| The Essential Backstreet Boys | |
| Type: | greatest |
| Artist: | Backstreet Boys |
| Cover: | The Essential Backstreet Boys.png |
| Released: | (UK) (USA) |
| Recorded: | 1994–2009 |
| Prev Title: | In a World Like This |
| Prev Year: | 2013 |
| Next Title: | The Box Set Series Backstreet Boys |
| Next Year: | 2015 |
The Essential Backstreet Boys is the third compilation album by American pop group Backstreet Boys, released by RCA Records and Legacy Recordings as part of their Essential series. It was released on September 26, 2013 in the United Kingdom, and on October 22, 2013 in the United States. The album includes songs from the group's first seven studio albums, Backstreet Boys (1996), Backstreet's Back (1997), Backstreet Boys (U.S.) (1997), Millennium (1999), Black & Blue (2000), Never Gone (2005), Unbreakable (2007), and This Is Us (2009). It also includes the song "If You Stay" recorded for the 1997 film Booty Call, and "Drowning" from their first greatest hits compilation, The Hits – Chapter One (2001).
AllMusic gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "Essential Backstreet Boys traces this evolution, filling in a few more details of those early hit-making years, which makes this worthwhile for the dedicated fan, but many listeners may find either The Hits, or the variety of budget-line collections released since, to be a better bet as they contain the hits and nothing but."[1]
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom[3] | September 26, 2013 | CD, digital download | |
| United States[4] [5] | October 22, 2013 | ||
| Japan[6] | Sony Music Japan | ||
| Canada | Sony Music Entertainment | ||
| Taiwan[7] | October 25, 2013 | ||
| Germany[8] | January 3, 2014 |