It's hard not to like a "Best of, Remixed." There were some I wish had made the cut, some I wish had not. All-in-all I spin this one pretty often.

I thought that this was a great compilation album to her previous records. The songs were well selected for the album. It does a great job at spanning her career as an artist. I would recommend this album for those that would like to get to know Tori as an artist a bit better before going and buying her other albums. Generally, I found this album to be well worth listening to.

I saw a couple of Tori's CD's at a Wal-Mart, enough to spark up curiosity. My first exposure to her music was her live Video of a benefit concert. This actually bored me, but I decided to give her a second chance and listen to this project. I'm glad I did.

For those who have not seen my profile or my other reviews, I am coming from the perspective of a songwriter and of an ordained minister (Fundamentalist). I was not able to follow her lyrics and can tell she has religious and philosophical themes, but am not sure if they are compatible, different, or antagonistic to mine. "Crucify" does seem to speak about dealing with shame, for example; I'm one that believes shame is useful if based on a specific action with a specific resolution, and harmful if not accompanied with reason or resolution. I'm not sure if she is dealing with harmful shame, or condemning shame across the board.

Tori Amos is very creative, and the packaging of this project is exhibit A. She has a listing of the Dewey Decimal System, and then catalogs her songs according to the subject.

Overall, I enjoy her sound. I don't know how to label her music, and I consider that a good thing. Another reviewer said that a greatest hits compilation is not always the best intro for a new listener, but said that this is an exception, and I agree 100%.

It's great to hear some of the songs with a clearer sound, but other songs have been too tampered with. I didn't enjoy the track order and don't know why in hell's name they didn't include the original version of Professional Widow ( i know the remix went to nº 1 everywhere in 96, but this is about artistic integrity and Tori made one of her very few misteps here by not including the original version). The dvd is interesting even though Tori was filmed during soundcheck. On the whole it's not a paramount owning, but you find a lot to love here, anyway.

Tales Of A Librarian, once you get past the strange title, is a motley, 20-song collection commemorating the best of Ms. Amos. It's refreshing, mostly for this reason: Every Tori album rather has its own genre, and most of the songs take on a certain tinge -To Venus And Back is more electronica, Scarlet's Walk more pop, Little Earthquakes more seventies-influenced. Tales Of A Librarian includes songs from all her mini-genres, from pop to punk to piano. It also includes four new songs -Angels, Mary, Sweet Dreams, and Snow Cherries From France. Mary is arguably the best new song, with Sweet Dreams following closely behind. The beat-heavy, late-80s sound of the latter makes it easy to imagine it fitting right in on Little Earthquakes.

I can imagine I would enjoy this album more had it included Pretty Good Year, my favorite Tori song of all time, and I say this truly because I own copies of all her albums. But the songs it does include -Bliss, Tear In Your Hand, God, Precious Things are standouts-are reflective of a long and rich career in music.