After all that, 1991's Waking Up the Neighbours was Adams' biggest success, largely on the basis of the single (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, a tune written for the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, which hit No. 1 in 30 countries.

This success was followed up by two other worldwide chart-toppers from movies, All for Love from The Three Musketeers and Have You Every Really Loved a Woman, from the Don Juan DeMarco soundtrack.

1996's 18 Til I Die unveiled a slick new look for Bryan and yielded hits in the title cut and The Only Thing That Looks Good on Me is You. In 1998, he released On a Day Like Today, which became a hit on the basis of the songs When You're Gone, a duet with Mel C. of Spice Girls fame, and Cloud Number Nine.

Last year saw the release of The Best of Me, Adams' second greatest hits package, and this year sees him welcoming a new century with a six-month world tour.

Five of these 15 hits were also included on Adams' previous best-of, 1993's So Far So Good, and his much-loved but hard-to-find Diana continues to be overlooked. Those quibbles aside, The Best of Me shows Adams' talent for penning naggingly catchy guitar pop-rock didn't diminish during the schizophrenic 1990s, even as the erstwhile T-shirt-clad boy-next-door moved into his Gucci and mascara years. Only the hipper-than-thou set couldn't appreciate the breezy, singalong fun of Back to You and When You're Gone; his soundtracks ballads (Please Forgive Me, All For Love, Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman, Everything I Do I Do It For You) have their supporters too, particularly those with a high tolerance for treacle.

next pageclick for the track list of "The Best of Me".