If "A BEST" were released today...

[amorphose]

Imagine we're in an alternate universe where A BEST & A BEST 2 were never released. Now pretend its your job to decide what songs to put on Ayu's first best album, A BEST. What would you do?

You can make it as many discs as you want, but it makes it harder (and more fun) to try to fit it into one.

01 Microphone
02 GAME
03 About You
04 Moments
05 fairyland
06 alterna (original mix)
07 is this LOVE?
08 (miss)understood
09 Don't look back
10 Marionette
11 Memorial address
12 HEAVEN
13 JEWEL
14 Together When...
15 Mirrorcle World

As you can see, I like Ayu's darker music a little bit more than her brighter stuff.

[RayJason]

01. M
02. evolution
04. Dearest
05. STEP you
06. RAINBOW
07. BALLAD
08. Days
09. Together When...
10. Rule
11. Mirrorcle World
12. SURREAL
13. momentum
14. talkin' 2 myself
15. forgiveness
16. Virgin Road

(Very weird tracklist lol). I'm more a fan of her strong and upbeat songs. RAINBOW-BALLAD LOL

[Tom Punks]

01 A Song for XX
02 Depend on you
03 Boys & Girls
04 SEASONS
05 SURREAL
06 M
07 evolution
08 Dearest
09 Voyage
10 No way to say
11 Moments
12 STEP you
13 HEAVEN
14 BLUE BIRD
15 Mirrorcle World
16 Days
17 Who...

[Delicious n Bold]

In no order:
1. CAROLS
2. M
3. INSPIRE
4. BALLAD
5. Forgiveness
6. Days
7. progress
8. Moments
9. Ourselves
10. HEAVEN
11. fairyland
12. Sparkle
13. Mirrorcle World
14. SEASONS
15. SURREAL
16. Curtain Call (one of the two possible album closers)
17. Microphone
18. how beautiful you are (the other possible album closer)

[bluegie]

I think it's extremely hard to create A BEST with one disc only. Also, do I have to include other circumstances such as her popularity, sales trend, etc.? Let's say her current popularity would be similar to the real A BEST era. Then I would have a wider spectrum when choosing songs. On the other hand, if using her current REAL popularity, I would choose more of her older songs then the current ones, because those were the ones that attract general listeners.

If using her current popularity, then I would choose:
1) A Song for xx(can't deny that fact that this is the signature song for ayu's beginning career)
2) Depend on you(I think that's the song that captured teenagers' hearts back then)
3) LOVE~Destiny~ (her very 1st no. 1 song)
4) Boys & Girls (no need to say how popular this song is)
5) Trauma (this song was freakin popular back then)
6) SEASONS (I think this song was a stepping stone to let her climbing to the top)
7) M (one of the ultimate)
8) evolution (another ultimate)
9) Dearest (her first nihon record taisho song)
10) independent (the first A-side of her only yearly no.1 single in the history)
11) Voyage (second nihon record taisho song)
12) RAINBOW (a song created with fans)
13) No way to say (her last nihon record taisho song)
14) Moments (probly not as popular as INSPIRE in 2004, but somehow I think this represents her more than INSPIRE)
15) STEP you (probly her most popular song in 2005)
16) BLUE BIRD (her popular song in 2006)
17) Mirrorcle World (10th anniversary song)
18) Days (really popular that year)
19) Sunrise~LOVE is ALL~ (very strong digital downloads mean general listeners liked it pretty much)
20) Virgin Road (ehh... her wedding? anywayz, it's the 50th single)


If she's still on the top, then I guess even four discs are not enough for A BEST... I would include these songs as well (yeah I'm greedy ):
1998: YOU, Trust
1999: WHATEVER (Version M), TO BE, monochrome, too late, End roll, appears, kanariya (hey it's a no. 1 song, and it's fantastic )
2000: fly high, vogue, Far away, SURREAL, AUDIENCE (I felt so sad that it wasn't included in A BEST)
2001: NEVER EVER, Endless sorrow, UNITE!
2002: I am..., Free & Easy, July 1st, HANABI
2003: ourselves, Greatful days, HANABI~episode II~, forgiveness, Memorial address
2004: INSPIRE, GAME, CAROLS, walking proud
2005: is this LOVE?, fairyland, alerna, HEAVEN (I really wanna put this one in playlist above, but no space..), Bold & Delicious , Pride, Ladies Night
2006: Startin', Born To Be..., Beautiful Fighters, JEWEL, 1 LOVE
2007: glitter, fated, talkin' 2 myself, Together When...
2008: GREEN
2009: Rule, Sparkle, Curtain call, Sunset~LOVE is ALL~, You were..., BALLAD
2010: Microphone, Sexy little things, Don't look back, MOON, blossom, crossroad, Last angel, Love song
2011: progress, beloved
2012: how beautiful you are, Return Road

so... ~65 extra songs, and I forgot to include some like Heartplace, Real me, Daybreak, Because of you, etc. Gosh what a huge discography...

[SURREAL__RAINBOW]

One disc would be impossible lol I'm doing 4 discs D:


AYUMI HAMASAKI -A BEST COLLECTION


A BEST -WHITE-

1. evolution
2. poker face
3. Fly high
4. UNITE!
5. SURREAL
6. progress
7. independent
8. July 1st
9. Trauma
10. Love song
11. GREEN
12. glitter
13. fairyland
14. BLUE BIRD
15. INSPIRE
16. vogue
17. Depend on you
18. Born To Be...
19. blossom
20. MY ALL


A BEST -PINK-

1. Boys & Girls
2. STEP you
3. my name's WOMEN
4. Party queen
5. Sparkle
6. ANGEL'S SONG
7. Last angel
8. (don't) leave me alone
9. Real me
10. Sexy little things
11. NaNaNa
12. Lady Dynamite
13. Shake It♥
14. Beautiful Fighters
15. You were...
16. Together When...
17. momentum
18. Sunset ～LOVE is ALL～
19. how beautiful you are
20. beloved


A BEST -BALLADS-

1. Dearest
2. Moments
3. TO BE
4. appears
5. HANABI
6. SEASONS
7. JEWEL
8. BALLAD
9. Virgin Road
10. Days
11. walking proud
12. MOON
13. CAROLS
14. part of Me
15. HEAVEN
16. Pride
17. Voyage
18. forgiveness
19. RAINBOW
20. Who...


A BEST -BLACK-

1. M
2. A Song for xx
3. Microphone
4. is this LOVE?
5. Rule
6. Because of You
7. alterna
8. ourselves
9. talkin' 2 myself
10. NEVER EVER
11. Free & Easy
12. BRILLANTE
13. Return Road
14. Don't look back
15. Endless sorrow
16. POWDER SNOW
17. End roll
18. no way to say
19. Mirrorcle World
20. Memorial address








This was really hard

[FoObY]

01. A Song for XX
02. Who...
03. Duty
04. SURREAL
05. evolution
06. M
07. Endless sorrow
08. HANABI
09. Because of You
10. Moments
11. alterna
12. HEAVEN
13. BLUE BIRD
14. talkin' 2 myself
15. Mirrorcle World
16. Rule
17. Microphone
18. Love song
19. progress
20. Return Road

In order of release, since that's how BEST albums tend to be organized.

[Mirrorcle Monster]

A BEST-Haru-
1.Depend on you
2.Boys & Girls
3.vogue
4.evolution
5.SURREAL
6.Real Me
7.my name's WOMEN
8.STEP you
9.Ladies Night
10.Startin'
11.1 LOVE
12.Sparkle
13.NaNaNa
14.Trauma

A BEST-Natsu-
1.monochrome
2.End roll
3.Far Away
4.SEASONS
5.UNITE!
6.July 1st
7.HANABI
8.Greatful Days
9.HANABI~episode II
10.INSPIRE
11.fairyland
12.glitter
13.Sunrise~Love is All~
14.MOON

A BEST~Aki
1.YOU
2.TO BE
3.Endless Sorrow
4.RAINBOW
5.Free&Easy
6.Because of you
7.forgiveness
8.Moments
9.GAME
10.is this LOVE?
11.talkin 2 myslef
12.Microphone
13.Don't Look Back
14.Last Angel

A BEST-Fuyu
1.appears
2.M
3.Voyage
4.No way to say
5.Memorial Adress
6.CAROLS
7.HEAVEN
8.JEWEL
9.Together When...
10.Days
11.You Were...
12.Virgin Road
13.Return Road
14.Who...

[bluegie]

^ooh I love the concept of separating the songs according to seasons. There is a problem for that tho. Some songs could fall into more than one category, and we might have different ideas of particular songs' sorting. For example, I always think Moments represents spring, also Free & Easy as well. I may put YOU in the summer category because it sounds like it . I would definitely put Boys & Girls into Natsu, because it feels like a summer song, and it was released in July back in 1999. So you see it's quite hard to sort the songs somehow lol.

I would love to know how ayu would sort the songs tho if she's releasing A BEST following your idea .

[waterballoon]

DISC 1 ~The Golden Years~ (1998 - 2002)
1. A Song For xx (new mix and vocal)
2. Depend on you (new mix and vocal)
3. YOU (new mix and vocal)
4. Boys & Girls
5. appears
6. SEASONS
7. SURREAL
8. M
9. evolution
11. Endless sorrow (original mix)
12. Dearest
13. independent
14. HANABI
15. Voyage

DISC 2 ~The rise of the Queen~ (2003-2006)
1. ourselves
2. No way to say
3. Moments
4. INSPIRE
5. CAROLS
6. walking proud
7. STEP you
8. is this LOVE?
9. fairyland
10. HEAVEN
11. Bold & Delicious
12. Pride
13. Startin'
14. BLUE BIRD
15. JEWEL

DISC 3 ~The new era~ (2007-2012)
1. glitter
2. talkin' 2 myself
3. Marionette
4. GREEN
5. Days
6. Rule
7. Sparkle
8. Microphone
9. Don't look back
10. BALLAD
11. Love song
12. MOON
13. November
14. Virgin Road
15. progress
16. BRILLANTE
17. Party queen

DISC 4 ~Thank u~
1. Who...
2. Replace
3. Thank U
4. MY ALL
5. RED LINE ~for TA~

her career is too damn long, this is tough!

