Absolute Garbage#Critical reception

The band's drummer Butch Vig felt that Absolute Garbage would be "a full stop on part of our career", marking the band's movement to a new part of their development, rather than simply a contractual obligation, while guitarist Duke Erikson stated that "putting out a collection of our singles would be a good way to stay busy without working so hard".{{cite magazine |last=Dome |first=Malcome |title=Welcome Back... Garbage |magazine=Classic Rock |date=August 2007 |issn=1464-7834}} However, singer Shirley Manson revealed in 2012 that the compilation emerged from a demand by the band's UK label A&E Records in order to meet their quarterly requirements.{{cite web |last=Martins |first=Chris |url=https://www.spin.com/2012/05/shirley-manson-talks-through-garbages-discography/ |title=Shirley Manson Talks Through Garbage's Discography |work=Spin |date=May 8, 2012 |access-date=January 3, 2016}}

When Garbage began to collate the material for Absolute Garbage, it transpired that the analog masters of their eponymous debut album had been lost. Neither of the band's record labels had them, and after further searching, the band established that none of the mastering facilities they had used had stored them either. Vig and audio engineer Billy Bush were able to track down an archived, but rather incomplete and damaged, set of 16-bit 44.1kHz safety DAT mixes. Despite the backups being far from an optimal situation, mastering engineer Emily Lazar at The Lodge in New York City was able to reverse engineer the missing songs from the damaged archive.{{cite web |last1=Vig |first1=Butch |last2=Bush |first2=Billy |url=https://www.gearslutz.com/board/q-butch-vig/400428-absolutegarbage-remasters.html |title=Absolute Garbage remasters |website=Gearslutz.com |date=June 24, 2009 |access-date=January 3, 2016}} Lazar used some alternate versions of the songs when completing the final master. Her assistant, Joe LaPorta, mastered and edited the remixes for the special edition.{{cite AV media |title=Absolute Garbage |type=special edition liner notes |publisher=Geffen Records |date=2007 |id=B0009338-02}}

Eschewing the Midwestern location of their Wisconsin-based Smart Studios, Garbage chose to record new material for the album at GrungeIsDead, Vig's California-located home recording studio.{{cite web |last=Weaver |first=Andrew |url=http://www.thescene.com.au/Music/Features/GARBAGE-INTERVIEW/ |title=Garbage interview |website=TheScene.com.au |date=August 10, 2007 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070830141439/http://www.thescene.com.au/Music/Features/GARBAGE-INTERVIEW/ |archive-date=August 30, 2007}} The band members had been sharing ideas over the internet prior to the sessions, and were keen to record them;{{cite web |last=Cohen |first=Jonathan |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1063431/garbage-raitt-lead-benefit-for-veteran-drummer |title=Garbage, Raitt Lead Benefit For Veteran Drummer |work=Billboard |date=January 8, 2007 |access-date=March 25, 2013}} vocalist Shirley Manson had come up with the song title "Tell Me Where It Hurts" a few years previously,{{cite magazine |last=Lim |first=Germaine |title=Pop Trash |magazine=Lime |date=September 2007}} and had matched newly written lyrics with a Burt Bacharach-style string arrangement that the band had created via email correspondence.{{cite magazine |last=Hazel |first=Andy |url=http://garbage.proboards.com/thread/3678 |title=The End of Chapter One |magazine=Drum Media |date=July 2007 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |via=Garbage Message Board}} After producing an electric guitar-heavy version of "Tell Me Where It Hurts", Garbage recorded a second mix of the track with more emphasis on the strings{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFNai_26Bks | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211114/bFNai_26Bks| archive-date=2021-11-14 | url-status=live|title=Absolute Garbage 21 Making of Tell Me Where It Hurts |access-date=June 13, 2011 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}} and recruited their former touring bassist, Daniel Shulman, to perform bass guitar on the song. The band completed another three songs during the sessions, including "Betcha" (Vig: "it's fuzzed up"), "Girls Talk Shit" ("pretty cool sounding, lots of fast pizzicato guitars and cellos"),{{cite web |last1=Vig |first1=Butch |last2=Bush |first2=Billy |url=https://www.gearslutz.com/board/q-butch-vig/401567-girls-talk-shit.html |title=Girls Talk Shit |website=Gearslutz.com |date=June 28, 2009 |access-date=January 3, 2016}} and "All the Good in This Life", which Vig described as "kinda Pink Floyd-y".

