“K-Tel at least gave fans their money's worth... tracking the artist's career as he moved from the sci-chedelic "Space Oddity" to the aggrieved observer of "Boys Keep Swinging."” AllMusic Tracklist (1980 K-Tel Edition)
Critics and collectors often note that the high track count leads to "horrific sound quality" or a "thin" audio profile due to the narrower grooves required to fit nearly an hour of music on a single platter. David Bowie - Best of K-Tel
To fit 16 songs onto one disc, many tracks were significantly edited. For example, the K-Tel edit of "Diamond Dogs" removes the "Future Legend" intro and cuts nearly two minutes of the song. “K-Tel at least gave fans their money's worth
For many fans in the early '80s, this record was their first introduction to Bowie's diverse eras, from glam rock to the "Berlin Trilogy". For example, the K-Tel edit of "Diamond Dogs"
Interestingly, for serious collectors, these specific "obscure Bowie edits" became a selling point because they appeared nowhere else at the time. Community Perspectives