[*Petit*]

this is impossible. She's released too many albums for the songs to fit onto one disc. Hardly one song per album !?! I guess this would be my attempt.


1 M
2 Fly High
3 evolution
4 depend on you
5 seasons
6 Boys & Girls
7 Endless Sorrow
8 GREEN
9 Voyage
10 Step you
11 Moments
12 Sunrise
13 BLUE BIRD
14 Crossroad
15 progress

[YUKARI]

Originally Posted by Heavenly Zerase

A BEST-Haru-
1.Depend on you
2.Boys & Girls
3.vogue
4.evolution
5.SURREAL
6.Real Me
7.my name's WOMEN
8.STEP you
9.Ladies Night
10.Startin'
11.1 LOVE
12.Sparkle
13.NaNaNa
14.Trauma

A BEST-Natsu-
1.monochrome
2.End roll
3.Far Away
4.SEASONS
5.UNITE!
6.July 1st
7.HANABI
8.Greatful Days
9.HANABI~episode II
10.INSPIRE
11.fairyland
12.glitter
13.Sunrise~Love is All~
14.MOON

A BEST~Aki
1.YOU
2.TO BE
3.Endless Sorrow
4.RAINBOW
5.Free&Easy
6.Because of you
7.forgiveness
8.Moments
9.GAME
10.is this LOVE?
11.talkin 2 myslef
12.Microphone
13.Don't Look Back
14.Last Angel

A BEST-Fuyu
1.appears
2.M
3.Voyage
4.No way to say
5.Memorial Adress
6.CAROLS
7.HEAVEN
8.JEWEL
9.Together When...
10.Days
11.You Were...
12.Virgin Road
13.Return Road
14.Who...

wow I love this one!

[AYUCREA]

1.A Song for XX
2.YOU
3.Boys & Girls
4.SURREAL
5.evolution
6.STEP you
7.Microphone
8.GAME
9.Because of You
10.HANABI
11.HEAVEN
12.SEASONS
13.M
14.Dearest
15.Voyage
16.Virgin Road
17.Who...

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

I don't see how you could fit a 12 year career of music into one disc...SO I'm doing TWO! lol

A BEST -Light- (upbeat and/or positive songs) and A BEST -Dark- (sad and/or dark songs)

A BEST -Light- Tracklist:

01 Fly high (LOVEppears)
02 Boys & Girls (LOVEppears)
03 WHATEVER (LOVEppears)
03 monochrome (LOVEppears)
04 SURREAL (Duty)
05 SEASONS (Duty)
06 UNITE! (I am...)
07 evolution (I am...)
08 M (I am...)
09 July 1st (RAINBOW)
10 Voyage (RAINBOW)
11 independent (RAINBOW)
12 INSPIRE (MY STORY)
13 STEP you (miss) understood
14 fairyland (miss) understood
15 BLUE BIRD (Secret)
16 Sparkle (NEXT LEVEL)
17 Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~ (Rock 'n' Roll Circus)
18 Virgin Road (Love songs)

Bonus Track:
19 Mirrorcle World

A BEST -Dark- Tracklist:

01 A Song for XX
02 End roll (LOVEppears)
03 appears (LOVEppears)
04 Far away (Duty)
05 still alone (I am...)
06 Endless sorrow (I am...)
07 HANABI (RAINBOW)
08 ourselves (Memorial address)
09 HANABI ~episode II~ (Memorial address)
10 Memorial address (Memorial address)
11 GAME (MY STORY)
12 HAPPY ENDING (MY STORY)
13 is this LOVE? (miss) understood
14 HEAVEN (miss) understood
15 talkin' 2 myself (GUILTY)
16 You were... (Rock 'n' Roll Circus)
17 MOON (Love songs)
18 BRILLANTE (FIVE)

Bonus Track:
19 Who...

Didn't include PQ because it's so new and there are no singles anyway.

[toLOVE]

This is my version of A BEST. First is her "signature song". Then her two most use concert songs. Then comes a nice summer tune followed by a danceable summer pop. Not sure how to describe SURREAL & BRILLANTE, but it sound nice there. Next follow by some dark rockish song, then follow by love related rock/pop. The comes the danceable party part. Then comes another rock session. Finally ending it with RED LINE. (And yup, I include at least one song from every album expect part of Me.)

01 A Song for ××
02 Trauma
03 Boys & Girls
04 fairyland
05 BLUE BIRD
06 INSPIRED
07 Don't look back
08 SURREAL
09 BRILLANTE
10 Endless Sorrow
11 Free & Easy
12 RAINBOW
13 Together When...
14 Memorial address (take 2 version)
15 Last angel
16 NaNaNa
17 Sparkle
18 Microphone
19 Mirrorcle World
20 RED LINE 〜for TA〜

[amorphose]

I kind of feel like I'd probably want to include "Tell me why" in my list now as well... I'm really falling in love with this song.

[Pieces_of_SEVEN]

^^I LOVE Tell me why. That whole reminds me-Return Road-Tell me why section is to die for.