Vig had created a new version of their song "Bad Boyfriend", which had opened their Bleed Like Me album, when he had been updating his home studio the previous year.{{cite magazine |last=Ward |first=Chris |url=http://www.harmonycentral.com/docs/DOC-1230 |title=Producer's Corner: Butch Vig |magazine=Performing Songwriter |issue=103 |date=July–August 2007 |issn=1068-9664 |access-date=May 20, 2011 |via=Harmony Central |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120124104210/http://www.harmonycentral.com/docs/DOC-1230 |archive-date=January 24, 2012}} Keeping to the Garbage formula of incorporating non-musical sounds in their work, Vig used a digital recorder to capture the sound of his baby daughter's swing in motion as a percussive loop.{{cite web |url=http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/media/M-Audio-2006_Product_Guide.pdf |title=Butch Vig and Billy Bush: Achieving Studio Nirvana |publisher=M-Audio |date=July–December 2006 |page=5 |access-date=June 13, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080915232355/http://www.m-audio.com/images/global/media/M-Audio-2006_Product_Guide.pdf |archive-date=September 15, 2008}} Thinking that the compilation would benefit from the inclusion of a new remix, Vig presented his rework to Manson and Erikson who had been unaware of the new version. Both agreed that "Bad Boyfriend" should be included, but rather than solicit an outside producer, Vig spent a few days finishing the mix. Inversely, Garbage recruited production team Jeremy Wheatley and Brio Tellefario to create a new version of Bleed Like Me{{'}}s track "It's All Over but the Crying"; the band hoped the song would be a possible second single. A rock version of Version 2.0{{'}}s "Push It" was completed by producer Chris Sheldon.{{cite magazine |title=Playlists: Radio: XFM |magazine=Music Week |date=July 15, 2007 |issn=0265-1548}}

The group argued over the album's running order, eventually dropping a few of their singles, including "Androgyny" (from Beautiful Garbage) after Manson objected to its inclusion, before finalizing on the 18 tracks that the group believed represented their best work.{{cite news |last=Ong |first=Grace |url=http://garbage.proboards.com/thread/3755 |title=Smells Like Team Spirit |newspaper=Malay Mail |date=August 17, 2007 |page=26 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |via=Garbage Message Board}} Vig oversaw the liner notes and thanks list for the album: "It's been a burden because we're encompassing what we've done over the last 10 years in one short paragraph"; music journalist Peter Murphy composed a biography on the band's history for the booklet, while the album artwork was designed by Tom Hingston Studio—a foil blocked silkscreen image photographed by David Hughes. The booklet also compiled a number of promotional photographs of the group taken over the course of their career by Stéphane Sednaoui, Ellen von Unwerth, Rankin, Pat Pope, Warwick Saint, and Joseph Cultice.

The band compiled an hour-long documentary titled Thanks for Your Uhh, Support for the DVD release, featuring footage filmed backstage and behind-the-scenes, and archive live performances and interviews spanning the band's entire career up to that point. In addition to interviews with the members of Garbage, the documentary also features Duke Erikson's daughter Roxy, Madison club owner and friend Jay Moran, engineer Billy Bush, former touring bassists Daniel Shulman and Eric Avery, Foo Fighters' Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, White Stripes' Jack White, and former MTV News anchor Kurt Loder.{{cite AV media |chapter=Thanks for Your Uhh, Support |title=Absolute Garbage |type=DVD |publisher=Geffen Records |date=2007 |id=B0009380-09}} Region 0 pressings of the DVD contained all 16 music videos to accompany the singles featured on the CD formats, with the exception of "#1 Crush", for which no music video was filmed.{{cite web |last=Kim |first=Jae-Ha |url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4356556.html |title='Romeo, Juliet' doth climbeth albums chart |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=December 27, 1996 |access-date=February 3, 2008 |via=HighBeam Research |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516211808/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-4356556.html |archive-date=May 16, 2011}} Region 1 releases did not include the video for "Tell Me Where It Hurts".

