By Diana L. LaBrecque

Mandy Moore has recently released her first greatest hits album that comes equipped with a DVD of both her live AOL sessions and all of her music videos. It’s hard to say if this album is justified since Moore has only released two other complete self-titled albums. She’s only been in the music business since 1999 when her semi-hit single “So Real” debuted. She hasn’t fully sold herself out like her less shy rivals Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, which earns her some points in the “actually could be a serious artist” column.

The compilation begins with a blast from the past with “Candy” and ends with one of Moore’s newest singles “Top of the World.” The CD is a good display of how Moore has developed and changed as an artist. Her songs have climbed out of the “puberty-I-like-a-boy-but-don’t-tell-him” stages and reached a more sophisticated “I-can-pull-off-Carole King-covers” phase. Though Moore’s musical career hasn’t always been worth following or investing money in, but her vocal range has become more powerful and confidently rehearsed. It’s as if with getting older, she has become more comfortable with her own voice and the way it sounds. This allows the later tracks in her new album to sound more professional with sanguine energy.

Halfway through the fourteen-track album the pace of the music changes as lesser-known Moore songs are played. Most are from different soundtracks including A Walk to Remember and Princess Dairies. These tracks stand out from the others because they aren’t cover songs and they weren’t recorded on Mandy’s debut album five years ago.

You don’t have to admit it right away to your friends that you are a fan of Mandy Moore, but it’s okay to smile when you hear that her acting career, music endeavors and personal life are each all very different and mature than others. Even though she’s not old enough to be considered a legend, her Best Of album is filled with songs that will remind you that sometimes a work-in-progress is a good thing. If you have listened to Mandy Moore’s music in the past and taken comfort that her relaxed style isn’t sung half nude, then you should satisfy your guilty pleasure and buy her new greatest hits album.

The Chronicle gives ´The Best Of…´, by Mandy Moore four out of five stars.