For the fan that wants more than the superb single-disc
Greatest Hits yet doesn't want to delve into actual albums or the exhaustive, rarities-heavy box set
Playback,
Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and
MCA Records offered the double-disc
Anthology: Through the Years in the fall of 2000. This set basically offers all the singles and album rock radio favorites, with a couple of odd selections here and there and one new song,
"Surrender." There are a few omissions --
"Make It Better (Forget About Me)" isn't here, for instance -- but not enough to really be noticeable, especially since this consolidates the bulk of
Petty's great songs and plays very, very well.
Greatest Hits might have a slight edge to
Anthology because of its conciseness, but this double-disc set illustrates that
Petty's catalog was deeper than just the hits. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine