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What will historians remember about the 1990s? Most likely Saddam and the Gulf War, the Oklahoma City bombing, "The Simpsons," David Koresh, the impeachment of President Clinton, "Seinfeld," the downfall of Michael Jackson, "Beavis and Butt-Head," merger-mania, O.J. Simpson, the World Wide Web, a painful farewell to Princess Diana, the death of Frank Sinatra.

How about musically? The decade had it all: rap, alternative, hip-hop, grunge, country, electronica, old-school R&B, punk, Americana, power pop. There was Garth Brooks, the Three Tenors, Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Cecilia Bartoli and a tortured soul named Kurt Cobain. There was plenty of banality to go around, too: the Spice Girls, Hanson, boy groups, "The Bodyguard" soundtrack, Woodstock II and an endless parade of interchangeable Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Boyz II Men hits.

In honor of the 1990s, Pause & Play is putting the spotlight once a month on 10 significant albums from the decade. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s - nothing more, nothing less ... and it's certainly open to debate.

Over the next 10 months, P&P will elicit commentary on the selections from a variety of artists. This month, comeback kids Julian Lennon and Nik Kershaw offer their two cents. Lennon, who will be featured in next week's P&P, returned Feb. 23 from an eight-year layoff with his Beatles-influenced album "Photograph Smile" (Fuel 2000/Universal). Kershaw, who will be profiled in a future P&P, is back April 6 with "15 Minutes" (Pyramid/WEA), his first album in 10 years. He had a slew of hits in his native England in the mid-'80s, notably "Wouldn't It Be Good" (which nearly reached the U.S. Top 40 in 1984) and "The Riddle."

(The following albums are not listed alphabetically, chronologically or in order of importance. Anything that came out in the 1990s - even greatest-hits packages, box sets and compilations - is eligible for inclusion. Everything's fair game; P&P wouldn't have it any other way.)

OUT OF TIME, R.E.M. (Warner, 1991) - Only R.E.M. could get away with being cryptic and pensive ("Losing My Religion") and unabashedly silly and poppy ("Shiny Happy People") in one sitting. Kershaw: "To be honest, before that album, I really didn't get R.E.M. There was so much hype about them beforehand, that they were the best band in the world, but I just didn't get it. But then 'Shiny Happy People' came out, I thought, 'What a great single.' When the other stuff came out, I had to get the album, and it's a complete album." Lennon: "I have to say I've never been the biggest fan. I just don't get it." (Must be an English thing.) "I mean, I'm sorry, the guys are nice; I've met Michael (Stipe) a couple of times very briefly. I would say one or two of the singles I have enjoyed." Prime cuts: "Losing My Religion," "Radio Song," "Shiny Happy People," "Texarkana."

THE SCORE, Fugees (Refugee Camp) (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1996) - This trio scored in a big way, blending old-school rap sensibilities with R&B vitality and social consciousness. That Wyclef Jean, Pras and particularly Lauryn Hill have gone on to immense solo success speaks volumes for their combined talents. Prime cuts: "Fu-Gee-La," "Killing Me Softly," "Ready or Not," "No Woman, No Cry."

ASTRO-CREEP: 2000-SONGS OF LOVE, DESTRUCTION AND OTHER SYNTHETIC DELUSIONS OF THE ELECTRIC WORLD, White Zombie (Geffen, 1995) - While overzealous parents and public officials were preoccupied with Marilyn Manson, Rod Zombie's spooky metal-funk madness roared with a vengeance. Rapid-fire rhymes mishmashed with vocal wails and heavy guitar riffs made for a bold sensory overload. Prime cuts: "More Human Than Human," "Electric Head Pt. 1 & 2," "Super-Charger Heaven," "I Zombie."

THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL, Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1998) - The Fugees rapper-singer effortlessly injected her soul-bearing music with finger-snapping energy and '70s-style hook-sense. Albums like this just don't come around that often. Kershaw: "I actually bought this two days ago. There's something about her voice that transcends everything. She has such an amazing voice. I remember talking with someone who was going on about Celine Dion or something, and I said, 'No, this Lauryn Hill is a singer, this is a real voice.' It moves you so much. It took me a few goes to get into some of the tracks and listen really closely to them and try to get into it lyrically as well, but her voice just makes you want to do it. It makes you want to do the work. It's extraordinary." Prime cuts: "Doo Wop (That Thing)," "Ex-Factor," "To Zion" and the hidden bonus track, "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You."

