Frusciante channels his creative spirits through a homegrown hybrid of early '80s new wave and late '60s acid rock that sounds a lot better than it reads on paper.

The fact that "Complete B-Sides" rocks from start to finish speaks volumes about the Pixies' bizarre creative genius, and their focus on output rather than sales.

With the addition of trumpet, trombone, and alto sax to his quartet sound, however, Frisell is on the job with a jumbo-sized sonic palette. The results, tune by tune, are as eccentric as they are intriguing.

His third record with the Catholics, "Dog In The Sand," furthers the ex-Pixies frontman's recent explorations into bare-bones rock'n'roll.

As a singer, J.Lo sounds more confident, as she takes more chances with a voice that is technically limited but well-suited to the material she handles.

Unfortunately, for all the hype surrounding "Restless," Xzibit has lost some of the lyrical ferociousness that made his previous releases underground favorites.

A feisty set of primarily thrash-hop covers of socially and politically charged hip-hop, pop, rock, and punk jams.

"W" does have a few flaws, namely "Conditioner," which features Snoop Dogg and is the only track graced with Ol' Dirty's presence. Despite his trademark voice-cracking inflection, the Dirt Dog's verse sounds as if it was recorded over the phone, detracting from what could have been another Wu banger.

Beyond ballads, "Black & Blue" crackles with funk-inflected uptempo ditties that are notable for their rough edges.

On the 14-track "Mama's Gun," Badu mixes a little rock, some jazz, and a whole lot of soul.

In a live setting, Oasis are too often just another band churning out big, bad anthems for the masses.... it remains troubling that a band with so much quality material buried as b-sides or minor album cuts needs to resort to pointless, set-padding covers of Neil Young's "Hey Hey, My My," and the Beatles' "Helter Skelter."

The only disappointment is the one new song, "Music Is My Radar," a rather pallid foray into disco.

Enya keeps the comfort factor high with several compositions that are arguably descendants of her 1989 pop hit, "Orinoco Flow." She steps outside of that zone on the first single, "Only Time," an elegant effort that is wrapped in soothing harmonics fondly reminiscent of vintage Beach Boys tunes...

"Sound Loaded" shows Martin walking the tightrope between requisite familiarity and fresh musical ground with remarkable ease.

But as opposed to Blink, which powers straight ahead with scatological juvenility, the Offspring bridges punk with change-ups of metal and traditional rock and brings a more sarcastic wit to its observations of male teen angst.

The sterling set is signature Sade.

Manson proves again that he's one of the most skilled lyricists in rock today.

The Aluminum Group's "Pelo" features the lush production and silky arrangements one expects to find on a Tortoise record, plus a healthy dose of Stereolab-influenced vocal harmonies thrown in for good measure.

On "Plain Rap," the decidedly more mellow yet equally appealing follow-up to "Labcabincalifornia," the trio -- Slimkid, Imani, and Booty Brown -- continues to pave its own path.

Although "Parachutes" brings nothing new to the table, Coldplay seems talented enough to transcend this early identity crisis.

The set oozes with timely funk beats and the kind of well-crafted songs that No. 1 hits are made of.

Picking up the lyrical gauntlet thrown down by such neo-soul sistahs as Angie Stone, Jill Scott, and musical influence/labelmate Rachelle Ferrell, this Houston-bred singer/songwriter sparkles with colorfully imaged songs about love won, lost, and anticipated -- laid against an R&B backdrop rhythmically punctuated with hip-hop, Latin, pop, jazz, rock, and country.

Not to be outdone by the generation of singers he has influenced, he raises the bar with the 19-track set.

Fatboy Slim (aka electronica pioneer Norman Cook) succeeds at the daunting task of assembling material that smartly courts pop listeners, while simultaneously maintaining loyalty to the club underground that's nurtured his career.

"Sounds" sounds great, alternating between driving, percussive romps like "Love Caught Up To Me," "Free To Go," and "Dreams Of Clay" and moments of sheer country perfection in "Time Spent Missing You," "A Promise You Can't Keep," and the wonderfully hangdog Hank Williams knockoff "The Heartaches Are Free."

The chaotic electronic density of U2's last few efforts has been replaced by sticky, bite-size tunes -- sporting candy-sweet choruses that are often underlined by unabashed words of love.

Harvey's first five discs were startlingly complete conceptions. "Stories From The City" shows the same genius -- only in fits and starts.

As projects of this nature go, this is a remarkably cohesive, high-quality set. For the most part, the material is appealing, if not terribly memorable.