In 2012, Garbage stated that the album was released as a contractual obligation to Warner Music: "This was the final straw that broke our backs", Manson said. "The record company we had been sold to in the U.K. demanded that we release a 'greatest hits' in order to meet their quarterly requirements. We were not in a position to stop it. As a result, they shoved this collection out with no promotion whatsoever. It was right there and then that we realized how crazy and out of whack things had gotten." Garbage remained on hiatus for a further three years until regrouping to record their fifth studio album, Not Your Kind of People, released in 2012.{{cite magazine |last=Stubbs |first=Dan |url=https://i.imgur.com/kHBYpI4.jpg |title=MOJO Working: Garbage |magazine=Mojo |date=January 2012 |page=13 |issn=1351-0193 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |via=Imgur}}

At the end of 2005's Bleed Like Me World Tour, Garbage disbanded to go on a hiatus.{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/garbage/20861 |title=Garbage pull tour |work=NME |date=August 29, 2005 |access-date=May 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070629032002/http://www.nme.com/news/garbage/20861 |archive-date=June 29, 2007}} A month later, music retailer HMV's UK website listed a Greatest Hits compilation for release the following year.{{cite web |url=http://www.garbage-discography.co.uk/2005/11/greatest-hits-best-of-album-planned-for-may-2006/ |title=Greatest Hits / Best Of Album planned for May 2006? |publisher=The Garbage Discography |date=November 17, 2005 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053814/http://www.garbage-discography.co.uk/2005/11/greatest-hits-best-of-album-planned-for-may-2006/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016}} By January 2006, the title changed to Absolute Garbage.{{cite web |url=http://www.garbage-discography.co.uk/2006/01/greatest-hits-renamed-absolute-garbage/ |title=Greatest Hits Renamed |publisher=The Garbage Discography |date=January 13, 2006 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053906/http://www.garbage-discography.co.uk/2006/01/greatest-hits-renamed-absolute-garbage/ |archive-date=March 4, 2016}} On November 10, a press release from Warner Music Group announced a March 19, 2007, UK release date for the album,{{cite web |url=http://www.garbage-discography.co.uk/2006/11/confirmed-absolute-garbage-march-19-2007/ |title=CONFIRMED: Absolute Garbage: March 19, 2007 |publisher=The Garbage Discography |date=November 10, 2006 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408191606/http://www.garbage-discography.co.uk/2006/11/confirmed-absolute-garbage-march-19-2007/ |archive-date=April 8, 2016}} while NME reported that the album would be proceeded by a single on March 5.{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/garbage/25031 |title=Garbage confirm Best Of plans |work=NME |date=November 10, 2006 |access-date=May 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212090545/http://www.nme.com/news/garbage/25031 |archive-date=February 12, 2008}} In January 2007, Vig became the first band member to publicly confirm the project: "We've been working on [Absolute Garbage] for a while". On May 11, the band's website unveiled the artwork for Absolute Garbage,{{cite web |url=http://www.garbage.com/news/news.php?id=116 |title=Greatest Hits Album coming soon! |website=Garbage.com |date=May 11, 2007 |access-date=May 12, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716201030/http://garbage.com/news/news.php?id=116 |archive-date=July 16, 2011}} and on May 22, confirmed the album's track listing, physical formats and an initial July 16–17 street date. The date was later moved back a week due to "production issues" concerning the North American DVD.{{cite web |url=http://garbage.com/news/news.php?id=120 |title=Absolute Garbage – NEW INFO |website=Garbage.com |date=June 14, 2007 |access-date=June 17, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716201303/http://garbage.com/news/news.php?id=120 |archive-date=July 16, 2011}}

