Jerry Garcia - "The very best"

Fortunately, the live disk compensates nicely. Here, the combination of cover songs and originals compliments Garcia's abilities, and the track selections are more...umm, selective. "Dear Prudence" totally reinvents the Beatles song, and while it may not be an improvement, it at least shows Garcia's penchant for inhabiting his material. "Senor" is a much more inspired song selection than "...Heaven's Door" (as is "Positively 4th Street," marking three Dylan tunes on Garcia's compilation), while "The Harder They Come" is a tried and true take on the reggae classic. Plus, it's always great to hear something from Garcia's traditional folk outfit, Old and In the Way. A better, or more honest, album title for this collection would be "A Brief Synopsis of Garcia's Solo Work." It is a great place to start if you are wondering which part of his career to investigate; either that, or you could pick up his first solo album and take it from there.
Tom Ryan - American Hit Network

Now this is how you're supposed to do a compilation -- especially by someone who isn't making music on this plane anymore. Rhino's double-disc Very Best of Jerry Garcia is arguably exactly that. It's true that there's a bunch of stuff missing here: there are no cuts from Hooteroll? with Howard Wales, or the early Merl Saunders/Garcia Live at Keystone stuff recorded for Fantasy, but it's OK. Fans will quibble about what was left off, but not about what's here. Beginning with tracks from the first Jerry Garcia record, of which there are five, there's also a pair from Garcia (Compliments) and three from Reflections. The rest of disc one is filled out by three cuts each from the various Cats Under the Stars and Run for the Roses. This is all good and well as far as it goes, but the rest of the story, the part that really matters, is told on disc two, which is compiled of live recordings.
Tom Jurek - All music guide

I was never a Deadhead, but I was listening when The Grateful Dead first hit the radio in 1965 and I liked what I heard. I only later became aware of Jerry Garcia as an individual writer and performer. Because Garcia was so influential in creating the sound of The Grateful Dead, I find it difficult, if not impossible, to separate the two. Perhaps the biggest difference is that, on his own, Jerry Garcia is far more eclectic and perhaps even more eccentric than was his most famous band, even at its most extreme. Listening to this double set of studio and live performances, I still like what I hear. I like it a lot.
Bob McKenzie - Music Review

Now this is how you're supposed to do a compilation -- especially by someone who isn't making music on this plane anymore. Rhino's double-disc Very Best of Jerry Garcia is arguably exactly that. It's true that there's a bunch of stuff missing here: there are no cuts from Hooteroll? with Howard Wales, or the early Merl Saunders/Garcia Live at Keystone stuff recorded for Fantasy, but it's OK. Fans will quibble about what was left off, but not about what's here.
Barnes and Noble

Parola di Bielle
The very best of Jerry Garcia non è roba qualunque! Se uno si chiama Jerry Garcia e ha inciso come pochi altri al mondo, sia come quantità che come qualità, tirare fuori un "the very best" è quasi impossibile. Ce l'hanno fatta questa volta? Non saprei dirlo. Anche perché quando siamo nel campo dell'uniformemente bello è difficile distinguere e discriminare il bello dal meglio. Pur tuttavia possiamo parlare di un cd doppio, di quasi 140 minuti di musica, divisi tra un primo disco di studio e un secondo dal vivo. Il secondo è forse la gemma più preziosa della collezione: performances che sfiorano o superano i 10 minuti, cavalcate elettriche ed acustiche sulle corde di una chitarra magica che non conosce confini. Per appassionati, ma anche per tutti quelli che amano lasciarsi trascinare dalla musica. Garcia trascina, sia da solo che in gruppo.