The Essential Series are one- or two-disc compilations of an artist's extensive catalog.

On occasion, certain albums in this series would include a limited edition third disc (labeled Essential 3.0), or be revised to include an artist's newer work (for example The Essential Bob Dylan).

Launched in 2009, Playlist is a series of single-disc[1] compilation albums based on artists' best studio work during their time on one of the Sony labels (for example, the Van Morrison Playlist only contains tracks from the BANG Records sessions), serving as a successor to the previous Super Hits series and a less expensive alternative to the Essential series.

A spinoff series, Setlist, features compilations of artists' live performances.

The first several albums came in a special eco-packet and to save paper, a PDF file was included on the disc, containing photographs, credits and liner notes.