The promotional campaign for Absolute Garbage was launched in late May 2007, when Geffen Records updated Garbage's Myspace profile streaming audio player to include the album's lead single "Tell Me Where It Hurts" and the remix of "Bad Boyfriend",{{cite web |url=http://www.myspace.com/garbage |title=MySpace Music: Garbage |access-date=June 5, 2007 |via=Myspace |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626162917/http://myspace.com/Garbage |archive-date=June 26, 2007}} while the music video for "Tell Me Where It Hurts" premiered on Channel 4's Video Exclusive slot in the United Kingdom on May 28.{{cite web |url=http://www.garbage.com/news/news.php?id=117 |title=Tell Me Where It Hurts |website=Garbage.com |date=May 21, 2007 |access-date=June 5, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716201057/http://garbage.com/news/news.php?id=117 |archive-date=July 16, 2011}} Radio edits of the Guitars Up and orchestral versions of "Tell Me Where It Hurts" were serviced to radio in early June. In the United Kingdom, the song was playlisted by XFM Scotland Upfront,{{cite web |url=http://garbage.proboards.com/thread/3549 |title=Tell Me... is C-Listed on Radio 2 [UK] |publisher=Garbage Message Board |date=June 2007 |access-date=January 3, 2016}} Radio Forth and was C-Listed on BBC Radio 2 for five weeks.{{cite web |url=http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=29261 |title=Travis join R2 A-list |work=Music Week |date=June 14, 2007 |access-date=August 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521191818/http://www.musicweek.com/story.asp?sectioncode=1&storycode=29261 |archive-date=May 21, 2011}} The alternative rock remix of "Push It" was playlisted by XFM for three weeks. A&E Records released "Tell Me Where It Hurts" on seven-inch vinyl, DVD and CD single (featuring "Betcha" as the B-side) on July 16 in the United Kingdom, where it debuted at number 50 on the UK Singles Chart.{{cite web |url=http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/timbaland-ends-rihannas-chart-reign/035900 |title=Timbaland ends Rihanna's chart reign |work=Music Week |date=July 30, 2007 |access-date=January 2, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606101110/http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/timbaland-ends-rihannas-chart-reign/035900 |archive-date=June 6, 2013}} Manson complained that the release was "shoved out with no promotion whatsoever", declaring that it was the moment the band "realized how crazy and out of whack things had gotten", inspiring them to work independently afterwards.

On July 23, 2007, Absolute Garbage was released in the United Kingdom, with the North American street date following a day later. The digital format includes "All the Good in This Life" as an iTunes Store exclusive bonus track.Email from Warner UK, dated July 20, 2007, regarding the release of Absolute Garbage: "You can also download the album from iTunes for the iTunes exclusive album featuring an exclusive new track, entitled 'All The Good In This Life'" In 2012, Absolute Garbage was superseded by a revamped greatest hits set titled The Absolute Collection, which was released in Australia and New Zealand on November 2 via Liberator Music.{{cite press release |url=http://mushroompromotions.com/aus/album-bio-garbage-the-absolute-collection-out-2-november-2012-liberator/ |title=ALBUM BIO: Garbage – The Absolute Collection (out 2 November 2012) [Liberator] |publisher=Liberator Music |date=November 2, 2012 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |via=Mushroom Promotions |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309160315/http://mushroompromotions.com/aus/album-bio-garbage-the-absolute-collection-out-2-november-2012-liberator/ |archive-date=March 9, 2014}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 69/100

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}

| rev2 = Digital Spy

| rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev3 = Kerrang!

| rev3score = KK

| rev4 = Mojo

| rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://i.imgur.com/wJtGdD2.jpg |title=Garbage: Absolute Garbage |magazine=Mojo |issn=1351-0193 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |via=Imgur}}

| rev5 = musicOMH

| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev6 = PopMatters

| rev6score = 9/10{{cite web |last=Sawdey |first=Evan |url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/garbage-absolute-garbage/ |title=Garbage: Absolute Garbage |website=PopMatters |date=August 3, 2007 |access-date=August 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609042235/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/garbage-absolute-garbage/ |archive-date=June 9, 2012}}

| rev7 = Q

| rev7score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |last=Mongredien |first=Phil |url=https://i.imgur.com/xIbjatr.jpg |title=Garbage: Absolute Garbage |magazine=Q |issn=0955-4955 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |via=Imgur}}

| rev8 = Slant Magazine

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}

| rev9 = Stylus Magazine

| rev9score = B{{cite web |last=Inskeep |first=Thomas |url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/garbage/absolute-garbage.htm |title=Garbage – Absolute Garbage |work=Stylus Magazine |date=September 5, 2007 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014125345/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/garbage/absolute-garbage.htm |archive-date=October 14, 2013}}

| rev10 = Uncut

| rev10score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite web |last=Troussé |first=Stephen |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/garbage/garbage-absolute-garbage-review |title=Garbage – Absolute Garbage |work=Uncut |date=July 17, 2007 |access-date=August 14, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081121161836/http://www.uncut.co.uk/music/garbage/reviews/10010 |archive-date=November 21, 2008}}

