
Billy Joel chronology
International Edition
	International/European cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	^[1]

The Essential Billy Joel is a Sony music compilation of songs by American singer/songwriter Billy Joel. It was released on October 2, 2001, and has been certified Triple Platinum by the RIAA.^[2] In conjunction with the release of the album, The Essential Video Collection was released, comprising Joel's most popular music videos.

On August 26, 2008, The Essential 3.0 was released containing a third disc with seven additional tracks.^[3]

Track listing

All songs written by Billy Joel.

Disc one

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Piano Man"	Piano Man, 1973	5:38
2.	"You're My Home"	Piano Man	3:14
3.	"Captain Jack"	Piano Man	7:18
4.	"The Entertainer"	Streetlife Serenade, 1974	3:41
5.	"Say Goodbye to Hollywood"	Turnstiles, 1976	4:39
6.	"Miami 2017 (Seen the Lights Go Out on Broadway)"	Turnstiles	5:14
7.	"New York State of Mind"	Turnstiles	6:05
8.	"She's Always a Woman"	The Stranger, 1977	3:22
9.	"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)"	The Stranger	3:30
10.	"Only the Good Die Young"	The Stranger	3:56
11.	"Just the Way You Are"	The Stranger	4:50
12.	"Honesty"	52nd Street, 1978	3:54
13.	"My Life"	52nd Street	4:44
14.	"It's Still Rock and Roll to Me"	Glass Houses, 1980	2:57
15.	"You May Be Right"	Glass Houses	4:16
16.	"Don't Ask Me Why"	Glass Houses	2:59
17.	"She's Got a Way (Live)"	Songs in the Attic, 1981; originally from Cold Spring Harbor, 1971	3:02
18.	"Allentown"	The Nylon Curtain, 1982	3:49

Disc two

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Goodnight Saigon"	The Nylon Curtain	7:04
2.	"An Innocent Man"	An Innocent Man, 1983	5:21
3.	"Uptown Girl"	An Innocent Man	3:18
4.	"The Longest Time"	An Innocent Man	3:42
5.	"Tell Her About It"	An Innocent Man	3:53
6.	"Leave a Tender Moment Alone"	An Innocent Man	3:57
7.	"A Matter of Trust"	The Bridge, 1986	4:11
8.	"Baby Grand" (Duet with Ray Charles)	The Bridge	4:06
9.	"I Go to Extremes"	Storm Front, 1989	4:23
10.	"We Didn't Start the Fire"	Storm Front	4:50
11.	"Leningrad"	Storm Front	4:07
12.	"The Downeaster "Alexa""	Storm Front	3:44
13.	"And So It Goes"	Storm Front	3:38
14.	"The River of Dreams"	River of Dreams, 1993	4:07
15.	"All About Soul (Remix)"	Exclusive to the "All About Soul" single, 1993; originally from River of Dreams	6:00
16.	"Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)"	River of Dreams	3:33
17.	"Waltz no. 1 (Nunley's Carousel)"	Fantasies & Delusions, 2001	6:56
18.	"Invention in C minor"	Fantasies & Delusions	1:00

Disc three

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Worse Comes to Worst"	Piano Man	3:13
2.	"Prelude/Angry Young Man"	Turnstiles	5:16
3.	"Scenes from an Italian Restaurant"	The Stranger (the album's inner sleeve mistakenly credits this song to be from the album Turnstiles)	7:34
4.	"Big Shot"	52nd Street	4:02
5.	"All for Leyna"	Glass Houses	4:12
6.	"Pressure"	The Nylon Curtain	4:39
7.	"This Is the Time"	The Bridge	4:59

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (2001)	Peak position
US Billboard 200^[4]	29
Chart (2008)	Peak position
Australian Albums (ARIA)^[5] The Essential 3.0	50
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[6]	14
Chart (2013)	Peak position
Irish Albums (IRMA)^[7]	66
US Billboard 200^[8]	15
Chart (2019)	Peak position
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[9]	7
Chart (2025)	Peak position
Greek Albums (IFPI)^[10]	72

Year-end charts

Chart (2017)	Position
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[11]	47
Chart (2018)	Position
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[12]	44
Chart (2019)	Position
US Billboard 200^[13]	92
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[14]	12
Chart (2020)	Position
US Billboard 200^[15]	117
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[16]	11
Chart (2021)	Position
US Billboard 200^[17]	127
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)^[18]	21
Chart (2024)	Position
US Billboard 200^[19]	189

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[20]	3× Platinum	210,000^{^}
New Zealand (RMNZ)^[21]	Platinum	15,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[22]	Gold	100,000^‡
United States (RIAA)^[24]	3× Platinum	1,658,000^[23]
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone. ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

^ https://www.allmusic.com/album/r553033
^ RIAA - Gold & Platinum - The Essential Billy Joel
^ allmusic.com - The Essential Billy Joel Limited Edition 3.0 - Overview
^ "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. October 20, 2001. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
^ "Australiancharts.com – Billy Joel – The Essential 3.0". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
^ "Charts.nz – Billy Joel – The Essential". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
^ - Billy Joel - The Essential
^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
^ "Billy Joel Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
^ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 01/2025)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.
^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
^ "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
^ "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
^ "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2024.
^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
^ "New Zealand album certifications – Billy Joel – The Essential". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.
^ "British album certifications – Billy Joel – The Essential". British Phonographic Industry.
^ Paul Grein (August 7, 2013). "Week Ending Aug. 4, 2013. Albums: Robin Thicke, Call Katy Perry". Yahoo Chart Watch.
^ "American album certifications – Billy Joel – The Essential". Recording Industry Association of America.

[1] ttps://www.allmusic.com/album/r553033

[2] RIAA - Gold & Platinum - The Essential Billy Joel

[3] usic.com - The Essential Billy Joel Limited Edition 3.0 - Overview

[4] "Top 200 Albums". Billboard. October 20, 2001. Retrieved October 22, 2017.

[ac_Australia_Billy_Joel-5] "Australiancharts.com – Billy Joel – The Essential 3.0". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 22, 2017.

[ac_New_Zealand_Billy_Joel-6] "Charts.nz – Billy Joel – The Essential". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 22, 2017.

[7] - Billy Joel - The Essential

[ac_Billboard200_Billy_Joel-8] "Billy Joel Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 22, 2017.

[ac_BillboardRock_Billy_Joel-9] "Billy Joel Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

[10] "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 01/2025)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.

[11] "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2017". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

[12] "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2018". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

[13] "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

[14] "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2019". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

[15] "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved December 4, 2020.

[16] "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2021.

[17] "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.

[18] "Top Rock Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard. Retrieved December 3, 2021.

[19] "Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2024". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2024.

[AustraliaBilly_JoelThe_EssentialalbumCertRef-20] "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.

[New_ZealandBilly_JoelThe_EssentialalbumCertRef-21] "New Zealand album certifications – Billy Joel – The Essential". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 2024-11-20.

[United_KingdomBilly_JoelThe_EssentialalbumCertRef-22] "British album certifications – Billy Joel – The Essential". British Phonographic Industry.

[music.yahoo-23] Paul Grein (August 7, 2013). "Week Ending Aug. 4, 2013. Albums: Robin Thicke, Call Katy Perry". Yahoo Chart Watch.

[United_StatesBilly_JoelThe_EssentialalbumCertRef-24] "American album certifications – Billy Joel – The Essential". Recording Industry Association of America.

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