The Best of The Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed is a compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was released in October 1989 by Verve Records. The Best of The Velvet Underground concludes the mid-1980s re-issue series by Verve Records of their Velvet Underground material (the first three albums plus VU and Another View). The record tried to capitalise on the new public awareness of Lou Reed,[citation needed] who had issued his critically acclaimed comeback album New York the previous year. Accordingly, the record contains only songs written by Reed alone.