Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)

Nine singles from 1972 to 1975 plus the album track Desperado. Manager Irving Azoff said they put it out because they had enough hits. Don Felder said the band had no say in the decision, and Henley disliked seeing songs such as Tequila Sunrise and Desperado lifted out of the context of their albums. The cover photographs a painted eagle skull by Boyd Elder.

It debuted at 4 on the Billboard 200, reached number one the following week and stayed five weeks. It was the first album to receive an RIAA Platinum certification, and has since been certified 40 times Platinum. In 2016 the Library of Congress selected it for preservation in the National Recording Registry. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic wrote that its songs form a collection consistent in mood and identity, unlike the albums they came from.