MESSAGE IN A BOX: THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, The Police (A&M, 1993) - Four CDs and 78 tracks blissful enough to put you in a Police state. All the hits are there, plus B-sides, live performances and a 67-page booklet. Worth every penny. Kershaw: "I was a Police fan. It's a pop thing that Sting has kind of turned his back on, and I wish he hadn't, really. He's so good at it. They mixed pop with reggae and there was sort of a shamelessness about it, that it was fun. I have some great memories of that time. Lately, I've been buying a lot of old albums, because it just makes you feel good." Lennon: "I definitely like that. I always admired The Police. They were innovative and different. They combined sometimes serious topics but sometimes a lot of fun topics with great rhythms." Prime cuts: So much to go for ... "Every Breath You Take," "Don't Stand So Close to Me," "Message in a Bottle," "Roxanne," "King of Pain," "Spirits in the Material World."

DIDN'T IT BLOW YOUR MIND: SOUL HITS OF THE '70s, VOLS. 1-20, various artists (Rhino, 1991-1995) - Some magazines poll readers for their desert-island picks, discs they would take with them if they were stranded, ignoring the fact there would be no electricity or replacement batteries for a boom box. First off, Pause & Play would take along the professor from "Gilligan's Island," who could do some amazing electrical things with bamboo and coconuts, and make him live on the other side of the island. Secondly, P&P would pack up this vital soul series so it can feel at home with the likes of the Chi-Lites, Al Green, the Isley Brothers, War, Barry White and the Stylistics. Kershaw: "That was around the time when I was growing up and going to clubs ... Chic and all that stuff, and I was in a cover band at the time and we used to play that stuff all the time. There's some fantastic songs, and those CDs are something I could embrace, but I don't have it." Kershaw wouldn't mind if Rhino passed along copies, in care of P&P. "That would be great. That might be something I can't get enough of. I'm not sure I could find that over here (in England)." Lennon: "I don't have this (series), but as a general rule, I like a lot of soul music. I would definitely be up for that." He also wouldn't turn down promo copies from Rhino - hint, hint. Prime cuts: For starters, how about the Undisputed Truth's "Smiling Faces Sometimes," the Chi-Lites' "Oh Girl," the Three Degrees' "When Will I See You Again" and Norman Connors' "You Are My Starship"?

SURFACING, Sarah McLachlan (Arista, 1997) - The follow-up to her breakthrough 1994 album, "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy," put her over the top. She's at the multiplatinum level now, and there's no turning back. Fortunately, her passionate lyrics and graceful sound haven't been compromised along the way. Prime cuts: "Adia," "Angel," "Building a Mystery," "Sweet Surrender."

DOGGY STYLE, Snoop Doggy Dogg (Death Row, 1993) - The Dogg was let out of his cage for this one. His fist-pumpin' anthems and streetwise posturing had an inane charm about them. Kershaw: "I admire characters. It's funny, I know of him, but I don't know him for his music. I know he's sort of a legend already, but I'm not really sure why." Lennon: "Well, no ... what can I say?" Prime cuts: "Gin and Juice," "What's My Name?," "Doggy Dogg World."

PULP FICTION (film soundtrack), various artists (MCA, 1994) - This Quentin Tarantino film and its witty banter made a big impact in 1994. It marked the comebacks of John Travolta and Dick Dale; violence became wickedly funny, and Urge Overkill's cover of "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" made it okay to publicly admit liking Neil Diamond. Kershaw: "I loved the movie. There's one particular famous guitar line in there, and it brings up just an immediate picture." Lennon: "Yeah, I can dig it." Prime cuts: Dick Dale & His Del-Tones' "Misirlou," the Statler Brothers' "Flowers on the Wall," Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man," Al Green's "Let's Stay Together," Kool & the Gang's "Jungle Boogie."

