By Steve Jones

Greatest-hits packages by nature are built on an artist's best work. But they often do little more than collect the star's top-charting hits and throw in a few unreleased tracks as filler.

The 36-track Whitney: The Greatest Hits ( * * * * out of four) puts its subject in context by smartly arranging the material so it's easy to follow Whitney Houston's 15-year progression from ingenue to mature singer. The set is divided into two discs, the first cataloging her hit ballads in their original forms. The second disc acknowledges her impact on the club scene with dance remixes of 14 songs. There also are a few hard-to-find bonus numbers, such as her Star-Spangled Banner at the 1991 Super Bowl, a 1986 duet with Jermaine Jackson and the theme to the 1988 Olympics, One Moment in Time.

The set does its job well, encapsulating a career that's still a work in progress, as evidenced by new duets with Q-Tip (produced by Raphael Saddiq), Enrique Iglesias (David Foster) and George Michael (Rodney Jerkins).

Most telling is Same Script, Different Cast, on which Houston trades lines with vocal powerhouse Deborah Cox. There was a time when Houston was the diva-on-the-rise taking on established stars. But the track is a reminder that a generation of "Next Whitneys" has come up since You Give Good Love in 1985. Meanwhile, the original Whitney -- whose tabloid troubles have often gotten as much attention as her music -- has grown edgier but still seems to have more love to give.