Nina Simone Anthology (2003)

These 31 tracks from six labels begin with Simone's 1959 hit (Gershwin's ''I Loves You Porgy'') and end with 1993's return-from-exile ''A Single Woman.'' The singer and pianist's unclassifiable allure is evidenced by 1957's definitively swinging ''My Baby Just Cares for Me''; 1964's politically charged ''Mississippi Goddam''; a gut-wrenching ''Strange Fruit'' (1965); and a tender 1971 take on George Harrison's ''Here Comes the Sun.'' Even the final cut's schmaltzy strings can't dim Simone's star.