A singles band if ever there was one, the hits on Pop make the duo of Andy Bell and Vince Clarke of Erasure sound like the Rogers & Hammerstein of synth-pop disco. With the exception of The Circus and The Innocents albums, most of Erasure's full lengths house only a few brief moments of brilliance, the rest of the songs being limp and uninspired. But putting songs like "Blue Savannah" with its sweeping loveliness, the haunting "Ship of Fools", and the campy, raucous "Love to Hate You" all on the same disc shows that when Erasure is on, they shine like a thousand-carat tiara. The energetic and electronic disco is front and centre here with "Oh L'Amour" and the audience participation number "Stop!", but the beautifully crafted "Sometimes" shows the band's true potential. The irrepressible melody line is punctuated by an acoustic riff and a melancholy trumpet solo that actually has to do its best to keep up with Bell's warm lament. An indispensable collection. -Steve Gdula A singles band if ever there was one, the hits on Pop make the duo of Andy Bell and Vince Clarke of Erasure sound like the Rogers & Hammerstein of synth-pop disco. With the exception of The Circus and The Innocents albums, most of Erasure's full lengths house only a few brief moments of brilliance, the rest of the songs being limp and uninspired. But putting songs like "Blue Savannah" with its sweeping loveliness, the haunting "Ship of Fools," and the campy, raucous "Love to Hate You" all on the same disc shows that when Erasure is on, they shine like a thousand-carat tiara. The energetic and electronic disco is front and center here with "Oh L'Amour" and the audience participation number "Stop!," but the beautifully crafted "Sometimes" shows the band's true potential. [+]

In a thrilling UK Garage scene, blighted only by a reliance on drippy soul cliché and tiresome braggadocio, The Streets' eminently quotable Mike Skinner may just be the voice to take it to the next level with Original Pirate Material. This debut is a staggeringly eloquent and fearlessly honest snapshot of gritty street-level existence, as experienced by an ordinary bloke. At first listen, the Birmingham-born Skinner's cheeky cockney affectations grate slightly. But for every line that makes you squirm, there's 20 that drop your jaw. "Has It Come To This?" is "A day in the life of a geezer", a seductive encapsulation of London lifestyle, presented raw as a bootleg, but bulging with sharp wit and feverish detail. "Stay Positive" weaves a fearful tale of heroin addiction, Skinner sneering "I ain't no preaching fucker/ An' I ain't no do-goodie-goodie either/ This is when shit goes pear-shaped". And "The Irony of It All" presents a beguiling case for legalisation, presenting a fictional exchange between a beered-up, self-righteous lager lout and a fey student weed enthusiast. Original Pirate Material is a milestone, the real voice of British youth set down on record. Don't miss this. -Louis Pattison.

Managing-sort of-to keep within the Pet Shop Boys tradition of one-word album titles, the moniker of this latest best-of, PopArt, is typical of the band-arrogant and somewhat pretentious yet also tongue-in-cheek and slyly self-aware. All the 35 tracks on these two CDs are indeed both pop and art and rather than being in chronological order have been split in fairly arbitrary fashion across a "Pop" and, erm, an "Art" disc. The band are doubtless well aware that much heated discussion will take place among fans about which track belongs where, and indeed, as evidenced on the commentary of the accompanying DVD, squabbled about the splits themselves when compiling this release. Philosophical debates aside, this is an absolutely essential collection for anyone who enjoys the Pet Shop Boys' unique mix of bittersweet poignancy, archness and occasional high camp-or indeed for any discerning pop (or art) fan. Encompassing almost all their single releases (only "Was It Worth It?" and "How Can You Expect To Be Taken Seriously?" are missing), this is a glorious retrospective of one of Britain's finest pop institutions. Let's hope there are another 35 singles half this good for a quadruple box set in another 18 years' time. -Rikki Price.

To follow up their bombastic 1995 album Exit Planet Dust, the Chemical Brothers fine-tuned their bombastic beats and produced a rock-solid pop album (pun intended). Dig Your Own Hole finds the common ground between rock & roll and techno, both in spirit and substance. Singles like "Block Rockin' Beats," "Elektrobank," and "Setting Sun" (featuring vocals by Oasis's Noel Gallagher) may lack the big hair and pomposity of rock music, but they make up for it in spades, with sampled and real guitars battling for space with sirens and distorted hip-hop drums. The album reeks of pure enthusiasm and energy, evoking a crowd-pleasing exuberance that makes Dig Your Own Hole a Back in Black for the late 1990s. Pure stadium techno. -Matthew Corwine.

