Erasure compilations compared: Pop!, Hits!, Total Pop! and Always

Details checked October 3, 2026.

Choose Pop! for the early singles, Total Pop! for the longer CD overview, or the 2015 Always for a compact introduction that reaches further into the catalogue. Hits! has a different appeal: selected later singles, extra ABBA covers and the August Mix of “Oh L’Amour.” For vinyl, the 2023 Always has its own updated track list.

The edition matters as much as the title. Pop! is not always twenty tracks, Total Pop! is not forty distinct songs, and Always on vinyl is not a straight transfer of the 2015 CD.

Independent-site and affiliate disclosure: ErasureFan is an unofficial fan site, with no affiliation to or endorsement from Erasure, Andy Bell, Vince Clarke, their management or labels. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The official-source and retailer-reference links in this guide are non-affiliate links. Music, artwork and trademarks belong to their respective rights holders.

At a glance

These recommendations compare documented contents and formats. They are not a claim that one pressing or master sounds better than another. Format counts refer to the editions identified here, not every regional issue.

Pop! The First 20 Hits: choose it for the early sequence

Pop! runs from “Who Needs Love Like That” to “Take a Chance on Me,” keeping early singles that later one-disc selections leave out. If “Heavenly Action,” “You Surround Me,” “Star” or “Am I Right?” matters to you, that completeness within its early period is the attraction.

Check the country and catalogue number. The original UK CD, CDMUTEL2, adds “Who Needs Love Like That” in its Hamburg Mix after the core twenty tracks. The US Sire 45153-2 stops at twenty. The 2009 remastered CD is CDXMUTEL2. Those are distinct editions, so a title-only listing is not enough. Official Pop! edition and track-list reference

Watch for: the Japanese two-CD Pop! The First 20 Hits Plus adds later material, including “Always.” Do not use that expanded edition’s contents to describe the ordinary single-disc release.

Our choice: Pop! if the early singles are the point of the purchase. If “Always” is essential, start with one of the later collections.

Hits! The Very Best of Erasure: a different selection, not a complete update

The standard 2003 Hits! CD, CDMUTEL10, has twenty tracks. It brings in “Always,” “Stay with Me,” “In My Arms,” “Freedom” and “Solsbury Hill.” Its three ABBA songs are “Lay All Your Love on Me,” “Take a Chance on Me” and “Voulez-Vous”; it also closes with “Oh L’Amour” in the August Mix. Standard-CD contents

The trade-off is substantial: the main disc drops “Who Needs Love Like That,” “Heavenly Action,” “It Doesn’t Have to Be,” “The Circus,” “Drama!,” “You Surround Me,” “Star” and “Am I Right?” from Pop!’s core twenty.

Bonus-material check: the original limited two-CD edition adds the Erasure Megamix, assembled by Mark Towns. Its eighteen sections form a continuous mix, rather than eighteen more ordinary standalone singles. A later 2CD+DVD package also exists; check the disc count instead of assuming every Hits! copy includes video. The separate Hits! The Videos release is another product. Two-CD edition, 2007 2CD+DVD edition

Our choice: Hits! when its particular selection wins for you, especially the ABBA covers or “In My Arms.” Compare the actual asking price and condition with Always; neither title alone makes one the better buy.

Total Pop! The First 40 Hits: the broadest CD option here

The standard Total Pop! two-CD edition, CDMUTEL16, combines the early Pop! program with a second disc. That disc includes “Always,” “Run to the Sun,” “Fingers & Thumbs,” “Rock Me Gently,” “In My Arms,” “Freedom,” “Solsbury Hill,” “Breathe” and material from the Light at the End of the World period.

Despite the title, the physical two-disc program has 41 tracks. “Who Needs Love Like That” appears twice, including the Hamburg Mix, and “Always” appears both in its earlier form and as the closing 2009 Mix. This is useful breadth, but it is not forty different song titles. Standard 2CD contents

The deluxe box keeps those two discs and adds a 15-track live CD spanning 1987–2007 plus an Erasure at the BBC 1986–2005 DVD. Choose it for those live and television performances. It is not simply a larger studio-singles selection. Rhino’s deluxe-box contents

What it leaves out: the physical hits discs do not contain the studio versions of Hits!’s “Lay All Your Love on Me” or “Voulez-Vous,” or its “Oh L’Amour” August Mix. A historical digital edition added that mix, “Boy” (Acoustic) and “All This Time Still Falling Out of Love.” Old download and preorder bonuses should not be assumed to accompany a used CD box. Contemporary release announcement in Yazoo’s official archive

Our choice: the standard 2CD for listeners who keep finding a favourite missing from the shorter collections. Pay more for the deluxe only if you want its live CD and BBC DVD. For a used box, check that all four discs are present and that the DVD suits your player.

Always: separate the 2015 CD from the 2023 vinyl

The 2015 CD

The standard CD, CDMUTEL26, has twenty tracks. It restores “Who Needs Love Like That,” “The Circus” and “Drama!” compared with Hits!, then reaches “Fingers & Thumbs,” “Breathe,” “Be With You” and “Elevation.” It also contains “Sometimes 2015.”

The selection is economical. It omits “Stay with Me,” “In My Arms,” “Freedom” and “Solsbury Hill,” among many others. A later release date does not mean more complete coverage. Official 2015 track lists

The three-CD deluxe, LCDMUTEL26, keeps the same main disc and adds two remix discs. These include work by Vince Clarke, William Orbit and The Grid. Buy it for remixes; do not expect the extra discs to reproduce all the missing single versions. Its original packaging is a hardback-book format. Mute Bank’s edition description

The 2023 double LP

The vinyl version, LPMUTEL26, is a twenty-track set on two heavyweight black records in a gatefold sleeve. It adds “Love You to the Sky” and “Hey Now (Think I Got a Feeling)” to the selection, while leaving out the 2015 CD’s “Be With You” and “Sometimes 2015.” “Elevation” is on both versions. Official vinyl announcement and track list, Mute Bank vinyl specifications

Our choice: the standard 2015 CD for a compact introduction across more years; the 2023 double LP when vinyl and its particular later songs are your priorities.

Is your favourite included?

This is a quick song-presence check for the main album programs above. “Yes” does not mean every release uses an identical mix. Bonus remix, live and video discs are excluded.

The table is an editorial comparison of the source track lists linked in each section. For a song or remix not shown, check the full list before ordering.

Before buying a copy

1. Match the edition. Check format, disc count and catalogue number against the seller’s description and photographs.
2. Check completeness and condition. A used deluxe set may be missing a disc, booklet or outer packaging.
3. Treat downloads separately. An old download code or preorder extra is not a reliable part of a second-hand purchase.
4. Compare the final total. Shipping and import costs can change which copy is worth buying.

The retailer links are useful for identifying the documented editions. They do not assert current stock, a particular seller, a price or a delivery date. For new Always editions, the exact 2015 CD and 2023 2LP pages at Mute Bank provide a starting point; confirm their current availability yourself before ordering.

Which collection fits?

If you want the early sequence, choose Pop!. If you want the widest CD overview here, choose the standard two-CD Total Pop!. If you want one CD, compare Hits! and Always using your must-have songs. If you want vinyl that reaches into the later catalogue, look at the 2023 Always double LP.

A smaller collection that includes your favourites is a better fit than a bigger box of extras you do not want. For a first studio album instead, read our The Innocents album and edition notes.