| The Best of Kansas | |
| Type: | Greatest hits |
| Artist: | Kansas |
| Cover: | The Best of Kansas.jpg |
| Released: | July 31, 1984 |
| Recorded: | 1974 - 1984 |
| Studio: | Pakaderm Studios, Long Beach, California ("Perfect Lover") |
| Genre: | Hard rock, progressive rock |
| Length: | 48:11 |
| Label: | CBS Associated, Epic |
| Producer: | Various |
| Prev Title: | Drastic Measures |
| Prev Year: | 1983 |
| Next Title: | Power |
| Next Year: | 1986 |
The Best of Kansas is the first compilation by American progressive rock band Kansas. Originally released in 1984, it featured the new "Perfect Lover," written by then-lead vocalist John Elefante and his brother Dino Elefante.
The compilation was rereleased in 1999 in a version supervised by the original band members. "Perfect Lover" was dropped in favor of three additional tracks from the original lineup: "The Pinnacle" from Masque, "The Devil Game" from Song for America, and a live track deleted owing to space limitations from the CD version of Two for the Show called "Closet Chronicles," originally from Point of Know Return.
The album has sold over 4 million copies in the United States and was certified quadruple platinum in 2001.[1]
The versions of "Carry On Wayward Son" and "The Wall" on the 1984 release of The Best of Kansas are remixed by Kerry Livgren and unique to the first version of this collection. For the 1999 reissue of the collection, the original 1976 mixes from the album Leftoverture are used instead. The removal of "Perfect Lover" – previously available only on this album – made the track out of print in the United States. The original track listing and mixes were restored for the 2014 180-gram vinyl release of the album by Friday Music. That version was released on red vinyl a few years later.
The album cover art, by artist Steve Carver, is a parody of Grant Wood's 1939 painting of the author Parson Weems pointing to the famous scene of George Washington and George's father inquiring after young George had just chopped down a cherry tree with his hatchet. The cover contains elements of nearly all previous Kansas album covers: