Nas comes 16th in Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists's "Greatest Emcees of All-Time" so it's no surprise that his albums are always greeted with the maximum of fuss. Stillmatic should be no exception. Will it be as good as Illmatic, Nas' phenomenal debut-the album that announced a revolutionary literate rapping talent? Five albums down the line, he's survived the second album doldrums, a spat with a crucified Puffy and a battling Jay Z. The press will always crow that this isn't Illmatic but the fans know that Nas has lyrical skills that most MCs would cry blood for. Stillmatic is super-league hip-hop. No messing. just upper cut Muhammed Ali shaolin class with guests like Mary J Blige helping him bash all-comers. Nas ain't never gonna make another Illmatic so revel in his rhymes on "Every Ghetto" bop your head as the music weaves through freaky hypercharged funk on "Braveheart Party" warm, soul on "D. [+]

It takes guts, if not outright egomania, to abandon your given surname and adopt a loaded one like Legend, but the former John Stephens must have sensed that loftiness would one day be his calling card. Once Again, the follow-up to the Grammy-gobbling, platinum pile-on that was Get Lifted, surpasses expectations. Not that it bears much relation to its predecessor. Again again trots out a stable of talented, modern-minded producers-Raphael Saadiq, Legend comrade Kanye West and the unsinkable will. i. am-but it's nowhere near as self-conscious about embracing the old-school as the knowing, R&B edge-skimming Lifted. Don't expect a derivative mash of smudgy, nostalgia-filching sounds, though, because despite its retro leanings, what's in store somehow crackles with currency. Call it neo-retro if you must, but never call it unimaginative: first single "Save Room" coasts, drifts and floats along a ponderous path spiked by a cool keyboard-y crescendo; second single "Heaven" busts out a big, busy beat over a slow seduction; and a couple of selections-"Each Day Gets Better" and "PDA"-are so bright and twirly they seem custom-made for dizzy love scenes or jaunty, sunny-day skips through the park. Maybe the most unusual track is "Show Me," a rock song that pilfers elements of Hendrix and finds Legend climbing a few octaves to sound, weirdly, like Jeff Buckley, but it works: so slippery is its beat and so affecting are its hope-laced lyrics that, oddness aside, it's among the disc's best. Sandwiched as it is among 14 songs that all sound like future classics, that's saying something. [+]

Born Eithne Ni Bhraonain, this classically-trained pianist was kid sister in the musical family that became Clannad, joining the Irish band in 1979 but dropping out amicably three years later to pursue her own muse. This music, produced in the mid-'80s as the soundtrack to a BBC series, was released as her debut in 1987 and promptly ignored-yet its mix of atmospheric soundscapes and Enya's lush, layered vocals, sung in both English and Gaelic, is the template for her subsequent global hits, beginning with Watermark the following year. -Sam Sutherland.

Asian artist Sawhney has always dealt in musical fusions, and Prophesy, his fifth album, is his most ambitious yet. It became a worldwide odyssey, recording the words and beats of everyone from Nelson Mandela to a Chicago cab driver. He went to Madras to mix a 93-piece string section with Natacha Atlas' soaring vocals, did jam sessions in Soweto and rap-metal in LA, sampled Aboriginal dreamtime in Australia and came home to record the sumptuous harmonies of the London Community Gospel Choir. Despite the varied influences, this is not a global mish-mash-moving from the widescreen context of Sunset to the bitter trip-hop of Cold and Intimate, Sawhney has carved out a very personal, haunting and unified collection. -Lucy O'Brien.

Re-working a selection of tracks from both Dummy and the eponymous follow up, PNYC demonstrates how the recorded can translate equally well into the live, given a little inspiration and creativity. Drawing on full string and horn sections and turntablist intervention from Andy Smith, they explore live soundtrack angles, lacing the original versions with measures of Lalo Schifrin, Barry Mancini et al. Although some may be sceptical at the lack of new material, they shouldn't be put off. As the neo-classical sounds of "Glory Box", post rock of "Sour Times", brazen brass jazz of "All Mine" and theremin-led hip hop of "Mysterons" all comfortably cohabit the same place, managing to re-work and re-charm their way into your sub conscious. PNYC is a class delivery from Portishead, from the arrangement and production to the performance and orchestration. -Found Sounds.