}}

Absolute Garbage received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 69, based on 12 reviews.{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/music/absolute-garbage/garbage/critic-reviews |title=Critic Reviews – Absolute Garbage by Garbage |website=Metacritic |access-date=August 9, 2019}} Sal Cinqumani of Slant Magazine gave a positive overview of the compilation, writing that the album "serves as an anthropological study of the musical relics of a bygone era",{{cite web |last=Cinquemani |first=Sal |url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/garbage-absolute-garbage/ |title=Review: Garbage, Absolute Garbage |work=Slant Magazine |date=July 19, 2007 |access-date=August 9, 2019}} while Laila Hassani of Heat summed up her five-star review by writing, "Few modern female-fronted rock bands stand the test of time, but this reminds you why, along with Gwen Stefani's No Doubt, Garbage are one of them."{{cite magazine |last=Hassani |first=Leila |url=http://a632.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/107/l_c478252f3a4a269b1aa932c7c4f3bd87.jpg |title=Pure indie gold |magazine=Heat |date=April 13, 2005 |issn=1465-6264 |access-date=May 21, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929124335/http://a632.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/107/l_c478252f3a4a269b1aa932c7c4f3bd87.jpg |archive-date=September 29, 2007}} A reviewer for Instinct wrote "this hits collection is loaded with songs best described as massive... you'll find something to love here".{{cite magazine |url=http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_TKcnNi8CG_A/Rs9ijZmUhpI/AAAAAAAAA8Y/CMSOizGtp_I/s1600/Garbage_0807.jpg |title=Garbage: Absolute Garbage (Almo Sounds) |magazine=Instinct |issn= 1096-0058 |access-date=January 3, 2016}} Jaime Gill, in a review for BBC Music, felt that "Absolute Garbage is a fine legacy, the sound of a briefly brilliant and always interesting band" and that overall the album "sounds like no other greatest hits you own."{{cite web |last=Gill |first=Jaime |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/pc3n |title=Review of Garbage – Absolute Garbage |publisher=BBC Music |date=July 20, 2007 |access-date=May 21, 2011}} Digital Spy's Nick Levine wrote, "By wrapping their nut-grabbing hooks and transcendent melodies in layers of gutsy guitars, Garbage managed to make pop music for people who thought they didn't like pop music. For that reason, whatever happens next, they deserve to be remembered fondly."{{cite web |last=Levine |first=Nick |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/music/album-reviews/a66779/garbage-absolute-garbage/ |title=Garbage: 'Absolute Garbage' |work=Digital Spy |date=July 19, 2007 |access-date=August 9, 2019}}