HEAVEN OR LAS VEGAS, Cocteau Twins (Capitol, 1990) - It's hard to decipher nearly everything Elizabeth Fraser sings, but it doesn't matter. It's wonderfully lush and tuneful, and guitarist Robin Guthrie is grossly underrated. Kershaw: "I haven't got a clue. I've got a pair of friends who are mad Cocteau Twins fans. Maybe I should go out and buy this one." Lennon: "I would like to hear that, but I haven't heard it. I've heard some very good things about it." Prime cuts: "Heaven or Las Vegas," "Iceblink Luck," "I Wear Your Ring," "Cherry-Coloured Funk."

It's 20 years from now, and record company executives are meeting with their reissues department heads. There's a wave of nostalgia for the 1990s, and they want to know: How can we cash in?

Pause & Play to the rescue.

How about "My 15 Minutes Were Up in 10: The Vanilla Ice Years"? Or "The Dying Days of Hair Rock: Cherry Pie and Other Great Love Songs"?

Then there's "Shaveless in Seattle: The Best of Grunge," "Kris Kross' Greatest Hits: When We Were Really, Really Young and Stoopid," "M.C. Hammer: All My Best ... Most of Which Goes to Creditors and My Bankruptcy Lawyers," "Let's Macarena Like It's 1996," "I'm Too Sexy: A Tribute to Right Said Fred" and "It Was a Lousy Decade: The Michael Jackson Story."

And you can't lose with "Sing Along With Snoop," "Yet Another Garth Brooks Box Set: Only This Time It's Personal," "The Song Remains the Same ... Over and Over and Over: The Boyz II Men Anthology," "The Manchester Sound: It Was Nice While It Lasted," "Berets, Stained Dresses and Subpoenas: '90s Songs to Turn an Intern's Head" and "Get Yer Earplugs: Screams of Passion From Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Michael Bolton, Whitney Houston and Other 'Subtle' Artists of the 1990s."

See, the possibilities are endless.

Pause & Play has its own way of immortalizing the '90s, every month counting down 10 significant albums from the decade. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Singer Waymon Boone and bassist James Cruz of the New York rock quartet Splender, which makes its Columbia debut on May 4, offer their reflections on this month's selections. Splender, who will be profiled in a future P&P, have the makings of a promising 1999: The group's upcoming album, "Halfway Down the Sky," was produced by Todd Rundgren, his first band project since The Pursuit of Happiness nearly 10 years ago.

LIVING IN OBLIVION: THE 80's GREATEST HITS, VOLS. 1-5, various artists (EMI, 1993-1995): Okay, this is pretty obscure, but this series was so popular, it can't be found in used CD bins, where many compilations go to die a slow, painful death. It has the usual suspects, such as Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy," the Stray Cats' "Rock This Town" and Wang Chung's "Dance Hall Days," but what separates this from the oldies pack are the lesser-known gems, like Red Box's "Lean On Me (Ah-Li-Ayo)," Strawberry Switchblade's "Since Yesterday" and Fun Boy Three's cover of "Our Lips Are Sealed." Add in Toni Basil's antic Spanish version of "Mickey," and you have a prime example why hits collections are more fun than full-fledged albums. Less filling, tastes great. Prime cuts: Naked Eyes' "Promises, Promises," Double's "The Captain of Her Heart," Talk Talk's "It's My Life," Thompson Twins' "Sister of Mercy."

SUPERUNKNOWN, Soundgarden (A&M, 1994): A haunting piece of work, filled with buzzing and braying guitars, that puts to shame all the bland blather that passes as album-oriented rock. The Seattle quartet was in peak form on the glossy "Black Hole Sun," but it may have signaled the beginning of the end. Its 1996 self-produced follow-up LP, "Down On the Upside," seemed labored and lacked the disciplined edge its predecessor had. The band split up a year later. Boone: "That's one of the best albums of the '90s, by far, and Brendan O'Brien's mixing is incredible." Prime cuts: "Black Hole Sun," "Fell On Black Days," "Spoonman," "Head Down."

THE BENDS, Radiohead (Capitol, 1995): In 1993, the self-deprecating "Creep" only skimmed the surface of what this Oxford, England, quintet had in mind. With its three-guitar assault and Thom E. Yorke's distinctive vocals, "The Bends" was a grand mixture of musical textures and emotions. The album finished in loads of year-end Top 10 lists, including Melody Maker, New Musical Express, Billboard, People, Musician and Options. For once, many artists, critics and fans are on the same page, often naming "The Bends" in the same breath of Nirvana's "Nevermind" as the quintessential album of the 1990s. Indeed. Boone and Cruz (in unison): "Amazing." Boone: "I love the vocal stylings on that record, and I love the fact that there isn't any real single, but it doesn't make any difference because people buy their albums anyway." Cruz: "It's the songs. It's a complete album." Prime cuts: "High and Dry," "Fake Plastic Trees," "The Bends," "Just."

BADUIZM, Erykah Badu (Kedar/Universal, 1997): Lauryn Hill is getting all the accolades for blending old-school soul and hip-hop vitality, but this enigmatic singer helped open a door or two. Boone: "She's like the Billie Holiday of the '90s. She's made a great movement for herself, not just hip-hop, but for herself." Prime cuts: "On & On," "Otherside of the Game," "Next Lifetime," "Drama."

GOODBYE JUMBO, World Party (Ensign, 1990): Kurt Wallinger is a crafty, meticulous artist, who produces, writes, sings and plays nearly all the instruments on World Party albums. He knows what he wants. He gave the best of himself on this inspired effort, built on literate word play, sublime melodies and graspable pop hooks. Like the 1987 debut, "Private Revolution," "Goodbye Jumbo" is heavy on environmental themes, skillfully avoiding preachiness. He even offers a touch of Marvin Gaye soul with "Ain't Gonna Come Till I'm Ready." When it's all said and done, this album will finish in P&P's Top 10 for the 1990s. Guaranteed. Prime cuts: "Put the Message in the Box," "Way Down Now," "Thank You World," "Ain't Gonna Come Till I'm Ready," "When the Rainbow Comes."

GANGSTA'S PARADISE, Coolio (Tommy Boy, 1995): The Compton, Calif., rapper outdid his 1994 debut, "It Takes a Thief," with this conglomeration of fun hip-hop grooves, cagey samples and driving beats. It doesn't hurt that he's a likable guy, setting him apart from a crowded field of egomaniacs and controversial posers. Boone: "Definitely two thumbs up for that record." Prime cuts: "Gangsta's Paradise," "1,2,3,4 (Sumpin' New)," "Too Hot," "Get Up Get Down."

THE COMPLETE RECORDINGS, Robert Johnson (Columbia, 1990): This two-disc collection was one of the decade's greatest success stories. Keep in mind, the "King of the Delta Blues Singers" died in 1938 at age 27, poisoned with strychnine by a jealous girlfriend. In his short life and beyond, he influenced Muddy Waters and Elmore James and generations of rockers and blues performers and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1985. He recorded 29 songs during five sessions in 1936 and 1937, but anything put on vinyl was very hard to come by ... till this flawless package, complete with a 48-page booklet detailing his life, surfaced more than 50 years later. Who possibly could have imagined that this would reach No. 80 on Billboard's pop chart and sell more than 1 million copies? Strange but true. Cruz, laughing: "I haven't heard this record, but I'll try to get it from (Columbia)." Prime cuts: "Cross Road Blues," "Hell Hound On My Trail," "Love in Vain," "Sweet Home Chicago," "Terraplane Blues."

METALLICA, Metallica (Elektra, 1991): This quartet has been a thrash/speed metal pioneer since 1981. Metallica albums always have sold well, nearly all multiplatinum, but when "One" - from "... And Justice For All" - cracked the U.S. Top 40 in 1988, it served as a prelude for what was to come. "Metallica" spent four weeks at No. 1, stayed on the Billboard chart for more than five years, garnered a Grammy Award and, more amazingly, yielded five chart singles. Its instant accessibility didn't detract from the noisy firestorm of guitars, drums and James Hetfield's searing vocals. Cruz: "It was their breakthrough album. Great record, great songs. Just goes to show what happens to a band when they stick it out that long. They're definitely inspirational to us." Boone: "Groups like U2, R.E.M., Metallica, those are templates that all acts should base their futures around." Prime cuts: "Enter Sandman," "Nothing Else Matters," "Sad But True," "The Unforgiven," "Wherever I May Roam."

DIAMONDS AND PEARLS, Prince & The New Power Generation (Paisley Park/Warner, 1991): This was the Purple One's last great album before adopting that symbol for his name and becoming a martyr, convinced Warner Bros. had turned him into a slave. Boone: "I'm surprised that's on there, that's a killer album. That's one of those records that means a lot to us. We went on our first tour without a lot of music; we only had a couple of tapes, and I remember that was one of the tapes, and we really dug it." Prime cuts: "Diamonds and Pearls," "Cream," "Gett Off," "Insatiable."

SONS OF SOUL, Tony! Toni! Tone! (Wing/Mercury, 1993): The Tonys, paying homage to the R&B past with a nod to today's hip-hop, are just as comfortable crooning a ballad (the romantic "Anniversary" is a song for the ages) as they are with the New-Jack funk of "If I Had No Loot." This is what it's soul about. Boone: "There were some great singles off that, especially 'Anniversary.' What a make-out song." Prime cuts: "Anniversary," "If I Had No Loot," "(Lay Your Head On My) Pillow," "Leavin'."

Millennium this, millennium that. It's as if the whole world is supposed to stop on a dime simply because the calendar changes.

There's the Y2K doomsayers, least of whom includes film director Steven Spielberg, who's convinced Nostradamus' final prediction will come true, but in the form of rolling up 90,000 to 100,000 miles on odometers in young cars.

There are newspaper ads from the Catholic Church touting, "We're not responsible for Y2K, but we do know the Man who caused the Millennium! Come home this year to the Catholic Church."

Thankfully, there's a voice of reason, a Dear Abby reader who recently urged the syndicated columnist to get the word out that the millennium starts Jan. 1, 2001, not 2000.

Amen.

Pause & Play doesn't want to be bothered with the new millennium; it will happen when it gets here, regardless, and life will go on. There are more pressing matters at hand, namely remembering the 1990s. Every month, P&P is counting down 10 significant '90s albums in its march toward the next decade (not the new millennium!). By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Guitarist Jeff Phillips and singer-guitarist Chris Dye of the Los Angeles melodic-rock group Gordon and lead singer-songwriter Tim Jones of the Bloomington, Ind., rock quintet Old Pike provide a running commentary on this month's selections. Both groups are in the 550 Music camp. Gordon's self-titled debut album, produced by Brendan O'Brien (Pearl Jam, Stone Temple Pilots, Rage Against the Machine), is due June 1 on the 550 Music-affiliated Fifty Seven Records. Old Pike's debut album, "Ten Thousand Nights," was released April 13. Both bands will be featured in upcoming P&P installments.

VS., Pearl Jam (Epic/Associated, 1993) - The monster debut album "Ten" put them over the top, and "Vs." kept them there with solid songs and near-flawless production. Along with Nirvana, Eddie Vedder and his band mates were considered pacesetters for the Seattle grunge movement. What was grunge anyway? Pearl Jam was rock 'n' roll, '90s style. Phillips: "It's an important record, a great production. Brendan (O'Brien) worked on that record, so we can't say anything bad about it." Jones: "I was way into Pearl Jam with the 'Ten' record, and on 'Vs.,' I really like that song 'Dissident.' I thought the lyrics were great, with that jammin' guitar intro." Prime cuts: "Daughter," "Dissident," "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town," "Animal."

