The set begins with three hits from her debut album, of which Holiday is the best but Lucky star and Borderline are also wonderful. Then come Like a virgin and Material girl, two of the singles released from her outstanding second album. Crazy for you, an excellent ballad, and Into the groove, a superb dance song, come next. Although the title track is omitted, four other major hits from the True blue album (Live to tell, Papa don't preach, Open your heart, La Isla Bonita) can be found here, each one of them a classic but very different from each other. Three major hits from Like a prayer include Express yourself and Cherish. Vogue (from I'm breathless) and two tracks not available on any previous album (Justify my love, Rescue me) complete the set.

Anybody who does not understand why Madonna has such a huge fan base only has to listen to this compilation to find out why. Catchy pop tunes with interesting lyrics (for those that bother to listen to the words) are Madonna's trademark, yet she manages to avoid becoming formulaic. Madonna has continuously changed her style, so you don't hear the same sound over and over again.

There is no definitive Madonna compilation yet but we may have to wait a few years for that. Until that time, this is the best introduction to her music that is available.


Good...but the originals are better   January 4, 2000
37 out of 41 found this review helpful

While The Immaculate Collection is a solid CD, it could have (and should have) been much better. For one thing, the songs on this disc all sound much better on their original albums, particulary "Holiday" and "Lucky Star" (two of my favorites)both of which were cut by two full minutes in the included version. If you like those songs, buy her self-titled debut instead, as it features the complete versions of those songs and more superb material. The other major problem is that this collection is woefully incomplete. At the time of this disc's release, Madonna had 24 hit songs(more in Europe) to her credit, but just 15 found their way onto this disc(that's only 63%!)and the omissions include some of her best work ("Dress You Up", "Angel", "Who's That Girl", & "Causing a Commotion", all top 5 hits, come to mind). This disc really should've been released as a double-album and featured the album versions over the QSound remixes, plus all the omissions. Unfortunately, If you want the best of Madonna in one place, you'll need several CDs plus a blank tape.


Absolutely Wonderful   April 28, 2002
13 out of 13 found this review helpful

These songs are timeless, and in some cases, infamous! How can you not love these songs? It's impossible. Anyone who listens to this album will be hooked! This album is the reason I am a Madonna fan today, as it was my introduction to her music. And all of these songs were hits! Check out the peak positions of the songs included on this CD on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart:

1. Holiday #16
2. Lucky Star #4
3. Borderline #10
4. Like A Virgin #1
5. Material Girl #2
6. Crazy For You #1

7. Into The Groove (did not chart because it was not released as a single, but was still a massive radio hit!)
8. Live To Tell #1
9. Papa Don't Preach #1
10. Open Your Heart #1
11. La Isla Bonita #4
12. Like A Prayer #1
13. Express Yourself #2
14. Cherish #2
15. Vogue #1
16. Justify My Love #1
17. Rescue Me #9

And those were not even all of her hits up until that point! Those NOT included are: Angel #5, Dress You Up #5, True Blue #3, Who's That Girl #1, Causing A Commotion #2, Oh Father #20, Keep It Together #8, Hanky Panky #10. Madonna knows how to deliver good pop songs. These songs will bring back memories for you...

Get it now!!


Madonna's Greatest Hit's Album from the 80's!   March 15, 2002
15 out of 17 found this review helpful

The Immaculate Collection delivers all the main hits by Madonna from the early 80's to aroung 1990. Although there are still a few hits missing ("Dress You Up," "Who's That Girl,"etc...), the Immaculate Collection delivers the goods. The cd starts out with the early 80's hit "Holiday" a nice, fun song, with a very happy beat. There is also the sorta bubble gum poppish sounding song- "Lucky Star" on the album. Madonna's hit "Borderline" which is also featured on first self-titled album, is a song about love. "Live a Virgin" the controversial song with a very controversial performance at the 1984 Video Music Awards is sure to get you into a good mood. "Into the Groove" which appeared on Madonna's movie, Desperately Seeking Susan, is sure to make you get into the groove for dancing. The slow, but powerful songs inlude "Live to Tell" and "Crazy For You". As the cd continues Madonna's voice sounds more mature and her songs start focusing more on sex. The hip song "Express Yourself" which has a steamy music video (not included on the Immaculate Collection, unfortunately:( ) has a good dance beat. There is the very elegant lady-like song "Vogue" the 1990 hit is featured on the Collection. There are two extra, experimental songs featured on the album- "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me". "Justify My Love" well...what can I say about it? Madonna'a sexy whispering voice creates the perfect sound and pulls off this song. The music video for "Justify My Love" was banned from MTV and VH1 for so much sexual and homosexual content. "Rescue Me" has a very disco, 70's ish feel to it.

Madonna was still hot in the 90's, but I personally like her beginning sounds much better. I liked how she constantly changed her image all the time, never knowing what she would do next to create controversiary.

The Immaculate Collection is by one of Madonna'a greatest albums out there. It is filled with the 80's hits by Madonna which will please everyone. I highly recommend this cd! Buy it! You won't be disappointed!


A FULL CD of Great Madonna Music   January 23, 2000
Mark (San Francisco, CA)
18 out of 21 found this review helpful

This album, now ten years old, is still a great listen. Even though Madonna is the queen of shock, she still has a lot of God given talent to write and sing songs. This collection shows that. I've read reviews that say she didn't put all of her hits onto this album, but how could she? She has had too many great songs for one CD and she was smart to put the best ones on it making it cheaper to buy as a single disc.

Lots of the songs here are remade from the original and I think they are all better than the originals except "Into The Groove", which was better as the original. Two new songs found a home including "Justify My Love" and "Rescue Me", both being good songs. "Justify My Love", was the song that brought Madonna into her "Sex" era of the early 90's. The song was good but had some contraversial lyrics and the video was banned from MTV because of some nudity. Overall though this album is an excellent value and I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to her Madonna of the 1980s.