Many reviewers felt that the chronological running order put more emphasis on the band's well-regarded earlier periods. "The selection of songs perhaps indicates Garbage view their career the same way many fans do", wrote Victoria Durham of Rock Sound, and "that they never quite managed [to match] the brilliance of their early work."{{cite magazine |last=Durham |first=Victoria |url=https://i.imgur.com/Q4eIdKU.jpg |title=Reviews: Reissues & Compilations |magazine=Rock Sound |issn=1465-0185 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |via=Imgur}} Johnny Dee of Classic Rock expressed, "The later material here sounds formulaic, however, new song "Tell Me Where It Hurts" adds strings to the dynamic and sits well alongside their peerless early material".{{cite magazine |last=Dee |first=Johnny |title=Garbage: Absolute Garbage |magazine=Classic Rock |date=August 2007 |issn=1464-7834}} AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered that despite ignoring 2000s singles such as "Run Baby Run", "it already seems that the comp has lingered far longer than necessary on the last stage of Garbage's career", in contrast to the debut album singles "still sounding sleek and alluring."{{cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/absolute-garbage-mw0000478995 |title=Absolute Garbage – Garbage |website=AllMusic |access-date=January 3, 2016}} Kerrang! magazine's Tom Byrant also felt that Garbage's work had dated, expounding, "Something that was once so much a part of the Zeitgeist has remained rooted to the era it marked, untranslatable across the millennial divide. Still, songs like 'Stupid Girl' and 'Only Happy When It Rains' [...] maintain an urgency and spite that sees their intent remain intact."{{cite magazine |last=Byrant |first=Tom |url=https://i.imgur.com/ofz2MCj.jpg |title=Pure rubbish |magazine=Kerrang! |issn=0262-6624 |access-date=August 9, 2019 |via=Imgur}} Billboard writer Kerri Mason praised the choice of remixes on the special edition: "the band continually brought the best of dance's best producers, not one of the thirteen tracks is a throwaway."{{cite magazine |last=Mason |first=Kerri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cg8EAAAAMBAJ&q=Absolute+Garbage&pg=PA44 |title=Summer Clubbin' |magazine=Billboard |volume=119 |issue=30 |date=July 28, 2007 |page=44 |issn=0006-2510 |access-date=January 3, 2016 |via=Google Books}} Ben Hogwood of musicOMH called the compilation a "deserved retrospective", further noting that "the best way to get to know Garbage is through their albums, which demonstrate their strength in depth. In particular the self-titled debut and Version 2.0 withstand a heavy hammering on any stereo."{{cite web |last=Hogwood |first=Ben |url=https://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/garbage-absolute-garbage-greatest-hits |title=Garbage – Absolute Garbage – Greatest Hits |website=musicOMH |date=July 23, 2007 |access-date=October 22, 2014}}

Absolute Garbage debuted at number 68 on the Billboard 200, selling 11,000 copies in its first week.{{cite web |url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/1320796/prince-plants-planet-at-no-3-cyrus-family-rules |title=Prince Plants 'Planet' at No. 3; Cyrus Family Rules |work=Billboard |date=August 1, 2007 |access-date=January 2, 2016}} As of August 2008, it had sold 66,000 copies in the United States.{{cite web |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1044600/ask-billboard-robin-sparkles-garbage-alkaline-trio-bayside |title=Ask Billboard: Robin Sparkles, Garbage, Alkaline Trio, Bayside |work=Billboard |date=August 1, 2008 |access-date=March 25, 2013}} The album debuted at number 11 on the UK Albums Chart with 13,372 units sold in its first week.

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Garbage, except where noted

| headline = Absolute Garbage track listing

| extra_column = Album

| title1 = Vow

| extra1 = Garbage (1995)

| length1 = 4:32

| title2 = Queer

| extra2 = Garbage

| length2 = 4:37

| title3 = Only Happy When It Rains

| extra3 = Garbage

| length3 = 3:47

| title4 = Stupid Girl

| writer4 = {{hlist|Garbage|Mick Jones|Joe Strummer|Topper Headon|Paul Simonon}}

| extra4 = Garbage

| length4 = 4:18

| title5 = Milk

| extra5 = Garbage

| length5 = 3:50

| title6 = #1 Crush

| note6 = Nellee Hooper mix

| extra6 = Romeo + Juliet soundtrack (1996)

| length6 = 4:45

| title7 = Push It

| extra7 = Version 2.0 (1998)

| length7 = 4:03

| title8 = I Think I'm Paranoid

| extra8 = Version 2.0

| length8 = 3:39

| title9 = Special

| extra9 = Version 2.0

| length9 = 3:47

| title10 = When I Grow Up

| extra10 = Version 2.0

| length10 = 3:24

| title11 = You Look So Fine

| extra11 = Version 2.0

| length11 = 5:22

| title12 = The World Is Not Enough

| extra12 = The World Is Not Enough soundtrack (1999)

| writer12 = {{hlist|David Arnold {{small|(music)}}|Don Black {{small|(lyrics)}}}}

| length12 = 3:58

| title13 = Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)

| extra13 = Beautiful Garbage (2001)

| length13 = 3:13

| title14 = Shut Your Mouth

| extra14 = Beautiful Garbage

| length14 = 3:27

| title15 = Why Do You Love Me

| extra15 = Bleed Like Me (2004)

