The Essential Britney Spears

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |title=Britney Spears - Playlist: The Very Best of Britney Spears Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=AllMusic |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-essential-britney-spears-mw0002565237|access-date=2023-11-18 |language=en}}

}}

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic praised the length of the compilation, noting "Where other Britney compilations ran no longer than a single CD, this is a double-disc set with over 30 tracks -- more than enough space for all of her hit American singles", and noticed the absence of singles such as "Born to Make You Happy" or "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know". He also compared The Essential with its predecessor, indicating that "Skeptics might suspect shorter is better for Britney -- and those looking for a quick blast of hits will be well-served by Playlist and pointed the portrayal of Spears's career being reflected in the two discs of this compilation: "this double-disc set reveals that she had two strong, distinct phases to her career: the bubblegum pop ingénue of the new millennium, followed by the blackout club diva of ten years later."

The Essential Britney Spears debuted on the US Billboard 200 at number 185 on the week of March 11, 2017, four years after its original release. It debuted at number 95 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart on April 25, 2020, and it peaked at number 37 on the week of October 16, 2021, spending a total of 27 weeks on the chart.

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc 1

| total_length = 54:20

| title_width = 45%

| writing_width = 45%

| title1 = ...Baby One More Time

| writer1 = Max Martin

| length1 = 3:31

| title2 = Sometimes

| note2 =

| writer2 = Jörgen Elofsson

| length2 = 3:56

| title3 = (You Drive Me) Crazy

| note3 = The Stop! Remix

| writer3 = Elofsson, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger, Martin

| length3 = 3:17

| title4 = From the Bottom of My Broken Heart

| note4 =

| writer4 = Eric Foster White

| length4 = 4:34

| title5 = Oops!... I Did It Again

| writer5 = Martin, Rami Yacoub

| length5 = 3:31

| title6 = Lucky

| writer6 = Martin, Yacoub, Alexander Kronlund

| length6 = 3:25

| title7 = Stronger

| writer7 = Martin, Yacoub

| length7 = 3:24

| title8 = I'm a Slave 4 U

| writer8 = Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams

| length8 = 3:24

| title9 = I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman

| writer9 = Martin, Yacoub, Dido Armstrong

| length9 = 3:51

| title10 = Overprotected

| note10 = The Darkchild Remix

| writer10 = Martin, Yacoub

| length10 = 3:20

| title11 = Boys

| note11 = The Co-Ed Remix) (featuring Pharrell Williams

| writer11 = Hugo, Williams

| length11 = 3:46

| title12 = Me Against the Music

| note12 = featuring Madonna

| writer12 = Britney Spears, Madonna, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Thabiso "Tab" Nikhereanye, Penelope Magnet, Terius Nash, Gary O'Bryan

| length12 = 3:45

| title13 = Toxic

| writer13 = Cathy Dennis, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Henrik Jonback

| length13 = 3:19

| title14 = Everytime

| writer14 = Spears, Annet Artani

| length14 = 3:50

| title15 = Outrageous

| writer15 = R. Kelly, Trickster, Magnet

| length15 = 3:27

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Disc 2 track listing

| total_length = 62:05

| title_width = 45%

| writing_width = 45%

| title1 = My Prerogative

| writer1 = Bobby Brown, Aaron Hall, Teddy Riley

| length1 = 3:33

| title2 = Do Somethin'

| writer2 = Karlsson, Winnberg, Jonback, Angela Hunte

| length2 = 3:23

| title3 = Gimme More

| writer3 = Nate Hills, James Washington, Keri Hilson, Marcella Araica

| length3 = 4:11

| title4 = Piece of Me

| writer4 = Karlsson, Winnberg, Klas Åhlund

| length4 = 3:32

| title5 = Radar

| writer5 = Ashton Cole, Jonback, Balewa Muhammad, Candice Nelson, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick "J. Que" Smith

| length5 = 3:49

| title6 = Break the Ice

| writer6 = Hills, Washington, Hilson, Araica

| length6 = 3:15

| title7 = Hot as Ice

| writer7 = Faheem "T-Pain" Najm, Hills, Araica

| length7 = 3:17

| title8 = Womanizer

| writer8 = The Outsyders

| length8 = 3:44

| title9 = Circus

| writer9 = Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, Benjamin Levin

| length9 = 3:11

| title10 = If U Seek Amy

| writer10 = Martin, Shellback, Savan Kotecha, Kronlund

| length10 = 3:36

| title11 = Out from Under

| writer11 = Shelly Peiken, Arnthor Birgisson, Wayne Hector

| length11 = 3:54

| title12 = 3

| writer12 = Martin, Karl Schuster, Tiffany Amber

| length12 = 3:25

| title13 = Hold It Against Me

| writer13 = Martin, Gottwald, Bonnie McKee

| length13 = 3:49

| title14 = Till the World Ends

| writer14 = Martin, Gottwald, Kronlund, Kesha Sebert

| length14 = 3:58

| title15 = I Wanna Go

| writer15 = Martin, Kotecha, Shellback

| length15 = 3:30

| title16 = Criminal

| writer16 = Martin, Shellback, Amber

| length16 = 3:45

| title17 = Scream & Shout

| note17 = will.i.am and Britney Spears

| writer17 = Jean-Baptiste Kouame, Tulisa Contostavlos, Jef Martens, William Adams

| length17 = 4:13

}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for The Essential Britney Spears}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|artist=Britney Spears|title=The Essential Britney Spears|award=Platinum|type=album|relyear=2013|certyear=2020|access-date=December 14, 2024|source=radioscope}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=The Essential Britney Spears|artist=Britney Spears|type=album|award=Silver|certyear=2024|relyear=2013|id=6913-1064-2}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Britney Spears|title=The Essential Britney Spears|type=album|award=|nocert=true|access-date=September 5, 2024|relyear=2013|certyear=2020|salesamount=60,000|salesref={{cite magazine |url= https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9378793/britney-spears-oops-i-did-it-again-ask-billboard-mailbag|title= Britney Spears' Career Sales & Streams, In Honor of 20 Years of 'Oops!...I Did It Again': Ask Billboard Mailbag |last=Trust |first=Gary |magazine=Billboard |publisher=Prometheus Global Media |date=May 15, 2020 |access-date=September 5, 2024}}}}

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

{{reflist}}

{{Britney Spears}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essential Britney Spears, The}}

Category:2013 greatest hits albums

Category:Britney Spears compilation albums

Category:Jive Records compilation albums