Word had already gotten out about this debut LP: that for its genre, it's as seminal as London Calling and as well rounded as Sign of the Times; it avoids the monotony and facelessness of 99% of house records; and it's as funky as anything out there, past or present. Guess what: it's all true.

Think of a universe far, far away, where Ministry, Raw Power-era Iggy Pop, Public Enemy, and Meat Beat Manifesto get together for a pissed-off, hyped-up jam. That's what XTRMNTR sounds like, and it's a downright amazing disc.

Björk's airy and exalted vocals are wonderfully familiar. She may be singing as Selma, but Björk herself isn't too far beneath the surface.

A real piece of art, with an unmistakably original sound and incisive storytelling.

Immaculately recorded and mixed, the set (all classics, from "Pearls Girl" and "Born Slippy" to "Juanita" and "King Of Snake") presents all of the improvisatory and visceral excitement of an Underworld gig without (as is the case with most live recordings) losing any of its sonic intensity.

Think of this sultry record as the night to Odelay's day.

The Platform is one of those timeless long-players, like Run-DMC's Raising Hell or EPMD's Strictly Business, where you'll want to commit every track to memory.

Beaucoup Fish is 74 non-stop minutes-worth of next level disco inferno.

Nearly an instant classic...one of the most convincing and refreshing debuts in recent memory.

Somehow these fragments instantly assemble themselves into a gorgeous whole, and there's not a piece you could imagine replacing.

Enlisting a heavy-hitting cast of helpers -- from the best unknown drummer in the world (Carla Azar) to one of the most creatively pure producers around (T Bone Burnett) -- Arthur has transformed a dozen of his best compositions from the skeletal coffeehouse-ready material they surely were at conception into richly-textured and deeply emotive mood pieces.

An absolutely amazing mainstream pop album.

The Night could very well be Morphine's best work to date. Sandman and company finish the thoughts of 1997's Like Swimming by adding rich, subtle layers to their trio's thick sonic weave without diluting the band's strengths.

A far darker, more turbulent kinda bop.... party music for the dedicated headphone-bobber, barstool shaker, chillout room-gesturer, living room couch-dancer.

Trembling Blue Stars construct gorgeously depressed, evocatively gloomy songs that rival anything the Cure or Lou Reed came up with in their blackest moments.

What's most pure is Eminem's liberating fearlessness in taking hip-hop left turns and acting the fool. The best hip-hop stand-up comic since Biz Markie; all that and a bag o' chronic.

Quite a few steps away from the "typical" girl-with-guitar record, this is the album that reveals Marshall to be quite a unique force.

The trio have hit their stride with a pop confectioner's treat which melds P-Funk with Shirley Bassey, TSOP soul with Caribbean reggae, and Chic disco with Moby-esque blues riffing.

Concise and compelling, Bootleg Detroit is a sonic snapshot of Morphine basking in its best virtues.

Smart, funny and unabashedly feminine....a bouncy and infectious record.

It's a well-thought-out, catchy, and complex body-rocker of a record from beginning to end, with only one or two minor missteps.

Yes, as with OK Computer, stark minimalism marks this effort, and the carefully plotted layers of instruments and machine-generated blips only add to the feeling of emotional emptiness. Seemingly stripped bare of all adornment, however, the new album beats with a loud, persistent, sometimes unsteady heartbeat.

Oops!... I Did It Again proves beyond a doubt that Britney Spears is The One.

With a heavier emphasis on funky bottom end and infectious loops, it could be said that Disco is a much more dancefloor-oriented record, and, to that end, it may very well be. However, resting atop these funky beats is some refreshingly insightful lyricism.

Thickly constructed, melodically rich, and thoroughly well-conceived, Barlow and fellow Implosionist John Davis have concocted a true '90s guitar pop album.

But unlike the band's overbearing forays into trip-hop and dub before, a new level of soul and texture emerge from Saint Etienne's neo-modernist stylings.

Faith and Courage shows a songwriter still in command of her talents.

Yes, nearly every track is a Jeep-worthy jam, and, yes, guest vocals from the likes of Redman, Chaka Khan, Busta Rhymes, and the Beastie Boys introduce unprecedented name-recognition, but this isn't a pop album by any stretch of the imagination.