Staind released the compilation The Singles: 1996–2006 in the UK on November 13, 2006, with the U.S. release following the next day. Their first hits collection covered the stretch from the independent Tormented to Chapter V, while adding newly recorded acoustic performances to a catalog retrospective.
Those additions came from a September 2006 show at New York City's Hiro Ballroom, which was recorded and filmed for the project. “Everything Changes,” originally released on Chapter V, appeared in a live acoustic version alongside covers of Alice in Chains' “Nutshell,” Tool's “Sober” and Pink Floyd's “Comfortably Numb.” The four previously unreleased performances formed the closing section of the original 16-track CD. That gave listeners who already owned the studio albums a substantial block of different recordings.
The opening returned to the band's independent years. “Come Again” appeared as a remix of a song from Tormented, Staind's self-released 1996 debut. It placed their earliest material ahead of the better-known recordings from Dysfunction, including “Mudshovel” and “Home.” That distinction had already mattered to Aaron Lewis when the band named Chapter V. In a June 2005 band biography, he explained that listeners counting only the major-label records would find four albums. “So it will make people look for the fifth one,” he said. The compilation gave that earlier record a place at the front of the story.
“Outside” preserved another specific piece of Staind's history. The collection used the live performance featuring Fred Durst that had appeared on The Family Values Tour 1999. A studio recording subsequently appeared on Break the Cycle, but the earlier performance was the one selected here. The sequence therefore included live recordings from two different stages of the band's career: the period before their 2001 breakthrough album and the acoustic show recorded for this collection.
By the time Staind assembled the compilation, Break the Cycle, 14 Shades of Grey and Chapter V had each debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Songs such as “It's Been Awhile,” “So Far Away” and “Right Here” supplied the familiar radio milestones. Alongside them, the collection retained “Zoe Jane,” making room for material beyond the most obvious hits.
The selection also left gaps. “Fade” and “How About You” were absent from the original CD, despite having been released as singles. The title described the collection's focus without making it an exhaustive singles discography. Its combination of album tracks, alternate versions and covers made the particular recordings as important as the song names.
The accompanying DVD, Staind: The Videos, extended the project to the band's music videos. Released separately alongside the U.S. CD, it included acoustic live videos of “Sober” and “Everything Changes.” The New York show supplied four fresh recordings for the compilation and two live bonus videos for its companion release.
