This post originally appeard on my now defunct My Thermos blog on Feb 20, 2008 and is being reprinted here with my own permission.

Had a bit of trouble choosing an artist for this week’s episode of BYOBO. The list of possibilities is endless and I’ve been doing some prep work on a couple so have a couple close to complete. Ultimately though I decided to go with The Who.

The Who – Quite possibly the world’s most perfect rock & roll band. They did it all – singles, jingles, anthems, rock operas, and more. In the studio and on stage – they always delivered the goods.

So once again inspired by Nat at Mini-Obs, the idea is the same as always:

Pick one of your favorite bands / artists and list 10-15 songs by that band / artist to compile your own best of compilation.

With a catalog extending over 40 years though, choosing my favorite Who tunes was a challenge (I’m definitely using the full 15 here…), but here goes – The Best of The Who as compiled by me:

• “Blue, Red and Grey” – The Who By Numbers
• “Cry If You Want” – It’s Hard
• “The Dirty Jobs” – Quadrophenia
• “Doctor Jimmy” – Quadrophenia
• “Getting In Tune” – Who’s Next
• “Guitar and Pen” – Who Are You
• “How Many Friends” – The Who By Numbers
• “I’m One” – Quadrophenia
• “I’ve Known No War” – It’s Hard
• “The Kids Are Alright” – The Who Sings My Generation
• “Naked Eye” – Odds & Sods
• “A Quick One While He’s Away” – A Quick One (some great live versions exist as well)
• “Real Good Looking Boy” – Then & Now
• “So Sad About Us” – A Quick One
• “The Song Is Over” – Who’s Next

Crap – that was tough. I could easily do this as a double, or even triple.

I know there are some obvious omissions but if I had to choose – these would make that first cut. A good assortment of tunes I believe and representative of their whole career.

So what would you choose – what did I leave off.

(thanks to Wikimedia and Vinicius Mattoso for the cool drawing)