There was much speculation that Showtime, the second LP from 2003 Mercury Music Prize winner Dizzee Rascal would see this UK Garage prodigy turn his back on the Hackney estates and tighten ties with the American hip-hop fraternity. Thankfully, this is a good a time as any to say 'You can take the boy out of Bow but you can't take the Bow out of the boy', for Showtimepresents a Dizzee bolder, brassier, but no less indebted to his grimy past. It's all here - lo-tech video game production ("Stand Up Tall"), bizarre threats of violence ("I'm 5'10", chocolate skin/ I'll punch you in your nostril, I'll punch you in your shin," goes "Everywhere"), and frequent flashes of lunatic humour that elevate Dizzee above his UK Garage peers: take "Dreams", which uses a sample of Captain Sensible's "Happy Talk" to bemusing and hilarious effect. Sober reflection remains part of the Rascal worldview, as on "Imagine" - a truly fragile wisp of synth and strings reminiscent of Aphex Twin's ambient moments. But balance is crucial, and that comes with stone-cold playa anthem 'Girls', performed alongside curiously high-pitched Dizzee affiliate Marga Man: "So much gash, no time to rest" -Louis Pattison.

The multi-instrumentalist funk supremo that is Will Holland returns with a second recording from his full band, The Quantic Soul Orchestra. QSO have bedded in their sound through a series of barnstorming live appearances over the last couple of years, and Pushin' On sees them at the very top of their game. It's hard not to be effusive about an album as good as this, which sees Holland's remarkable song-writing and feel for the genre reflected in a satisfyingly gritty, low-fi seventies funk sound. There are no album tracks on here-every one's a winner-but special mention should go to the blistering cover of Mr Scruff's dancefloor banger, "Get A Move On" and to the incomparable Alice Russell: it takes some guts for a female vocalist to cover a timeless Nina Simone song like "Feeling Good", but the Brighton diva succeeds in spades, breathing new life into a much-loved classic. Between his Quantic, Quantic Soul Orchestra and Limp Twins projects, Will Holland has proved to be an extremely gifted and prolific musician and tunesmith, and this is his best work to date. More importantly, he's funkier than George Clinton's platforms: sitting still through this album is not a viable option. -Duncan Thomson.

An indispensable and definitive collection 2Pac-Greatest Hits showcases the passionate genius of the late rapper. The album's non-chronological sequence highlights the contradictory impulses that made Tupac's music so commanding. The 21 well-loved "hits" some slightly re-edited for legal reasons, are accompanied by four previously unheard songs. Of the new material, the raw-sounding "God Bless the Dead" has been the subject of the most speculation, owing to its subject matter: a eulogising of the late Notorious B. I. G. -a mysterious feat, since Tupac was killed six months before Biggie. And, making its first proper appearance on a Tupac album, the B-side "Hit 'Em Up" stands as the most intense outburst of pure venomous rage ever captured on tape. Whether he's waxing political, philosophical or just plain paranoid, Tupac's empathetic, charismatic style remains unmatched. -Charley Gothic.

Young, Gifted And Black acts as an excellent primer for a new generation of reggae enthusiasts. With their vigorous reissue programme, Trojan Records appear to be inspired by the recent success of the Blood And Fire label, although their own specialist field is ska and rocksteady rather than deep dub. The endorsements in the sleeve booklet come from Don Letts and UB40's Robin Campbell, with the latter highlighting this set's populist accessibility. There's a wide range to be covered in this handsome package, so any selection is bound to end up with some degree of subjectivity. Even so, it's hard to go wrong with two discs and 50 tracks, spanning the best part of two decades. Selections like "Oh Carolina" (The Folkes Brothers) and "Guns Of Navarone" (The Skatalites) sound like long-lost audio relics, the very beginnings of ska. Prince Buster clicks and puffs through "Al Capone", providing the impetus for Madness and The Specials. If some tunes weren't hits the first time around, they had their day as covers by the likes of Blondie, The Clash and UB40. The metamorphosis into rocksteady happened quickly and, early on disc 2, Bob Marley's sudden entrance illustrates how shocking reggae's slowed-down minimalism must have sounded in the early 1970s. Much of the second disc is dominated by a lighter pop-reggae, at its worst with "Side Show" (Barry Biggs), and its best with "Uptown Top Ranking" (Althea & Donna). [+]