The Holy Bible is the sound of a band plunging into chaos, taking in such joyous subjects as the holocaust ("The Intense Humming Of Evil"), prostitution ("Yes"), anorexia ("4st 7lb") and general despair (everything else). Needless to say, the majority of it was written by guitarist Richey Edwards, just before he was hospitalised for depression. It's not the easiest album in the world to listen to, with James Bradfield often having to cram all the words together to fit them all in, but it's worth the perseverance. The dark, gothic (but never Goth) guitars compliment the black mood of "Yes" and the alternately narcissistic and disgusted "Faster" (which samples the film version of Orwell's masterpiece, 1984), while the gentle, acoustic "This Is Yesterday" often sounds close to breaking. Suffice to say, this is not a party record, but for pure, intelligent hatred, of the self and of others, it is fascinating, and still one of the Manics greatest moments. - Emma Johnston.

The splicing together of nu-metal, rap, funk and sterile electronica, laced with dark melodies as infectious as anything Britney or Steps have to offer, sold 6 million copies of Limp Bizkit's previous album, Significant Other. It also saw them invade mainstream America and more impressively, their doom-fuelled rework of the Mission Impossible theme, "Take A Look Around", score a number 3 hit this side of the pond. With Chocolate Starfish And The Hot Dog Flavored Water, they perfect the formula. From the electro of "Intro", through the contagious chug of "My Generation" to the straight-up, non-metal rap of "Getcha Groove On", Chocolate Starfish is a slick, clinical and flawless platform for Fred Durst's effortlessly savage, and occasionally-if unintentionally-comic sociological rants for disaffected youth. Ultimately, though, it's that undeniably intelligent musical backdrop-the brooding guitar sound that gave the Mission Impossible 2 theme haunting new life and menace, and defines "Hot Dog", "Full Nelson", "My Way", "Rollin'", "Boiler" and "It'll Be Okay"-that makes Chocolate Starfish a seething work of genius. Fact is, with rap and rock saying pretty much the same thing, Limp Bizkit are not alone in what they do. They just do it better than everyone else. -Dan Gennoe.

Good-natured rock & roll wise guy Joe Walsh not only made a name for himself as guitarist for The Eagles and The James Gang, but he also had a successful solo career. Known for his self-deprecating sense of humor ("Life's Been Good") and his dirty guitar boogie (the pulsating "Rocky Mountain Way"), Walsh drew a fan base from those who were fond of the harder edge he gave to The Eagles. He was easily one of the better guitarists of his generation, not so much for flashy licks but for his rhythmic sensibilities and awareness of restraint and economy. Yet Walsh continued to view himself as an "Ordinary Average Guy. " His keen self-awareness and his understanding of the importance of rock in the overall scheme of things was further evidenced in "A Life of Illusion. " Even the title of this collection, Greatest Hits: Little Did He Know shows Walsh, for all of his talent, never lost sight of the fact that it's only rock & roll. The album also contains the memorable "Funk#49," "Bolero," and "Midnight Man. " -Steve Gdula.

If you're wondering how Green Day managed to become the biggest punk band in the world, take a look at Bullet In A Bible. Recorded at Green Day's two-night run at Milton Keynes National Bowl in June 2005, this combined CD/DVD sees these former bong-hitting Californian drop-outs embracing political activism, pantomime hilarity, and all the fripperies of a rock opera - and excelling at all three. The first half is essentially a run-through of the group's 2004 album American Idiot, complete with anti-American rabble-rousing and a set of barbed insults tossed back at the "rednecks" across the pond. That out the way, the band careen into a sort of greatest hits set, with the likes of "Longview" and "Hitchin' A Ride" sharing space with a brass-laden "King For A Day" that sees Billie-Joe Armstrong prancing the stage in crown and ermine cape, singing snatches of Lulu's "Shout" and Eric Idle's "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life". Tremendously silly, but Green Day have managed to figure out how to play it like showmen without resorting to juvenile puerility or morphing into corporate yes-men, and that's a way harder trick than it looks. - Louis Pattison.

And so, in the fiscally dark years between Nevermind and the much-delayed In Utero, Geffen Records cobbled together a pile of Nirvana b-sides and out-takes, and were so glad they had something to bleed the hungry grunge-hordes dry with that they allowed Cobain to give it the poisonous title Incesticide. As cash-ins go, it's one of the more essential ones: obviously there simply aren't that many Kurt Cobain songs in existence, and the inclusion of the incredibly rare single "Sliver" and the insanely catchy "Mexican Seafood" will gladden any Nirvana fan's heart. The 50s' pop parody of "Hairspray Queen" reminds us that-hey!-Kurt was a funny guy too, and "Aero Zeppelin" and "Big Long Now" would hardly look out of place on either Nevermind or In Utero. And the liner-notes-a Cobain-penned rant begging all jocks, homophobes, racists and sexists not to buy his records-are a piece of rock history in their own right. -Caitlin Moran.

Punk rock is meant to be played loud and snotty. Blink-182 are a San Diego area punk rock trio whose interest in arrested development has led them to a sparkling array of sex jokes that cover everything from anal sex to masturbation to. well, you get the idea-and that's just the between-song banter. This limited edition live collection-a holding pattern until the band's fifth studio release due sometime in 2001-features a slam-dunk collection of the band's hits, fan favourites from their various studio albums and new tunes ("Blew Job" among the enlightened tracks). One additional studio track "Man Overboard" packs a harder punch than most thanks to the studio finesse. But mostly these are revved up versions of songs to break a skateboard by. With the added appeal of a colour booklet and about seven minutes-worth of "stage banter" tacked on at the end, it's guaranteed to either leave you in stitches or have you grounded for a month. -Rob O'Connor.

Released in the summer of 1978 and cruelly denied the Number One spot by the decidedly non-New Wave Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, Black and White-The Stranglers' third studio album-found Guildford's gruesomely confrontational punks persisting brilliantly with their angrified and melodiously intoxicating melange of Hugh Cornwell's scrubby telecaster guitar, Dave Greenfield's burbling psychedelic keyboards and Jean-Jacques Burnel's brutally flatulent bass. That said, the album marked a noticeable departure from the antagonism and political incorrectness of No More Heroes. Deadpan pessimism featured prominently on Side 2 (the "black side" in old vinyl terms) courtesy of the apocalyptically grim "Enough Time" and the Cold War neurosis of "Curfew". Burnel spouted the memorable line "Bring me a piece of my Mummy, she was quite close to me" on "Threatened" and also paid tribute to controversial Japanese poet Yukio Mishima on the almost funky "Death And Night and Blood". Cornwell, in comparision, was relatively jovial, satirising the sterility of Scandinavian life on "Sweden" ("too much time to think too little to do") and penning a memorable joyriding ode in the spirit of "Fun Fun Fun" or Chris Spedding's "Motorbikin'", except this one was called "Tank". Black and White's less morbid moments included the elongated (and probably the best ever version) of Bacharach & David's "Walk On By" (imagine an instrumental, New Wave version of Deep Purple), the biblically-versed punk-reggae of "Nice 'n' Sleazy", the epic "Toiler On The Sea" and the ungainly mesh of punk noise (including Laura Logic's squawky toy sax) that was "Hey! Rise Of The Robots" ("They're gonna want a union soon, oil break that's dead on noon"). A brilliant record, true, but the best was yet to come. Kevin Maidment.