Del Amitri – Hatful Of Rain... The Best of Del Amitri (A&M) Del Amitri's single from about two years ago, "Not Where It's At" was about a guy who had fallen for a woman who was a total scenester, but she rejected him because he just wasn't cool enough for her. Ironically, that also pretty much nails Del Amitri's place in the music world. They are strong, they are sturdy, they can put together a heck of a pop riff, but the Scottish foursome will never be considered hip. This

Brian Wilson – Imagination Brian Wilson – Imagination (Giant) It's kind of sad that after decades of being an acknowledged pop musical...

Natalie Merchant – Ophelia (Elektra) Inside the slip case of Natalie Merchant's second post-10,000 Maniacs outing, she poses in a series of retro-looking glamour shots in which she is playing a different character. We get Natalie as glamourpuss, librarian, gun moll, nun, circus girl, Olympic athlete and junkie. The obvious conceit of the packaging is that we are going to see all sorts of conflicting and surprising views of who and what Merchant is. Too bad the album itse

Garbage - Version 2.0 Garbage – Version 2.0 (Almo Sounds) The surprise success of Garbage's debut album took this band from being a vanity project for producer Bruce Vig and a bunch of studio boffins with a hot British bird fronting into an actual working rock band. This new sense of permanence works in this follow-up's favor, giving a sense of cohesion and purpose. The greatest strength of Version 2.0 is Shirley Manson's flowering into one of the strongest frontwomen

Vonda Shepard - Songs From Ally McBeal Vonda Shepard – Songs From Ally McBeal (550 Music Soundtrax) Shepard is a L.A. cult singer...

The Rolling Stones – Bridges To Babylon The Rolling Stones – Bridges To Babylon (Virgin) The world's oldest rock group still has some tricks up their sleeve. While Bridges To Babylon lands pretty low in the group's body of work compared to Let It Bleed and Exile On Main Street , it does rate a lot of the cheap thrills of the band's best work. Mick still prances around like a deranged peacock, and Keith, while a little subdued, is still one of the best guitarists in

Duran Duran - Medazzaland Duran Duran - Medazzaland (Capitol) Duran Duran's career has been up and down so many times that you think it...

Todd Rundgren - The Very Best Of Todd Rundgren Todd Rundgren - The Very Best Of Todd Rundgren (Rhino) It's a little easy to forget now...

Sarah McLachlan - Surfacing (Arista) With the popularity of this summer's Lilith Fair and the release of this album, Sarah McLachlan...

10,000 Maniacs – Love Among The Ruins 10,000 Maniacs – Love Among The Ruins (Geffen) It is pretty much universally agreed that Natalie...

k.d. lang - Drag k.d. lang - Drag (Warner Bros.) k.d. lang's new all-covers album springs from an admittedly slightly obscure premise –...

Hanson - Middle of Nowhere Hanson – Middle Of Nowhere (Mercury) There is a long history of bubblegum pop groups made up of young...

Styx - Return To Paradise (CMC International) It's been at least a decade since I've spent a thought on Styx, THE arena rock group of...

Matthew Sweet - Blue Sky on Mars Matthew Sweet - Blue Sky On Mars (Zoo) For Matthew Sweet's latest album, he has pretty much gone the...

U2 – Pop U2 – Pop (Island) Now three albums into their flirtation with techno, U2 have finally figured out how to make a consistently listenable album out of it. As signified by the album title, the band wants to wallow in the kitsch of modern life. Pop gets off to a bit of a rocky start with the clanky swirling Zooropian single "Discotheque," but things soon get back onto course. The techno aspects of the band's new map click into place with the haunting "Do You Feel Love

Sarah McLachlan - Rarities, B-Sides & Other Stuff (Nettwerk) While McLachlan's fans await a follow up to her 1993 breakthrough ...

Susanna Hoffs - Susanna Hoffs (London) It's hard to believe it has been six years since the breakup of the Bangles, the pop girl group...

The Best of Van Halen - Volume I Van Halen – The Best Of Van Halen Part I (Warner Brothers) Fact: Van Halen were the best hard rock band of the late seventies and early eighties. Fact: Van Halen has sucked since 1985. It's not a coincidence, 1985 was the year that leader David Lee Roth, metal's sleaziest (in a good way) and funniest front man, was either fired or quit, depending on whose story you buy. (In all fairness, Roth's solo career has pretty much bit, too...)

Marshall Crenshaw – Miracle of Science Marshall Crenshaw – Miracle of Science (Razor & Tie) In the five years since Crenshaw's last...

Dogstar - Our Little Visionary (Zoo) Okay, even though as bassist he's really the least important cog in this machine, let's face it,...