Brixton's pride, mishmash dance/house/electronica duo Basement Jaxx have prolifically delivered killer tracks ever since "Samba Magic" was first cut to vinyl. Now, some years on, it's time for a comprehensive recap of the Jaxx' mindblowing A-sides. All fifteen singles are here, scrambled by the Jaxx into the optimum track order (who really cares about chronology?), and there isn't a dud among them. Selecting highlights is a futile task-just stick the disc on and let your senses be guided from the hypnotic "Red Alert" through the awesome "Where's Your Head At" and beyond "Do Your Thing"'s reinvention of dancehall swing. It's quite a trip. For those who have followed Basement Jaxx from Remedy through Rooty to Kish Kash, there's no doubt that the duo are consistent-weak album tracks are almost non-existent. Cull the lead tracks from that trinity of essential LPs and you have a 'best of' well worthy of its role, a constant high that is about as exhilarating as modern uptempo music gets. These are truly essential recordings. -Jonathan Davies.

Jimmy Cauty and Bill Drummond had their first massive smash hit as the Timelords ("Doctoring the House") and also scored hits as the Jams. So by the time they came up with tracks like "3AM Eternal" and the blaring-horn-a-thon that was "What Time Is Love?" (both from The White Room), they were already well versed in writing pop songs. This is a dance album of sorts, but it is very tongue-in-cheek and has a distinctly commercial edge. The pair were notorious jokers-the back cover shows them clutching sheep to their chests-and after managing to rule the charts they disbanded and turned their back on the industry completely. Their disdain for the music business comes through in their over-the-top futurism and relentless air horn blasting, both of which are an acquired taste and quite nauseating after a while. Aside from the singles mentioned above, White Room also contains the soulful "Make It Rain", the surprisingly subdued "Church of the KLF", some Scottish poetry on "Build a Fire" and unforgivably crass use of some King Tubby trumpet on the dire "No More Tears". It's hailed as a classic, but don't believe the hype. -Paul Sullivan.

Having marked their 10th anniversary at the top of British dance music with a greatest hits collection, it would be easy to write the Chemical Brothers off in a genre that requires a certain freshness. However, Push the Button is a spectacular jump back to the top of their game, intensified by the rise of dance music in 2005. First single and opening track, "Galvanize", features Q-tip on vocals. It's a little more downtempo than the brothers of late as they got wrapped up in a need to produce a dancefloor killer to match the heady days of "Hey Boy, Hey Girl"-it's not too different, not too clever, but has enough of the necessary "oomph" to make it an excellent start to the album. In terms of classic sounding tracks, there are "Come Inside" and "The Big Jump", the former a big-beat spectacular and the latter a definite tune to be heard "out", replete with enormous slidey bassline and sticky acid stabs. A standout in a similar vein to "Galvanize" (although possibly better) is "Left Right" featuring Anwar Superstar. It's got a bold hip-hop swagger and politically charged lyrics over a chunky riff that wouldn't sound out of place in a seventies TV cop show. There are only two of the customary chillout tracks (think Beth Orton), there's "Hold tight London", an upbeat soca-styled song that's okay but not nearly as beautiful as sweeping epic "Close Your Eyes" featuring the Magic Numbers. Closing Push the Button are two more guitar-based tracks, the country-rocking loop of "Marvo Ging" and the brilliant mish-mash of styles that is "Surface to Air", a sort of rapturous amalgam of the brothers' own "Golden Path", the Strokes and festival favourites Dreadzone. A fantastic end to a consistent album that easily outshines its predecessor, Come with Us, and will hopefully herald a great year for electronic music. [+]

Effectively the solo project of New York based DJ and producer Andy Butler, with the help of some interesting friends, Hercules and Love Affair is , unlikely though it sounds, the point where classic disco meets classical myth-the title apparently refers to the legendary hero's fondness for his own sex. Although co-produced by LCD Soundsystem's Tim Goldsworthy, Hercules and Love Affair is a flightier, more hedonistic proposition, filled with echoes of long gone clubs and ghosts of the pre-AIDS glory days of New York's gay scene. Yet it celebrates rather than mourns the past as a series of guest vocalists leave their mark, Antony Hegarty the most familiar. The terrific, irresistible single "Blind", reportedly some four years in gestation, stands out but the wistfully positive "Raise Me Up" isn't far behind, Hegarty's inimitably sad tones incongruously juxtaposed with a gleeful arrangement. Though even his voice has a hard battle with the lift from Frankie Knuckles's classic "Your Love" which underpins the opener "Time Will". The spaced out jazz of "This Is My Love", sung by Butler himself, the dizzily ecstatic house of "You Belong", the purest of flashbacks, and Kim Ann's vocal turn on the elegant "Athene" are other highlights on a remarkably assured and entertaining first effort. This year won't see a better example of danceable melancholy than Hercules and Love Affair. -Steve Jelbert.

