When Workshop Of The Telescopes - a two-disc career restrospective of Blue Oyster Cult - was released in 1995, I jumped at the chance to own a good quality package, one with all the hits and a whole lot more. Well, maybe I needed to play more dungeons & dragons or read more science fiction, but I was overwhelmed. The pop hooks and metal crunch of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper" just didn't prepare me for the turgid, labored quality of BOC's less popular work. Maybe it's all tongue-in-cheek, maybe they really are the thinking man's heavy metal or the precursors of punk, but I just don't get it. Workshop Of The Telescopes is a beautiful package - and must-have for fans and a bargain to boot - but I think need Blue Oyster Cult in smaller, more melodic doses.

Drum roll please... Don't Fear The Reaper: The Best Of Blue Oyster Cult (2000) is just what the rock 'n' roll doctor ordered: sixteen discreet tracks encompassing "Burning For You," "Godzilla," "This Ain't the Summer of Love," "Cities on Flame With Rock & Roll," and, of course, the macabre titular smash. Looking deeper, Blue Oyster Cult released many albums, most of which will be easy to track down; Agents Of Fortune (1976), which features "Reaper" and a cameo appearance by Patti Smith, is their standout album.