Since nobody really remembers more than "Sugar, Sugar" from the Archies, it could be said that Varese's 16-track collection, Absolutely the Best, is more than most will need to hear from the Archies, but the fact of the matter is, if you're even considering purchasing an Archies collection, you'll be happy that there's this much material here. Furthermore, a lot of this is pretty damn good bubblegum, since much of it is written by Jeff Barry and Andy Kim, so it's well-crafted -- and what isn't well-crafted is at least enjoyably dated. True, you have to be well into bubblegum to enjoy this -- and, even then, there aren't any lost treasures -- but if you are, this is a fun spin.