| The Best of Rainbow | |
| Type: | greatest |
| Artist: | Rainbow |
| Cover: | The Best of Rainbow Album.jpg |
| Caption: | Cover design by Hipgnosis |
| Released: | November 1981 |
| Recorded: | 1975–1981 |
| Genre: | Hard rock, heavy metal |
| Length: | 82:11 |
| Label: | Polydor |
| Producer: | Martin Birch, Roger Glover |
| Chronology: | Rainbow compilation albums |
| Next Title: | The Very Best of Rainbow |
| Next Year: | 1997 |
The Best of Rainbow is the first compilation album from British hard rock group Rainbow, released in 1981.
This compilation album is slightly different from the similarly titled album from 1980, which was released only in Japan,[1] and features mostly previously-released studio cuts, taken from the five studio albums Rainbow had released at that point. However, "Jealous Lover", the first song written by Blackmore and Turner, had been available only as a B-side in Europe (to "Can't Happen Here") and on the Jealous Lover EP in the United States.
The original vinyl-release was a 2-LP set, in a gatefold-sleeve which contained photos of the band during its various incarnations, and reached No. 14 in the UK Albums Chart in 1981.[2] As of 2019, this compilation album has never been released in the United States.
The photograph on the cover was taken at Zaanse Schans.