The great iconoclast of techno returns with a smooth, sacred and exhilarating record. Play's concoction of breakbeat rhythms, ambient mixology and inspired blues and gospel samples cry out across musical genres and histories, imparting a time-tested wisdom to beat-driven ears. Moby's devout faith-in both God and his own musical whims-give this approach a sort of legitimacy that another, less sincere artist would never have. That sincerity reverberates through the beats and instrumental eclecticism like a pulse. The soulful refrains and proclamations in "Find My Baby" and "Natural Blues" somehow nestle between straight-up dance-floor rave-ups ("Bodyrock") and melt-in-your-mouth ambience ("Inside") with an effortless grace. Moby reaches across his turntables and finds something pure-almost organic. In fact, the album feels more natural than techno is ever supposed to feel, more spiritual than DJs are supposed to be able to muster and more alive than it has any right to be. Check out the spellbinding compilation Natural Blues to hear the original source material from blues and spiritual singers such as Etta James, Vera Hall and BB King. -Matthew Cooke.

Considered by many to be the Material Girl's most mature effort of the 1980s, Like a Prayer upped the ante of controversy with its gospel-infused title track and the singer's emotional confessions throughout. It also unveiled the hit "Express Yourself", which ushered in the era of Madonna as a "stainless steel sexual icon". Musically, Prayer showcased her burgeoning songwriting prowess, with the beautiful "Oh Father" and the perky pop of "Cherish". Besides a throw-away collaboration with Prince ("This Is Not a Love Song"), the album stands as one of her strongest works, eschewing the strong dance beat influences from her past-she saved that for the remixes-and concentrating instead on melody and structure. Like a Prayer also gave a hint of things to come with the delightful "Dear Jessie" displaying a maternal side worthy of her name. -Steve Gdula.

Moby may have stolen his thunder on Play but St Germain, aka Ludovic Navarre, has been showcasing his futuristic nous and love of roots music by funking up the 4/4 electronic world with a little blues and gospel since the early 90s. After his F-Communications swan song, From Detroit To St Germain in 98, Navarre worked with a host of great session musicians for this, his major label debut. Tourist, his first album for the legendary Blue Note label, certainly justifies the continuing hype. A perfectly formed melodic journey of eclectic and idiosyncratic deep house that mixes blues, latin percussion and, of course, jazz without the noodle factor, Tourist is likely to generate as much head-nodding as dancing down your local groove emporium. The tracks range from the straight-ahead blues cut, "Rose Rouge" to the aptly titled "So Flute", an Afrobeat percussive shin-dig with a wondrous flute riff. "Latin Note", a funky latin stomper, reminiscent of Nuyorican Soul/Masters At Work is packed full of minor chords, smashing beats and off-the wall dynamics. Elsewhere, Navarre proves himself a master of suspense and beat-heavy poignancy, "Pont Des Arts" combines a carnival spirit with a monster piano groove, whereas "What You Think About" would have made Roy Ayers circa "Everybody Loves The Sunshine" very happy. Tourist is the kind of album that is put on at a fantastic, idyllic beach bar stereo at sunset and then constantly looped, a future classic. -Kate Nafolo.

After peddling fey indie-pop in the mid-Eighties, Bobby Gillespie's Primal Scream took a quantum, inspired leap with the Andy Weatherall and Terry Farley-produced Screamadelica, which melds the trippy, blissed-out ethos of acid rock with its more rhythm and sample oriented late Eighties counterpart, acid house. Screamadelica is a meeting of supposedly hostile genres, like American and Russian astronauts docking together in orbit-a musical marriage made in space. All of the elements on Screamadelica-piano, samples, gospel singers, dub-drenched rhythms-float about weightlessly amidst one another, as if beyond gravity's pull. And gliding above it all is Gillespie himself, at best on "Higher Than The Sun", vocals at once ecstatic and wistful, staring down at a world that's yet to catch up with where he's at. In time, Screamadelica would come to be regarded as one of the defining albums of its era. -David Stubbs.

It's easy to dismiss the music of this cute, vegan, bare-pated relative of Herman Melville, especially if you don't actually listen to the music and focus instead on his ultra-PC interview style or the manner in which he sold dozens of songs to commercials and film soundtracks back in Y2K. But to do so is to knee-jerkedly miss out on some very fine and innovative music by one of the most influential musicians of the last decade. With the exception of two tracks (one of them the title tune), Go is a best-of from the years that Moby's been on the V2 label, from 1999's breakthrough hit Play onward. But Play-with its uncanny reworking of field recordings with playful beats and ambient textures-remains the artist's finest moment. A full disc of remixes and a smattering of unreleased songs (including a rad new number with Debbie Harry on guest vocals) make this an essential purchase for rabid fans. And, as a judicious selection of Play-era material is included alongside the finest songs from Moby's subsequent albums, 18 and Hotel, this is also the perfect entry point for the more casual fan. -Mike McGonigal.