James Moody - Greatest Hits (Prestige/Universal) Sweden '49-'51... 24 tracks including the first "Moody's Mood." 8.5 (LD)

Various - Soulful Garage Hits Volume One (Universal Sounds/Jet Star) Ultra-uplifting, powerpacked, gospel-inspired vocal slammers from the leaders of the genre: Masters at Work, KOT, Kim English et al. 8 (KE)

Tito Puente - More Mambo on Broadway (West Wind) Good golly, it's Mr. Timbales, in a Nuyorican state of mind. 8 (RB)

Big Muff - Aurally Exciting Remixes (Maxi/Razor & Tie) Reworkings of Big Muff's debut album, done by Francois K, Bob Sinclar, Smith & Mighty and Big Muff himself. 7.5 (KE)

Buffy Sainte-Marie - Native North-American Child: An Odyssey (Vanguard) From the bio: "Long before Rage Against the Machine there was Buffy Sainte-Marie..." 6 (CY)

Lynch Mob - Smoke This (Koch Records) Wins award for both stupidest album art and record I slept through continuously. 5 (SC)

The Northern Pikes - Hits and Assorted Secrets 1984-1993 (Virgin) Uh, I would've preferred more hits. 5 (CY)

Darkseed - Diving Into Darkness (Nuclear Blast) Predictable, overproduced poppy metal that only people who live in Germany would like. 4 (JC)

Nick Gilder and the Time Machine - Longtime Coming (Page) Good news: "Hot Child in the City" and "Roxy Roller." Bad news: this ain't a greatest hits album. 4 (CY)

Various - Holy Dio: a Tribute to Ronnie James Dio (Century Media/Caroline) Why does this ugly imp deserve a tribute? 2 (JC)

more discs...