The sameyness is still there, granted, but like [Neil] Young, his spiritual godfather, Mascis has a way of making his ramshackle melodies are downright endearing, and if you're a kindhearted soul, that'll allow you to forgive the half-assed stuff.

The allegories and metaphors of her previous work are replaced with direct, vulnerable lyrics, and the album's production polishes the songs instead of obscuring them in noise or studio tricks.

From that first play, it's evident that Furtado is indeed an audacious songwriter, not at all hesitant to bare her emotions, tackle winding melodies, and bend boundaries to the point that much of the record sounds like folk-pop tinged with bossa nova and backed by a production designed for TLC.

The level of punk fury and torrential modernization is high all throughout this record.... Undoubtedly, hardcore jungleists will scoff at such a high-profile, sometimes flashy presentation of drum'n'bass ethics, but this is an album full of such militant energy that it deserves to be seen as one of the strongest saving graces of jungle in years. Reprazent sounds like a band trying to make jungle's sonic equivalent to the mutinous Xtrmntr.

Caught somewhere between the breezy, intricate Sea and Cake and the well-mannered orchestration of Rachel's, the band fills a space that is often vied for, yet not usually attained.

If it was Gedge's intent to win back some of the Wedding Present fans who found Va Va Voom to be too much of a departure, Disco Volante could succeed in that regard. With Weddoes guitarist Simon Cleave now a full-fledged member, there's some of the trademark late '80s/early '90s roar apparent in the likes of "146 Degrees" and "Your Charms"; but whether or not that and crisp drums fit snugly alongside French horn and accordion is debatable.

As this 15-song collection bounces between covers and tuneful originals slightly less memorable than their big hits, it occurs to you that this must be how Hootie & the Blowfish sounded in the Southern college bars before they recorded Cracked Rear View. They're amiable, good-humored, earnest, and as likeable as the local band that also played "Driver 8" every Saturday night.

Beneath the Velvet Sun is the uneven work of a talented artist who doesn't seem to trust the idiosyncratic approach that brought him to national attention enough to really let himself go. You can hardly blame him for trying to play it safe, given his one-hit wonder status, but the album's very bow to commercialism may keep it from being the hit it might have been.

Like his two previous studio albums, Solitary Man is sparsely produced by Rick Rubin, and continues the themes of love, faith, and loneliness that their previous collaborations have chillingly embraced.

More complex and idiosyncratic than his previous full-length works (and much less danceable as a consequence), Unreasonable Behaviour focuses on midtempo jams in the verge between evocative techno, electro-jazz, and even melancholy synth-pop. If 1997's 30 was his Chicago album, this one is definitely the Detroit installment...

Whenever Everlast lays back and spins stories and tall tales on his own, his blend of folk, rock, blues, rap, and pop culture clicks.

If the band supported his sheets of noise, terrifying guitars, monstrous rhythms, or even a hook every now and then, Durst's narcissism may have been palatable, but the group pretty much churns out the same colorless heavy plod for each song.

Funky is the surprising quality of this work, which is why the album stands out among the group's past efforts.

With their second album Vapor Transmission, they return to deliver another set of electronic-laden rockers, but this time out they do so with slicker production and improved songwriting.

Hotline holds together remarkably well as an album, due to good track selection and intelligent segueing; in fact, some of the songs actually run together quite smoothly, with no break between songs. Rarely does a rock band forge such a strong identity so early in their career.

The musical redefinitions taken on by the Cherry Poppin' Daddies seemed to be creatively suiting and for the listeners who take time to believe in it Soul Caddy will be impressively surprising.

Bette is a tasteful album that showcases Midler's expressive singing but avoids her excesses.

Besides the limitless charisma that seeps out of Mystikal's loud, rude rapping-meets-shouting-style of vocal delivery, the album also benefits from the production and songwriting variety that No Limit was never able to accomplish...

On the surface, there's not much different between this album and its predecessor, but the songs are stronger, sharper, and the performances are lean, muscular, and immediate.

This might not necessarily qualify as an archival record filled with unexpected revelations, but it is filled with wonderful music that deepens appreciation of Bowie's first great blast of creativity. Needless to say, any true fan needs it in their collection...

Despite another notable drop in songwriting from its predecessor, Sing When You're Winning ultimately succeeds, and most of the credit must go to Robbie Williams himself. Amidst a raft of overly familiar arrangements and lyrical themes, Williams proves the consummate entertainer by delivering powerful, engaging vocals...

Despite all attempts to sabotage his songwriting and production with innumerable experimental tidbits, songs within a song, and (seemingly) tossed-off arrangements, Damon Gough has to face the fact that He wrote and produced over a dozen excellent songs of baroque folk-pop for his album debut, and the many gems can't help but shine through all the self-indulgence.

With Rule 3:36, Ja Rule takes a step forward from his impressive debut album, spending less time trying to act hard, and focusing more effort on crafting a diverse album.

Kid A is easily the most successful electronica album from a rock band -- so much so that it doesn't sound like the work of a rock band, even if it does sound like Radiohead.... Despite its admirable ambition -- ambition that is all the more impressive in 2000, the year when most bands simply stopped trying -- Kid A never is as visionary or stunning as OK Computer, nor does it really repay the intensive time it demands in order for it to sink in.

Warning may not be an innovative record, per se -- it's a pop album through and through -- but it's tremendously satisfying, finding the band at a peak of songcraft and performance. There hasn't been a better pure pop album since Supergrass' In It for the Money, another record by a young band that did it all and did it without a trace of self-consciousness.

Quite possibly the finest of the group' s five albums to date.... A sophisticated pop pleasure from start to finish, Oui is the aural equivalent of a perpetual Indian summer.

With You're the One, Paul Simon is back on track, writing and recording timeless music that keeps him on par with Neil Young and David Bowie, but in his comforting familiar way.

Unless you are a huge Timo Maas fan, it will probably be more Maas than you can handle.