No Doubt does play its own instruments, placing the group a cut above the current glut of acts that concentrate more on choreography than musicianship. But try as it might to mask itself in pink hair and fast-paced arrangements, No Doubt is as close to being alternative as the members of 'NSync are to being musicians.

Callahan has a gift for expressing complex human issues -- death, depression, retribution, separation -- through uncomplicated language.

Vintage Reed?

Though the first two songs, "Now" and "Rabble Rouser," sound like vintage KMFDM, the rest of the album finds the group being more of a rock band with industrial leanings than an industrial band with rock leanings.

Of her three post-"comeback" albums, it is the closest in spirit to her '70s work. And not coincidentally, it may be her best.

The Covers Record is for the daring music fan; Marshall's quiet journey and its rich, emotional rewards are not for the faint of heart.

Beautifully constructed pop songs, reminiscent at times of the Go Betweens, the Red House Painters, and even Brian Wilson in his more ambient mode. Broken by Whispers is a quiet album, then, but its intelligence, taste, and daring vulnerability hit hard -- whispers with all the impact of screams.

Air's score darkens their brand of soft, introspective melodies with wavering pianos, funereal organs, and disembodied synth loops, and the resulting soundscapes often have a spacey, Pink Floyd-ish quality.

The record does go on a bit long, flagging at the end. But there are enough wonderful songs on this disc to knock at least a couple of boy bands off the radio.

Becker and Fagen seem to have found their happy place during the recording of Two Against Nature. And as it's presented on this extremely infectious collection, their joy is contagious.

Walking a thin line in a stylistic minefield, Orbit has successfully reached his goal. Classical purists may be appalled by the concept, but even they may have to admit that he's done a better job than anybody could have expected.

The arbiters of mellow have turned the fully realized indie pop of their last and most accessible effort, I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One, inside out, exposing a softer, fleshy side that's more akin to some of their earlier outings.

Bloodflowers is a marvel. It has something to say, and it delivers that message with passion.

Piled high with elegant strings, horns, and vibraphone, these 10 tracks mark a new sophistication for this talented group.

Morphine's most ambitious and accomplished work.

Neither as sonically striking or politically conscious as Cornershop's well-received 1997 release, When I Was Born for the Seventh Time, Disco and the Halfway to Discontent is definitely the type of album a band can make when success provides an opportunity to experiment.

Rarely does a relative unknown come across with an album as fiercely confident and fully formed as this.

Unlike Odelay, the mix-and-match pastiche of Midnite Vultures doesn't show its seams.

Brion girds Apple's elastic melodies with off-kilter beats, giving her music a more rhythmic feel than it has previously had, while the singer herself runs the spectrum of grim emotions.

So … How's your Girl is more an experiment in possibility than a cohesive album -- hip-hop rubs up against various other forms of digital noise, and the frictional frisson is both pleasant and surprising. Luckily, Handsome Boy Modeling School has lessons well worth learning.

The Contino Sessions is one of the more interesting, well-crafted albums of late 1999. Death in Vegas partners Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes have packed as much interest and emotion into each of the album's relatively short 48 minutes as they possibly could.

Everything about Folk Implosion’s One Part Lullaby admits to coming-of-age. The Lou Barlow /John Davis indie side project has gone major label; its so "lo-fi" sound has turned lush, and the adenoidal adolescent complaints have, if not completely matured, at least become more accepting of life’s cycle.

The merely wonderful arrangements pale next to the songs themselves.

Remedy is not only the best dance record of the year, but maybe one of the best ever.

The group's most gorgeously crafted album ever.

Although it may appear frantic, Play is an eclectic and coherent work where Moby accesses an array of sounds from his milieu of influences.

The best results are in the vein of Low-era Bowie. The duds turn up, surprisingly, in the area that Blur is strongest -- songwriting.

Central Reservation finds Orton's unique, husky voice glowing within her assured, slowly simmering tunes. With her voice, which aches and yearns, caressing the ears like a worn, wool mitten on a winter day, Orton beguiles as a '90s natural woman.