| length15 = 3:53

| title16 = Bleed Like Me

| extra16 = Bleed Like Me

| length16 = 4:01

| title17 = Tell Me Where It Hurts

| length17 = 4:10

| title18 = It's All Over but the Crying

| note18 = remix

| length18 = 3:49

| total_length = 72:43

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = iTunes Store bonus track

| title19 = All the Good in This Life

| length19 = 4:20

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Special edition bonus disc: Garbage Mixes

| title1 = The World Is Not Enough

| note1 = Unkle remix

| length1 = 5:01

| title2 = When I Grow Up

| note2 = Jagz Kooner remix

| length2 = 5:23

| title3 = Special

| note3 = Brothers in Rhythm remix

| length3 = 5:15

| title4 = Breaking Up the Girl

| note4 = Timo Maas remix

| length4 = 5:19

| title5 = Milk

| note5 = Massive Attack remix

| length5 = 4:31

| title6 = Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!)

| note6 = Roger Sanchez remix

| length6 = 5:01

| title7 = Androgyny

| note7 = Felix da Housecat remix

| length7 = 5:29

| title8 = Queer

| note8 = Rabbit in the Moon remix

| length8 = 5:04

| title9 = I Think I'm Paranoid

| note9 = Crystal Method remix

| length9 = 4:25

| title10 = Stupid Girl

| note10 = Todd Terry remix

| length10 = 3:47

| title11 = You Look So Fine

| note11 = Fun Lovin' Criminals remix

| length11 = 3:38

| title12 = Push It

| note12 = Boom Boom Satellites remix

| length12 = 5:22

| title13 = Bad Boyfriend

| note13 = Garbage remix

| length13 = 5:04

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = DVD edition (Region 0)

| extra_column = Director

| title1 = Vow

| extra1 = Samuel Bayer

| length1 = 4:33

| title2 = Queer

| extra2 = Stéphane Sednaoui

| length2 = 4:53

| title3 = Only Happy When It Rains

| extra3 = Samuel Bayer

| length3 = 3:58

| title4 = Stupid Girl

| extra4 = Samuel Bayer

| length4 = 4:27

| title5 = Milk

| extra5 = Stéphane Sednaoui

| length5 = 3:50

| title6 = Push It

| extra6 = Andrea Giacobbe

| length6 = 4:11

| title7 = I Think I'm Paranoid

| extra7 = Matthew Rolston

| length7 = 3:39

| title8 = Special

| extra8 = Dawn Shadforth

| length8 = 4:06

| title9 = When I Grow Up

| extra9 = Sophie Muller

| length9 = 3:24

| title10 = You Look So Fine

| extra10 = Stéphane Sednaoui

| length10 = 3:51

| title11 = The World Is Not Enough

| extra11 = Philipp Stölzl

| length11 = 4:02

| title12 = Cherry Lips

| extra12 = Joseph Kahn

| length12 = 3:13

| title13 = Shut Your Mouth

| extra13 = Elliot Chaffer

| length13 = 3:30

| title14 = Why Do You Love Me

| extra14 = Sophie Muller

| length14 = 3:53

| title15 = Bleed Like Me

| extra15 = Sophie Muller

| length15 = 4:05

| title16 = Tell Me Where It Hurts

| extra16 = Sophie Muller

| length16 = 4:12

| title17 = Thanks for Your Uhh, Support

| note17 = produced by Greg Kaplan

| length17 = 1:09:03

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = DVD edition (Region 1)

