Best of Hilary Duff

Album Review

The cover shot on Best of Hilary Duff is as gorgeous, grown-up, and sexy as Hilary Duff has ever been — and has absolutely nothing to do with any hit single that she's ever had. When Hilary has climbed the charts, it's been through light, fizzy teen pop, the kind of single that fuels Radio Disney, but now that she's in her twenties, Duff wants to leave that image behind, so 2008's Best of Hilary Duff skews toward sleek, almost sultry club beats as older, fluffier hits like "Come Clean" are given a sensual electronic makeover. In that sense, this best-of is the flip side of 2005's Most Wanted, which was pitched squarely at bright, happy tweens. Apart from the galumphing neo-Max Martin beat of "So Yesterday," there's nary a hint of that younger Duff on this best-of, which kind of makes it the opposite of what a hits compilation should be: it's not a look back at the past but a blueprint for the future, which isn't quite what listeners want or need from a best-of, but it's not bad for what it is.