The Gorillaz claim to have found their motley crew of cartoon characters sleeping in Leicester Square but Blur's Damon Albarn (aka 2-D) and cult cartoonist Jamie Hewlett (Murdoc) are not fooling anyone. As the ultimate experiment in manufactured image, the Gorillaz are a virtual, cartoon-character-based hip-hop band which bring together some of the wittiest, silliest lyrics and the most seriously talented musicians. Infectious old school hip-hop rhythms, rhymes and effects courtesy of Deltron 3030's Kid Koala and Del Tha Funkee Homosapien (Russel) are combined with Albarn's passion for chugging lo-fi and edgy melodies to create a seemingly raw but ultimately slick blend of styles which is all their own. This is nowhere more evident than on hit single "Clint Eastwood", which is carried along by the sound of 2-D's slurred voice and a bluesy harmonica melody interrupted by Russel's punching rhymes. But the surprises do not stop there: Ibrahim Ferrer's appearance on "Latin Simone" could have come straight from Buena Vista Social Club but for the obvious Blur-influenced piano style, while the spooky intro to "M1 A1" wouldn't sound out of place on Michael Jackson's Thriller. Backed up by Jamie Hewlett's death-wish character on bass, Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori (Noodle) on guitar and occasional hyperactive vocals and produced by Dan "The Automator" Nakamura, it's hardly surprising that Gorillaz is marked both by a sense of playfulness and a passion for experimentation. -Caroline Butler.

The Roy Orbison drama, the Wall of Sound and the soul energy of Born to Run are still present here but there's a darkness now, too, and it's more than around the edges. The stories have more at risk, for one thing, a definite sense of the pain that can accompany the hardest choices. These real-world consequences are felt most strikingly in Bruce Springsteen's newly prominent guitar-his solos are ugly and twisted but he sounds all the stronger for it. Recorded for everyone who has "a notion. it ain't no sin to be glad you're alive", Darkness on the Edge of Town might just be Springsteen's greatest achievement. -David Cantwell.

Torrential creativity has fast-forwarded the artistic evolution of former Whiskeytown frontman Ryam Adams from country-rock boy wonder to despondent troubadour with a 1960s fixation (his solo debut Heartbreaker), but it may also explain why listeners often need to wade through some pedestrian material just to find a few pearls of poetic excellence. Gold is no exception to that trend, a sometimes engaging middle-of-the-road roots-pop album that's both overlong (70 minutes) and at times overindulgent. There are high spots-such as the bouncy, breezy opener "New York, New York" and the plaintive ballad "When the Stars Go Blue" (which features a vocal turn reminiscent of Morrissey)-but much of the disc gets lost in forests of indistinct guitars and plodding percussion that never nudges Adams into actually rocking. Gold is the work of a notoriously prolific songwriter who hasn't yet learned to play to his strengths, one whose execution doesn't yet match his vision. -Anders Smith Lindall.

Punk had flirted with mainstream attention before-the Clash and Sex Pistols had hits-but didn't fully advance from the underground until this pure-punk 1994 album. In singing catchy, tight rock & roll tunes-including "Longview", "Welcome to Paradise" and "When I Come Around"-Green Day sneered its way into the hearts of millions. The Berkeley, California, trio also ignited a debate: Is it selling out for punks to sign with a major record label and become multi-platinum stars? Fortunately, this band didn't seem to care as much as Kurt Cobain did. -Steve Knopper.

As much as any record, CSN's 1969 debut ushered in the early 1970s singer-songwriter boom. Yes, this was a group but it was one made up of three equal composer/vocalists, each with a heady resume-Crosby an ex-Byrd, Stills in Buffalo Springfield, and Nash a former member of the Hollies. Each supplied distinctive material and contributed to CSN's trademark harmonies. The addition of Neil Young made the supergroup an edgier outfit. There's a purity to the original trio recording, however, that would never be recaptured. -Steven Stolder.

