Rotten Apples: Greatest Hits, released in November 2001, is The Smashing Pumpkins’ first official retrospective, assembling a broad cross-section of their most defining singles, B-sides, and rarities from 1991 through 2000. Alongside fan favorites like “Cherub Rock,” “Disarm,” “1979,” and “Tonight, Tonight,” the compilation includes the final band recording, “Untitled,” and the cleaner version of “Real Love” from Machina II. The curated selection emphasizes consistency, offering both hits and deeper cuts that reveal the evolving textures, ambitions, and contradictions of Billy Corgan’s vision. The inclusion of a second disc (Judas O) of rarities and outtakes further expands the narrative, illustrating the band’s propensity for reinvention and experimentation.

While no greatest hits collection can entirely encapsulate a band’s full range, Rotten Apples is widely considered one of the more coherent and well-conceived anthologies in alt-rock. Its sequencing creates surprising momentum and emotional arc, allowing the familiar singles to breathe anew in context. Critics have noted that it defies some of the usual clichés of “best of” albums by embracing idiosyncrasy and purposeful editing. For longtime fans and newcomers alike, it remains a compelling entry point—a vantage from which listeners can trace the through-lines, tensions, and high points of The Smashing Pumpkins’ legacy.