When it was released in 1970, there was probably nothing to indicate that Greatest Hits was an instant classic.

At the time, the normally prolific Stone was holed up in the studio, laboring over what would become There's a Riot Goin' On, and the label was getting nervous. So they cobbled together a greatest hits disc from the four albums Stone had recorded so far (as well as some b-sides), and rushed it to the stores so listeners wouldn't lose interest. Never conceived as anything more than a stalling tactic, Greatest Hits doesn't even bother to adopt a chronological presentation to illustrate the group's growth into a soul/rock/psychedelia powerhouse.

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