Remember when the Offspring was the coolest punk band to come out of alternative radio and MTV? I remember I was in 7th grade at the time when they became HUGE along with other "punk-revival" counterparts like Green Day, Rancid and Bad Religion. Every kid knew the words to "Come Out and Play" and "Self Esteem" (both of which were huge hits at my junior high school dances), and pretty much every one of my friends owned their 1994 blockbuster hit Smash. However, the years went by and thanks to lyrically-stupid songs (of course, "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" comes to mind), the Offspring became known as a pop-rock act somewhat in the vein of Smashmouth or Sugar Ray. Obviously, the first half of "Greatest Hits" is indeed great. The still-rocking favorite "Come Out and Play," the Nirvana-esque, three-chord favorite "Self Esteem" and the underrated "Gotta Get Away" are all included here from "Smash." Even their sophomore slump "Ixnay on the Hombre" contributes some good stuff with the catchy singalong "All I Want," and the powerful, almost-balladic "Gone Away."

However, once you hit "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)", it kind of goes downhill from there. Yes, that song was a hit, but it caused them to lose their "punk" tag, and it turned them into every 10-year olds favorite band heard on pop-radio stations and MTV. The bouncing, almost circus-sounding "Why Don't You Get a Job?" is also terrible attempt to try and be funny, but the CD picks back up again with the rocking "The Kids Aren't Alright." However, "Original Prankster" (which features Method Man for some reason) is so bad that I'm embarrassed to even be listening to it, and "Hit That" is another goofy-sounding song with horns and out-of-place synth effects. Once you get to the end of the CD with okay-yet-bland songs like "Want You Bad," "Defy You," and "Can't Get My Head Around You," it's easy to think of the Offspring as once-great punk-rockers who now only occasionally put out good stuff (like their newest song "Can't Repeat," which is also included here). If you're looking for their hits that are truly worth listening to, it's probably to better to just buy 1994's punk-revival classic Smash and forget about the other material.