CHECK YOUR HEAD, Beastie Boys (Grand Royal/Capitol, 1992) - The New York white rap trio got lost amid grunge, "Achy Breaky Heart" and "The Bodyguard" soundtrack in 1992, but it didn't deter the inventive crew's odd hybrids built on blistering rhythms and street-smart wit. The single, "So What'cha Want," in particular, proved they were more than a passing fancy from their 1986 anthem "(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party!)." Dye: "That's a timeless rap record." Phillips: "It's really hard to comment on it, because it's so great. What more do you expect from them? Every record they do is pretty cool." Jones: " 'Licensed to Ill' came out when I was in the sixth grade, and it was like my rebellion record. I used to get kicked out of class for rappin' to the Beastie Boys. Then their second album ('Paul's Boutique'), we used to party and drink beers to that one, and 'Check Your Head' was a real party record when I was in college. They've done their thing, and they've hung with it. You have to admire that." Prime cuts: "So What'cha Want," "Pass the Mic," "Lighten Up," "Something's Got to Give."

JAGGED LITTLE PILL, Alanis Morissette (Maverick/Reprise, 1995) - What a transformation. The young Canadian actress parlayed her earnings from Nickelodeon's "You Can't Do That On Television" into a brief, Paula Abdul-like dance-music career. Then, after hooking up with producer Glen Ballard, she developed a more intensely personal, uninhibited and defiant songwriting and performing style. It worked in a big, big way, and it set off the ultimate compliment: a string of copycats. Phillips: "I haven't heard the whole record, just the singles, which is probably half of it. It's pretty good." Jones: "I never got into that, but I can't deny I love some of the melodies that she comes up with. I liked more the two singles from her new record - 'Thank U,' and the one from the 'City of Angels' soundtrack. On 'Jagged Little Pill,' 'Ironic' really bothered me. I can't get into her lyrical style and I can't get into the cadence, the way she spreads out her words across the beats and across measures." Prime cuts: "You Oughta Know," "Ironic," "Hand In My Pocket," "You Learn."

THE SIMPSONS: SONGS IN THE KEY OF SPRINGFIELD (TV soundtrack), various artists (Rhino, 1997) - This is the definitive show of the 1990s, not the whiny, self-absorbed "Seinfeld." Since 1990, this Fox cartoon has given new meaning to the word irreverent. No one, not even the Simpsons themselves, escapes the whimsical prose and distorted images of Matt Groening and his staff. Everything about it is brilliantly twisted, especially its campy throwbacks to overblown musicals. This CD offers such classic moments as "The Amendment Song," a parody of "Schoolhouse Rocks"; Homer's ode, "It Was a Very Good Beer," and Bart's hilarious church prank, switching hymns and gleefully watching as congregation members unwittingly sing "In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida." Who needs the Kwik-E-Mart when you have this CD to satisfy your "Simpsons" craving? Phillips: "I haven't heard it. What's on there? It has to be genius." Dye: "I'm down with that." Prime cuts: "The Day the Violence Died (Medley)," "Springfield, Springfield (Parts 1 & 2)," "Two Dozen and One Greyhounds (Medley)," "Bart Sells His Soul (Medley)."

RAY OF LIGHT, Madonna (Maverick/Warner, 1998) - Never dismiss the Material Girl. Just as it appeared music was going to take a backseat to motherhood, she teamed with producer William Orbit and created one of the most critically hailed albums of her career. In return, she earned several long-overdue Grammys. Phillips: "The songs I have heard, I've liked. She's awesome." Dye: "I like Madonna. She's hot. She's very consistent and has stuck to her guns, and you have to respect Madonna." Jones: "Horrible. I never listened to it much; the songs that I heard were more like reading a teenager's journal than a woman who's had a child and suddenly has become this new person. It seemed real new-agey to me. But I do think she's a beautiful woman, and I hope she reads this." Prime cuts: "Ray of Light," "Frozen," "Nothing Really Matters," "The Power of Good-Bye."

TONI BRAXTON, Toni Braxton (LaFace/Arista, 1993) - This gospel-influenced soul singer left the Braxtons sibling vocal group in 1991 to audition for L.A. Reid and Babyface. The hot R&B producers then gave her impressive vocals a fitting glossy sheen. She doesn't go over the top like Whitney Houston, but she definitely can hold her own. Jones: "I love it. Anything she does is top-notch to me. She's a dream." Prime cuts: "Another Sad Love Song," "Breathe Again," "How Many Ways," "You Mean the World to Me."

