Randy Crawford The Best Of... (Warner Brothers/WEA) Emotive vocals backed by richly textured music. 8 (GD)

Damien Jurado Waters Ave. S. (Sub Pop) Eric Matthews meets Beat Happening: Sub Pop's days of future past. 7 (CY)

Barada Strategies for a Deeper Design (Definitive/Virgin) Electro disco. Minimal, pleasant, forgettable. 7 (MS)

Salvaje Del Comienzo (I.M.D.)Heavy metal mambo. Raggadeath eat your heart out. 6 (JC)

Erasure Cowboy (Maverick/Mute/Warner) So completely 1987, it's just bizarre. 5 (MS)

Ten Foot Pole Unleashed (Epitaph/Cargo) A brain-dead Pennywise retread. 5 (JT)

Stella Ascension (Beggars Banquet/Koch) Duran Duran jamming on Soundgarden's "Outshined" riffs for a whole album... 3 (LE)

Baby Chaos Love Your Self Abuse (Atlantic) It's the listener abuse I object to. 3 (RB)

Hydra Spooky Weirdness (Polydor) Ah, the sweet sting of the electronica backlash! 3 (CY)

Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies Magnolia (Capricorn/PolyGram) Almost as much fun as a Black Crowes tribute band. 2 (LE) more discs...