Best Kept Secrets is a collection of the finer points from Lamb's career to date-an even smattering from their four albums-their self-titled debut, Fear of Fours, What Sound and 2003's Between Darkness & Wonder. Although geographically miles away, Lamb were an integral part of the Bristol sound with their music sitting somewhere between Portishead and Roni Size. "Cottonwool" opens the anthology, and rightly so-the brooding double bass, ethereal vocal and broken beats are a perfect intro to what they're all about. Best Kept Secrets is in chronological order and highlights the slight changes in direction that occurred in each period. Tunes such as "B-line" and "Bonfire" are more rhythmic than their fractal predecessors yet dirty in comparison to the smooth, almost soulful "Stronger" and "Please" from their latter years. Although the album gets comfier and more worthy of the "chillout" tag as it progresses, it's clear that two things remain consistent throughout: Rhodes' vocals remain beautiful and Barlow's production always does enough to keep it left of centre. -David Trueman.

The story of the Sugababes is a tale which might sound more appropriate to a band of leather-faced rock dinosaurs yet Angels With Dirty Faces is only the second album in their short career. Since dazzling the world with their anthem "Overload"; their first album flopped, they were dropped by their label, a founder member left and just when you thought they would give up, along comes Heidi Range and suddenly they get two consecutive number one singles. "Freak Like Me" was born of a Girls on Top bootleg of Gary Numan & Adina Howard which needed the "babes" attitude to crack the top 40. Second single "Round Round" is more like it; cowritten by the band, it has a far less distinctive sample and grooves like a Motown pop hit with a latter day R&B edge. If their debut One Touch was driven by 1960s R&B, Angels… is more in tune with today's R&B scene as on "Blue", a really bright, upbeat chorus blended with a dark and dirty verse. "Virgin Sexy" and "Supernatural" show a very mature Sugababes in a funk-rock superstyle which creeps menacingly like US divas En Vogue but sign-of-the-times lyrics like "I'm virgin sexy, if you want me just text me" remind us that they're a lot younger than they actually sound. On the whole, Angels… is far more accomplished than their debut. They have now successfully bridged all age gaps making their music so-called intelligent enough to reach the older people yet still fresh, dynamic and instant enough for a younger market. If you were to group them in the bracket of chart pop acts like S Club, Britney, Blue et al, The Sugababes are in a league of their own with a consistent album rather than a short string of sugar-soaked singles… it's hard to believe they are all the same age as or younger than Gareth Gates. -David Trueman.

British electronics wunderkind Richard James (alias Aphex Twin, AFX, Polygon Window, etc. ) claims he heard the compositions on Selected Ambient Works, Volume II in lucid dreams. Like abstract paintings composed of shades of a single colour, James's resonant explorations of specific timbres linger close to a central idea on each cut, incorporating just enough variation to remain disturbing. While its predecessor, Selected Ambient Works '85-'92 drew on seven years worth of material, the uniform quality of these untitled tracks, plus their judicious sequencing, suggests they were assembled over a shorter period. Clocking in at over 150 minutes, the double-disc set (if this is "selected", how many hours of outtakes remain?) provides an exemplary introduction to the quieter facets of James's expansive, idiosyncratic aesthetic. -Kurt B. Reighley.

Culled from the band's ten year, six album career, Lest we Forget: The Best of Marilyn Manson features some of the greatest rock anthems of the last decade. Opening with "The Love Song" from Holy Wood, it proceeds to the first of a handful of cover songs which have made it as singles. The decadent, beefed up version of Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" may not vary much from the original but the band do it the appropriate Goth justice; "Tainted Love" adds a menacing, industrial-glam to the electric northern soul of Soft Cell's version; and the one that broke them into the UK mainstream, "Sweet Dreams" by the Eurythmics sounds as good as ever. So, they do a good cover but it's really the fists in the air crowd-pleasing anthems that back up the band's iconic imagery. The high-energy signature tune, "Beautiful People" and tracks like "Disposable Teens" or "The Fight Song" typify the band's intelligent approach to rock'n'roll posturing. While many may have all the albums already, Lest We Forget is the perfect addition for anyone who likes the odd song but was too fearful to delve any further in the world of Marilyn Manson. -Georgina Collins.

It could have been that Sade (collectively, the vocalist Sade Adu and her band) would have remained the darlings solely of the British underground rare-groove scene, but the sound of Diamond Life proved irresistible to the mainstream, and the rest is history. Caught at the beginning of her career in 1985, Sade's cool vocals and exotic looks grabbed everyone's attention. But equally as important to Diamond Life's success was the velvet muscle of the band's accompaniment, a sinewy after-hours groove, laden with minimalist funk. Eight of the nine tracks are self-penned. Straddling R&B and pop, this disc lays out the hooks and sultry allure that became Sade's soulful standard-intelligent and sexy at the same time. -Derek Rath.

After the success of their debut album, Norwegian electronic duo Royksopp must have known they'd have their work cut out for them on The Understanding. After all, Melody A. M. was that rare electronic album that appealed to fans regardless of their musical tastes, with its catchy playfulness and well-crafted songs. The Understanding is less laid back than their previous album, but it's no less catchy or clever. If anything, The Understanding sounds like Royksopp have spent much of the time since their last album soaking in the continental sounds of bands like Air. The result is a dance album that's surprisingly heavy on vocals, most of them by the duo themselves. But, in time-honoured dance tradition, there are also a bevy of female vocalists on hand, including Karin Dreijer from The Knife ("What Else Is There?") and new collaborator Kate Havnevik (single "Only This Moment" and "Circuit Breaker"). The Understanding is a much more grown-up album from Royksopp-it's not dance music for the kids, but an album for after the kids have gone to bed. -Ted Kord.

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.

There was a time when you couldn't step into a dance club without hearing at least part of this recording booming over the sound system. The often over-played hit, "Situation," was a bubbling caldron of nasally synth noodlings, a whopping bass line, and drum machine wallops. Alison Moyet's looped laugh in the middle of the song ended up as a sample, over-used a thousand times over. Yaz was an interesting blend of Moyet's smoky blues and jazz tinged vocals with Vince Clarke's digital disco. Moyet's voice alone was instrument enough, and the melodies here perfectly showcased her incredible range. Upstairs easily moved between energetic dance floor exuberance ("Don't Go" and "Good-bye Seventies"), blues-inspired wailers ("Midnight"), and icy electronic minimalism ("Winter Kills"). It was an explosion of a debut, touching upon '80s gay disco, synth pop, and diva-ism in one fell swoop. The CD closes with the overlooked "Didn't I Bring Your Love Down," an infectious barn burner with a call/response break that blows the roof off of Eric's little techno-pop room. -Steve Gdula.

In the 1980s, Sade's brand of elegant pop/R&B owned the charts, making the Nigerian/British chanteuse one of those artists whose very name became the adjective to describe their sound. After an eight-year layoff, Sade and her core band (and long-time producer Mike Pela), are back with an album that is both a stunning reaffirmation of her artistry and a solid soulful collection. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Lover's Rock is that it picks up where Sade left off, meaning that you will hear no cool beats or hot hired hands or hip-hop cameos. This is Sade music: on the first single, "By Your Side", she glides back into the spotlight on gentle, country-ish and sparse wings, singing, once again, about love's power to redeem. Of course Sade also knows that love can stink: listen to the dub riddim-tinged "Every Word" and cry tears of recognition. Decidedly female but utterly universal, grown up yet not hardened, Lover's Rock ranks as one of the best of the year, and the return of a true original. -Amy Linden.