Legacy is just about the right title for this album. Boyz II Men were the original, modern-day boy band who formed the mould for groups such as Take That and the Backstreet Boys to be cast from. Heavily influenced by Doo Wop groups such as the Platters and the Dells and developed by ex-New Edition and BellBivDevoe member Michael Bivins, Boyz II Men quickly rose to heavyweight status after the foursome's 1991 debut Cooleyhighharmony. Their success is based on romantic ballads and strong vocals, the type of which groups such as Another Level could only dream of. However they've lacked the charisma and looks to really impact upon the world, being perhaps the only group that could be described as "quietly" selling an incredible 35 million records. This collection of their best moments concentrates on their strengths as crooning Cupids, best exemplified by their massive hit and classic ballad "End of the Road" (taken from the Boomerang soundtrack). "Hey Lover" featuring LL Cool J is as energetic as the album gets and Legacy is unashamedly assembled for lovers of slow, romantic bedroom soul. But a lot of Boyz II Men's work hasn't aged too well. "I'll Make Love To You", a one time smash, sounds tinny and tacky and "On Bended Knee" is gut wrenchingly saccharine in a way today's R&B artists just wouldn't even try on. This Greatest Hits album effectively closes a chapter of Boyz II Men's history. [+]

In 1998, Gomez burst onto the music scene from out of nowhere and picked up the prestigious Mercury Music prize for their debut album, Bring It On. Hailing from Liverpool, this five-piece band of gawky youths seem to be the very antithesis of traditional rock stars, but their appearance and heritage belie their rich and rootsy sound: their combination of Ben Ottewell's gravely voice and slide guitar conjure up images of the American South, especially on singles "Whippin' Piccadilly" and "Get Myself Arrested". Combining a soul sensitivity with a pop sensibility, Gomez constructed one of the most stunning debuts of the 1990's. -Carina Trimingham.

The buzz for Nelly Furtado's Loose began before the music was even recorded, with the announcement that legendary hip-hop knob-twirler Timbaland (Missy Elliott, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake) would act as co-producer. The question on fans' minds: what would it sound like when a hip-hop kingpin collaborated with an artist who culls inspiration not just from pop music, but also her own Portuguese roots? As it turns out, Loose incorporates a number of different styles along its journey, but is-surprisingly-primarily divided between '80s-influenced electronica and latin-infused pop. This disc is very different from Furtado's previous CDs, a fact immediately evident from track one, the new wave-affected "Afraid. " A strong opener, the song is the beginning of a 1-2-3 punch of uptempo, infectious dance floor beats. The second cut, "Maneater," also proves to be incredibly catchy, but the verses and keyboard sound too much like they were plucked from electroclash artist Peaches' tree, and originality is lost. The perfect summer pop song follows, the massive hit "Promiscuous," which features clever interplay between Furtado and Timbaland on their sassy duet. From that point, Loose oscillates between the Miami-affected sounds of R&B, Latino pop, and reggaeton ("Showtime," "Te Busque," and "No Hay Igual" respectively) and the aforementioned '80s vibe ("Glow," "Do It"). Fans will hear Furtado at her vocal best on "Say It Right" and "In God's Hands"-two of the most lyrically compelling tracks on the disc. -Denise Sheppard.

At a certain point, bad taste and bombast becomes so excessive and so grandiose that they're no longer an easily dismissed irritation but an astonishing monument to the warped imagination. Such a monument is Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell II: Back Into Hell, the long-delayed sequel to 1977's Bat Out of Hell. Once again songwriter/producer Jim Steinman has isolated high-school parking-lot aphorisms and inflated them to Wagner-on-Broadway proportions, casting Mr. Loaf as a heavy-metal Ezio Pinza. Typical of the album's strategy is its big hit single, "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)". Steinman piles on the guitars, drums, synthesizers, and choral voices as if he were Phil Spector producing Kiss playing the Who songbook. The rest of the album tackles the themes of teenage lust, frustration, and rock & roll fantasies in similar fashion. It's somehow beside the point to complain about the puerile lyrics, the leaden rhythms, the derivative melodies, the histrionic vocals, or the overblown arrangements. Steinman knows how to push his audience's buttons, and with Meat Loaf's help, he hits those buttons with a sledgehammer. -Geoffrey Himes At a certain point, bad taste and bombast becomes so excessive and so grandiose that they're no longer an easily dismissed irritation but an astonishing monument to the warped imagination. [+]

