This best-of is loaded with the usual smash suspects plus three new cuts-the sub-Mellancamp "Someday I'll Be Saturday Night", the Bed of Roses-style ballad single "Always", and a low-key remake of "Living On A Prayer" titled "Prayer '94". Love 'em or not, there's no denying the loyalty of the fans. -Jeff Bateman.

Nickleback haven't made it this far by throwing their audience difficult curveballs, and All The Right Reasons-the Canadian quartet's fourth full-length-continues their run of uncomplicated, testosterone-soaked hard-rock albums without a wobble. Frontman Chad Kroeger still approaches the act of songcraft like he's chopping wood, grunting and sweating under the weight of gritted-teeth rock-outs like "Fight For All The Wrong Reasons" and "Someone That You're With". Critics have it in for Nickleback for many of the same reasons they have it in for Stereophonics-these songs promise emotional weight and hard-won truths, but have a tendency to mistake joylessness for passion. However, you can spot the hits a mile off. "Side Of A Bullet" is dedicated to deceased ex-Pantera man Dimebag Darrell, and even features an overdubbed axe solo from said guitarist, while "Photograph" sees Kroeger getting misty-eyed-almost whimsical-over an old school photo. Ultimately, though, it's more of the same. Which should suit the Nickleback faithful just fine. -Louis Pattison.

If time is the true test, then Guns N' Roses' Greatest Hits confirms that they really were one of the greatest rock & roll bands in the world. While, in retrospect, fellow graduates of the class of 1987 are about as cool as poodle perms and spandex, the LA bad boys still rock like gods. Listening to the sun-drenched chords of "Paradise City" and the ensuing stadium-sized swagger is enough to make wearing leather trousers and bandanas seem like a good idea. Of course, it helped that for them sex, drugs and rock & roll was a way of life, not a fashion statement. As Axl Rose wails "I wanna watch you bleed" on "Welcome to the Jungle", like a chain-smoking lunatic possessed, it's hard not to believe he meant it. Yet equally, it was his surprisingly poetic nature that made genuinely touching love songs of "Patience" and "Sweet Child of Mine". Though none of their subsequent albums matched the drug-crazed genius of Appetite for Destruction, they did, as the Greatest Hits reminds, have their moments. From the bloated Use Your Illusion I & II came ultimate rock ballads "Don't Cry" and "November Rain", along with the primal rage that was "You Could Be Mine". And while the covers of the The Spaghetti Incident were largely forgettable, the fact that their final single was a seedy sneer through the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" seems spectacularly fitting. -Dan Gennoe.

What once seemed Queen's greatest liabilities-a preening flamboyance and pompous, overwrought theatricality-have ironically become their most enduring charms in a grey, postmodern pop-music landscape. While it eschews the glammy, pre-punk hard rock of live faves such as "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Tie Your Mother Down" for the band's more quirky club-beat string of latter-day hits , this 51-track triple-CD anthology goes a long way toward documenting the true dimensions of the band's music and fame. It even includes some solo work by Brian May and Freddie Mercury, whose duet on "Barcelona" with diva Montserrat Caballé transcends boundaries of both time and genre. A previously unreleased live performance of "The Show Must Go On" featuring Elton John on vocals is also included. -Jerry McCulley.

In the liner notes of Sloe Gin, emerging guitar great Joe Bonamassa explains that one of his objectives is to experiment with acoustic elements he first encountered while listening to Rod Stewart's earliest work. "I think the heavy blues and acoustic mix well together," he writes, and the inviting variety of the disc's 11 tracks-from the rousing electric rave-up of the title track to the closing, tabla-propelled acoustic instrumental-persuasively underscores his point. Bonamassa is a major talent with a growing following, and as his fan base inevitably expands it may become difficult for him to keep everyone happy. Hardcore blues devotees no doubt will yearn for Bonamassa to stay perpetually plugged in, but in the long term that would be a disservice to his broad range of skills. Bonamassa rocks formidably and convincingly on "Dirt in My Pocket" (a bristling original composition), the title track (well suited for air guitar), and his Clapton-esque rendering of John Mayall's "Another Kind of Love. " Yet his softer works suggest that he sounds a little more comfortable and natural-vocally, at least-on the acoustic tracks. His retooled version of "Around the Bend" (his first take on this original composition is found on an earlier release) is an engaging, pastoral gem, and his paean to his upstate New York home ("Richmond") is perhaps this disc's most memorable selection. Bonamassa knows the blues (at the time of this release, he was the youngest member on the board of the Blues Foundation), but he also knows how to rock and how to sagaciously, artfully ease off the gas. -Terry Wood.

Minutes to Midnight stands to defend Linkin Park's status as the hardest-rockin' softies in mainstream music. Like its predecessors Hybrid Theory (2000) and Meteroa (2003), Minutes to Midnight flexes plenty of decibel-heavy muscle ("Given Up," "Bleed It Out," "No More Sorrow") and made-to-order, melodic radio fare ("Leave out All the Rest," "Shadow of the Day," "In Pieces"). But for all its volume, Linkin Park likes to paint its heart openly on its sleeve with suspicious sonic drama, as in the palpably saccharine "Valentine's Day. " Fortunately, co-producer Rick Rubin brings all these elements to pinnacle effect with the surprise "Hands Held High. " On past efforts, the combination of breezy keyboard, arpeggiated guitar, choral vocals, and a military snare-beat would yield another slab of smarm, here MC Mike Shinoda drops the two best verses of his career, blending vocal styles with singer Chester Bennington for a moving piece that's as welcome a repertorial addition as Linkin Park is ever likely to muster. -Jason Kirk.

A Beautiful Lie, the second studio album from 30 Seconds To Mars, was recorded in five different countries over a period of three years, in order to accommodate vocalist/guitarist Jared Leto's acting career. Yet the album is anything but disjointed. On the contrary, it's more consistent than its predecessor, 30 Seconds To Mars, as well as more confident, more personal (lyrically), and generally more mature. True, A Beautiful Lie relies heavily on Leto's dynamic vocals to lead the way. But lead single, "Attack," illustrates the more stripped down, radio-friendly sound of the band perfectly - as do tracks "The Kill," "Was it a Dream" and "From Yesterday". The band conjure up some slower, more kaleidoscopic moments ("A Modern Myth," for example), but A Beautiful Lie is largely a punchy project with a frisky mid-tempo pace and an engagingly sonorous aura. The only criticism would be the choice of Bjork's "Hunter" as a song to cover: 30 Seconds To Mars are very far from doing the song - or themselves - justice here. However, the newly enhanced version of the album, with its re-recording of the "The Kill" and DVD featuring live performances and MTV2 moments, help make up for any occasional blips. -Danny McKenna.