| extra_column = Director

| title1 = Vow

| extra1 = Samuel Bayer

| length1 = 4:33

| title2 = Queer

| extra2 = Stéphane Sednaoui

| length2 = 4:53

| title3 = Only Happy When It Rains

| extra3 = Samuel Bayer

| length3 = 3:58

| title4 = Stupid Girl

| extra4 = Samuel Bayer

| length4 = 4:27

| title5 = Milk

| extra5 = Stéphane Sednaoui

| length5 = 3:50

| title6 = Push It

| extra6 = Andrea Giacobbe

| length6 = 4:11

| title7 = I Think I'm Paranoid

| extra7 = Matthew Rolston

| length7 = 3:39

| title8 = Special

| extra8 = Dawn Shadforth

| length8 = 4:06

| title9 = When I Grow Up

| extra9 = Sophie Muller

| length9 = 3:24

| title10 = You Look So Fine

| extra10 = Stéphane Sednaoui

| length10 = 3:51

| title11 = The World Is Not Enough

| extra11 = Philipp Stölzl

| length11 = 4:02

| title12 = Cherry Lips

| extra12 = Joseph Kahn

| length12 = 3:13

| title13 = Shut Your Mouth

| extra13 = Elliot Chaffer

| length13 = 3:30

| title14 = Why Do You Love Me

| extra14 = Sophie Muller

| length14 = 3:53

| title15 = Bleed Like Me

| extra15 = Sophie Muller

| length15 = 4:05

| title16 = Thanks for Your Uhh, Support

| note16 = produced by Greg Kaplan

| length16 = 1:09:03

}}

Notes

• "Queer" contains a loop from "Man of Straw" by Single Gun Theory.
• "Stupid Girl" contains a loop from "Train in Vain" by The Clash.
• "Push It" contains interpolations of "Don't Worry Baby", written by Brian Wilson and Roger Christian, and "Push It", written by Hurby Azor.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of the special edition of Absolute Garbage.

{{div col}}

• Mike Kashou – bass {{small|(disc 1: tracks 1–5)}}
• Pauli Ryan – percussion {{small|(disc 1: tracks 3, 4)}}
• Les Thimmig – clarinet {{small|(disc 1: track 2)}}
• Daniel Shulman – bass {{small|(disc 1: tracks 7–14, 17)}}
• Brio Taliaferro – additional programming {{small|(disc 1: track 18)}}
• Justin Meldal-Johnsen – bass {{small|(disc 1: tracks 15, 16, 18)}}
• Matt Walker – drums {{small|(disc 1: track 15)}}

{{div col end}}

{{div col}}

• Garbage – production {{small|(disc 1: tracks 1–18; disc 2: track 13)}}; engineering {{small|(disc 1: tracks 1–6)}}; recording {{small|(disc 1: tracks 1–5)}}; mixing {{small|(disc 1: track 12)}}
• Nellee Hooper – additional production, mixing {{small|(disc 1: track 6)}}
• Billy Bush – engineering {{small|(disc 1: tracks 7–18)}}
• David Arnold – production {{small|(disc 1: track 12)}}
• Jeremy Wheatley – mixing, additional production {{small|(disc 1: track 18)}}
• Richard Edgeler – mixing assistance {{small|(disc 1: track 18)}}
• Emily Lazar – mastering
• Sarah Register – mastering {{small|(disc 1: tracks 1–18)}}
• Joe LaPorta – mastering assistance {{small|(disc 1: tracks 1–18)}}; mastering {{small|(disc 2: tracks 1–13)}}
• John King – production {{small|(disc 2: track 13)}}
• Butch Vig – mixing {{small|(disc 2: track 13)}}

{{div col end}}

{{div col}}

• Tom Hingston Studio – art direction, design
• David Hughes – front cover photography
• Stéphane Sednaoui – booklet photography
• Rankin – booklet photography
• Ellen von Unwerth – booklet photography
• Pat Pope – booklet photography
• Warwick Saint – booklet photography
• Joseph Cultice – booklet photography

{{div col end}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Absolute Garbage}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Garbage|title=Absolute|award=Silver|type=album|relyear=2007|certyear=2019|date=April 26, 2019|access-date=April 30, 2019|id=15608-1301-2}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes | noshipments=true | streaming=true}}

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7eJ9W41euM Absolute Garbage streaming advertisement]
• {{IMDb title|qid=Q7092898|title=Absolute Garbage}}

{{Garbage}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2007 greatest hits albums

Category:2007 video albums

Category:2007 films

Category:Alternative rock compilation albums

Category:Almo Sounds albums

Category:Garbage (band) compilation albums

Category:Garbage (band) video albums

Category:Geffen Records compilation albums

Category:Geffen Records video albums

Category:Music video compilation albums

Category:Universal Music Enterprises compilation albums

Category:Universal Music Enterprises video albums

Category:Warner Records compilation albums

Category:Warner Records video albums