Banged out in a hurry for the 1964 Christmas market, Beatles for Sale sometimes sounds it, loaded with ill-conceived covers and some of John Lennon's most self-loathing lyrics. On the other hand, the people doing the banging-out were the Beatles, whose instincts for what worked musically were so strong that they could basically do no wrong-any record that has "Baby's in Black", "I Don't Want to Spoil the Party" and the delectable "Eight Days a Week" on it is only "minor" in the most relative sense. And, though their voices had been frazzled a bit by constant touring, they revved them up for some joyous shouting, and indulged their fondness for American country in subtle, playful ways. -Douglas Wolk.

With valuable assistance from producer Rick Rubin, the Peppers find just the right blend of punk, funk, and hip-hop. Even with a running time of 74 minutes, this 1991 breakthrough has continuity and cohesion both within and across the 17 cuts. Riding Flea's surging bass, Anthony Kiedis delivers his explicit lyrics with a rapper's flair, extolling the virtues (and outlining the dangers) of sex and drugs. Plaintive ballads such as "Breaking the Girl", "I Could Have Lied", and the hit "Under the Bridge" give the album depth and provide contrast to the raw energy of "Mellowship Slinky in B Major", "Funky Monks", and "Give It Away". Rubin masterfully fuses John Frusciante's raunchy guitar with the irresistible grooves. -Marc Greilsamer.

Cat Stevens tends to be lumped in with the early-1970s singer/songwriter school led by James Taylor and Carole King but he actually fits in rather neatly with such wistful contemporaries as Nick Drake, Syd Barrett and Donovan. Tea for the Tillerman's "Wild World", "Into White" and "Longer Boats" indicate that he may have been a more gifted tunesmith than the lot of them. As with the best of the Brit folk-rockers, Stevens mixed melancholy with whimsy. Yes, he was prone to airy platitudes but when he harnessed his eccentricities, as he did throughout this 1970's masterwork, you had something truly distinctive. Stevens' greatest drawback was that he was a natural cult artist, à la Tim Buckley and Leonard Cohen. But that's a tough role to play when you're selling 25 million records, as Stevens did before he changed his name to Yusef Islam, established an Islamic school, and raised a ruckus by supporting Ayatollah Khomeini's death decree against author Salman Rushdie. -Steven Stolder.

Joni Mitchell's third album offers a bridge between the artful but sometimes dour meditations of her earlier work and the more mature, confessional revelations of the classics that would follow. Voice and guitar still hew to the pretty filigree of a folk poet, but there's the giggling rush of rock & roll freedom in "Big Yellow Taxi", and the formal metaphor of her older songs ("The Circle Game", already oft-covered by the time of this recording) yields to the more impressionistic images of the new ones ("Woodstock"). The dark lyricism of her earliest ballads is intact (on "For Free" and "Rainy Night House"), yet there's a prevailing idealism here that sounds poignant alongside the warier, more mature songs to come on Blue and Court And Spark. -Sam Sutherland.

With a touch of Robyn Hitchcock in his vocal timbre, a smidgen of Steve Earle in his narratives and instrumental writing and a heap of Gram Parsons in the fullness of his overall sound and structure, Ryan Adams steps well above Whiskeytown with Heartbreaker, his solo debut. By turns raucous, wistful, raspy and simply sweet, Adams makes the most of a top-shelf acoustic band, including Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and even a guest spot from Emmylou Harris on the tenderly yearning "Oh My Sweet Caroline". There is little dependence on the usual alt-country twang and a far more rounded sense of textures here (the multiple vocal tracks on "Amy", for example, sound Beatles-esque), with glockenspiel, organ and more signalling a sonic field of extensive depth. His spare guitar and stretched-thin vocal delivery alternate smartly with a bigger-shouldered guitar and throaty voice, never leaving behind a band conception straight out of Parsons's oeuvre. Adams signals occupancy of the post-alt country vanguard-if there is such a thing. -Andy Bartlett.