SINGLES
MICHAEL LAVINE
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By Michaelangelo Matos
1. OUTKAST, "B.O.B." (LaFace/Arista) Tick, tick, bang!
2. B15 PROJECT FEATURING CHRISSY D AND LADY G, "Girls Like Us" (Relentless import) Two-step garage served ࠬa mode, with a julienned vocal hook pieced back together more beguilingly than it's sung, topped with a toasted break that could make the proverbial phone book sound good (and, for all I can understand of it, actually does).
3. DESTINY'S CHILD, "Say My Name" (Ruffhouse/Columbia) How could we when you kept switching members on us?
4. SCANTY SANDWICH, "Because of You" (Southern Fried import) The great big beat single that neither Fatboy Slim nor the Chemical Brothers made this year.
5. MOBY, "Natural Blues" (V2) The blues and the abstract truth, with the chorus' cutoff "hey!" the year's heart-in-throat radio moment.
6. EMINEM, "The Real Slim Shady" (Interscope) And you thought he was a one-hit wonder!
7. NELLY, "Country Grammar (Hot S**t)" (Universal) Except for that song about canines, this was the year's most inescapable chorus, only this one batted you over the head with its obviousness in a good way.
8. AALIYAH, "Try Again" (Blackground/ Atlantic) A sinuous R&B ballad with a squinching Roland 303 acid bass line. Addictive.
9. MYSTIKAL, "Shake Ya Ass" (Jive) The hardest barking man in show business's heart-warming tribute to James Brown circa 1968—with updated language, natch.
10. QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, "Feel Good Hit of the Summer" (Interscope) And if you used all the substances they listed, it really was!
DANCE
By Kurt B. Reighley
1. JAZZANOVA, The Remixes: 1997-2000 (Compost) Call it "nu jazz," "broken beat," whatever. The fruits of the meticulous labor of this six-member German DJ/producer team are consistently the most rhythmically innovative, melodically intoxicating tracks around.
2. LARRY LEVAN, Live at the Paradise Garage (Strut/West End/Garage) On the first official release to document his legendary mixing innovations, the Paradise Garage DJ's disco alchemy energizes even a hoary chestnut like Cher's "Take Me Home."
3. GILLES PETERSON, Worldwide Programme 1 (Talking Loud import) Y2K soul canaries (Jill Scott, Kelis), progressive '70s soul (Rotary Connection), minimalist house, jazz, and abstract beats flavor this dusky, sweet, and lively double disc from the pioneering UK DJ.
4. GROOVE ARMADA, Vertigo (Jive-Electro) Refreshing, sassy songs and sumptuous, slo-mo gems like "At the River," perfect for underground house fans sick of recycled disco snippets, divas wailing pointlessly, and endless peaking drum fills.
5. PAUL VAN DYK, Out There and Back (Mute) Sidestepping current genre clich鳠in favor of elements of older influential styles, German trance DJ/producer Van Dyk proudly displays multiple facets of his m鴩er.
6. ARMAND VAN HELDEN, Killing Puritans (Armed) Dance grooves for Scorpions fans, the latest full-length from house hard-hitter Van Helden is as subtle as a brick and twice as heavy.
7. CARL CRAIG, Designer Music: The Remixes Vol. 1 (Planet E) Craig streamlines nine cuts, including Telex's '80s classic "Moskow Diskow," into stripped-down incarnations that feel timeless, without necessarily rendering everything into Detroit techno.
8. AMON TOBIN, Supermodified (Ninja Tune) Critics likened Tobin's last album of jazz- and soundtrack-inspired abstractions, Permutation, to Dave Brubeck, Charles Mingus, and Art Blakey; Supermodified lands closer to Sun Ra.
9. TOWA TEI, Last Century Modern (Elektra) Flirtatious drum-and-bass, futuristic bossa nova, a remake of "Funkin' for Jamaica," and moody minimalism all complement one another cozily on the ex-Deee-Lite star's third solo disc.
10. FATBOY SLIM, Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars (Skint/Astralwerks) Norman Cook reduces the percentage of party-hardy floor fillers to allow for both funkier and friskier fare, finding his perfect foil in contributing soul weirdo Macy Gray.
HIP-HOP
By Jon Caramanica
1. OUTKAST, Stankonia (LaFace/Arista) Way too messy to be just a hip-hop album, Stankonia is also the best rock, funk, and soul album of the year with its easy alliance of joyful noises.
2. QUASIMOTO, The Unseen (Stones Throw) The man pulls you gently by the arm until you're in a strange, uncomfortable place and everything around you is pitch black. Brutal.
3. GHOSTFACE KILLAH, Supreme Clientele (Razor Sharp/Epic) Ghostface is the hungriest MC in hip-hop, and I don't mean just for food. He also needs love, and here, he cries out for it in screechy, plaintive tones.
4. DEAD PREZ, Let's Get Free (Loud) In a perfect world, this album would have sparked a revival of conscious hip-hop. Instead, M-1 and Stic.man had to settle on being the year's top iconoclasts.
5. MF DOOM, Operation: Doomsday (Fondle 'Em) He's been battered by life, losing his brother and partner in rhyme to a car crash just as their old group KMD was about to blow. Here, he lets out his pain.
6. EMINEM, The Marshall Mathers LP (Aftermath/Interscope) Scrawny white boy from Detroit remains angry and razor-tongued, cashes even bigger checks.
7. AESOP ROCK, Float (Mush) Scrawny white boy from New York remains inquisitive and mumble-mouthed, wonders when record will get proper release.
8. REFLECTION ETERNAL (TALIB KWELI & HITEK), Train of Thought (Rawkus) No longer just the "black" in Black Star, Talib Kweli took on the star role on this diverse, mature collection of progressive hip-hop.
9. VARIOUS ARTISTS, ego trip's The Big Playback (Rawkus) A masterly compilation of overlooked gems, it's the type of collection reissues strive for but rarely achieve. A must.
