Protest as she may – and she does, claiming in the liner notes that #1's is "not a greatest hits album! It's too soon, I haven't been recording long enough for that!" – it's hard to view #1's, Mariah Carey's first compilation, as anything other than a greatest-hits album. Carey was fortunate enough to have nearly every single she released top the pop charts. Between 1990's "Vision of Love" and 1998's "My All," all but four commercially released singles ("Anytime You Need a Friend," "Can't Let Go," "Make It Happen," "Without You") hit number one, with only a handful of radio-only singles ("Butterfly," "Breakdown") making the airwaves, not the charts.

Live in USA 1993. Partially unofficial edition. This release is an Australia press CD with Japan packaging. The obi-strip (when intact with the CD) says "Live World", the front cover says "Without You" and the disc is labeled as "Emotions". Tracks 11 and 12 are listed as bonus tracks.

Merry Christmas was released in 1994, and 16 years later Mariah Carey delivers a sequel, appropriately titled Merry Christmas II You and also featuring the diva in a sexy little Santa suit. The similarities don’t end there, either: Mariah revives her original seasonal tune “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and often touches upon the classy, clean updated traditional vibe of her readings from the 1994 set. Underneath this surface, Merry Christmas II You has a different vibe than its predecessor, derived in large part from the numerous originals here.

Merry Christmas is the first Christmas album, and the fourth studio album, by American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey. Released by Columbia Records on November 1, 1994, the album features cover versions of popular Christmas tunes and original material. Merry Christmas has sold 15 million copies worldwide and is the best-selling Christmas album of all time.

Mariah Carey claims Rainbow, her first album since divorcing Tommy Mottola, "chronicles my emotional roller coaster ride of the past year," but less subjective listeners could be forgiven for viewing it as simply another Mariah Carey album. After all, all the elements are in place – the crossover dance hits, the ballads, the cameos, the hip producers, the weird cover choice from the early '80s. But dig a little deeper, and her words ring true. Rainbow is the first Carey album where she's written personal lyrics, and allusions to her separation from Mottola are evident throughout the album, even if it doesn't really amount to the "story" she mentions in the liner notes.

A strong follow-up to Mariah Carey's self-titled debut album, Emotions puts to rest any concern of a "sophomore slump." The same mix of dance/R&B/ballads that gave Carey's debut such tremendous auditory appeal can be found with equal strength on this release, indicating that placing firm belief in the notion of "Why fool with success?" may, in fact, have its merits. Most notably, the gospel influences of "If It's Over" (with music co-written by Carole King), the yearning cries for a lost love in "Can't Let Go," and the catchy, upbeat title track all serve to send the listener on a musical journey filled with varying emotions. However, the one emotion that prevails upon completion of the album is definitely a positive one: satisfaction.

Rainbow is the seventh studio album by American R&B singer Mariah Carey, originally released on November 2, 1999, via Columbia Records. On June 12, 2024, Carey confirmed a 25th anniversary edition of the album would be released on June 14, 2024. The anniversary edition features several bonus tracks not included on the original album, as well as a new recording for the album, titled “Rainbow’s End.”

Glitter is the soundtrack album from the film of the same name, and the eighth studio album by American singer Mariah Carey. It was released on September 11, 2001, by Virgin Records America. The album was a complete musical departure from any of Carey's previous releases, focusing heavily on recreating a 1980s disco era to accompany the film, set in 1983. By covering or heavily sampling several older tunes and songs, Carey created Glitter as an album that would help viewers connect with the film, as well as incorporating newly written ballads. The singer collaborated with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and DJ Clue, who co-produced the album.

This extremely impressive debut is replete with smooth-sounding ballads and uplifting dance/R&B cuts. Carey convincingly seizes many opportunities to display her incredible vocal range on such memorable tracks as the popular "Vision of Love" (featured during her television debut on The Arsenio Hall Show, an appearance noted by many as her formal introduction to stardom), the energetic "Someday," and the moody sounds of the hidden treasure "Vanishing." With this collection of songs acting as a springboard for future successes, Carey establishes a strong standard of comparison for other breakthrough artists of this genre.

The titular "Mimi" of The Emancipation of Mimi is, by all accounts, an alter ego of Mariah, a persona that captures Carey's true feelings and emotions. In case you didn't know what "emancipation" means, Mariah helpfully provides a dictionary definition of the word in the opening pages of the liner notes for her eighth proper album: it means "to free from restraint, control, oppression, or the power of another" or "to free from any controlling influence" or "to free somebody from restrictions or conventions." So, on The Emancipation of Mimi, Mariah frees herself from the constraints of being herself, revealing herself to be – well, somebody that looks startlingly like Beyoncé, if the cover art is any indication.

Mariah Carey's first proper album since 2009 is a couple covers away from being as nostalgic as the Glitter soundtrack. Its title – well, the part that precedes the ellipses – is taken from a self-portrait, reproduced on the back, drawn at the age of three and a half. "I'll just sit right here and sing that good old school shit to ya," she sings on "Dedicated," a song seasoned with a Wu-Tang sample, a Nas throwback verse, and reminiscent chatter. Like many other songs on the album, flashbacks are laced through the music as well as in the lyrics, with Carey reflecting upon happier moments in a relationship while either pining or scolding.