VIOLATOR, Depeche Mode (Sire, 1990) - The English rock group augmented its pioneering synthesizer sound with layers of searing guitars while maintaining its trademark dark lyrical content and MTV-ready choruses. Now fans are wondering if the band peaked with this, its biggest-selling album (more than 3 million copies). Phillips: "That record rocks. I love it. That's the guitar Depeche Mode record." Jones: "I loved that record. I remember hearing it the summer after my freshman year in high school, I was out in California for a marching band trip, and I used to listen to it all the time." Prime cuts: "Enjoy the Silence," "Personal Jesus," "Policy of Truth," "World In My Eyes."

ACHTUNG BABY, U2 (Island, 1991) - When the rock veterans closed out the 1980s with a New Year's Eve concert in their native Dublin, Bono told fans the group planned to "go away and dream it up all again." They did, experimenting for a year with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno for their most musically adventurous album to date. Phillips: "One of my favorites. That whole record changed that whole drum sound, with a techno vibe." Dye: "They're probably one of the only groups that could pull that off." Jones: "That record, I was kind of torn. U2 was it for me from probably sixth grade until my sophomore year in high school. I saw them when 'The Joshua Tree' came out, and it was probably one of the most moving experiences of my whole life. 'Rattle and Hum' helped define for me that I needed to be a rock 'n' roll star, and when 'Achtung Baby' came out, I was kind of hoping for something a little bit more rock 'n' roll, but it was cool. I listened to it over and over again. For me, it was kind of like the beginning of the end of U2, but now I'm ready to hear the beginning again. I think they've got a lot more better records in them; it's just going to take a little while for them to find it." Prime cuts: "The Fly," "Mysterious Ways," "One," "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses," "Even Better Than the Real Thing."

SONGS OF FREEDOM (box set), Bob Marley (Tuff Gong, 1992) - For eight years, reggae fans had to make do with "Legend," the multiplatinum best-of LP, but then the box set came into vogue and they were able to lively up themselves with this vital four-CD set of studio, live and unreleased tracks spanning his career from the 1960s to his final concert in 1980. Phillips: "I've never heard a Bob Marley song I didn't like." Jones: "I can't argue with that one. Sometimes the culture surrounding Bob Marley gets tedious, but if you take his music straight for what it is, you can't deny the soul of it and the feel-good attitude. It makes me want to go to Jamaica." Prime cuts: "Is This Love," "Jamming," "One Love (medley)," "Could You Be Loved," "Get Up, Stand Up," "No Woman, No Cry," "Iron Lion Zion."

CRAZYSEXYCOOL, TLC (LaFace/Arista, 1994) - Pebbles (whatever happened to her?) discovered this vocal trio and got them signed to LaFace, the label owned by producers L.A. Reid (Pebbles' former husband) and Babyface. Their 1992 debut, "Ooooooohhh ... On the TLC Tip," was just the tip of the iceberg. "CrazySexyCool" was more confident and mature, particularly on the AIDS lament, "Waterfalls." Dye: " 'Waterfalls' was one of the best songs of that year, for sure." Jones: "Anything they do, they can't do wrong. (Lisa) 'Left Eye' (Lopes), if she's looking for another husband, I'm available. When she burned down (NFL wide receiver) Andre Rison's house, I thought, 'That girl's not to be messed with.' They've got the grooves; they can sing, and they've got the moves." Prime cuts: "Waterfalls," "Creep," "Diggin' On You," "Red Light Special."

Have you seen the world lately? It's crazy out there.

The nightly accounts of the continuing bombing of Yugoslavia and the refugees' plight gloss over a numbed public, conjuring up reminders of Vietnam casualty totals on the "Huntley-Brinkley Report" a generation ago, but damn if the nation isn't lining up for miles for the opening of "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace." Our priorities are in order.

Amy Fisher, ex-lover Joey Buttafuoco and his wife, Mary Jo, are planning to stage a televised reunion. Pay per view, no doubt. Will Jerry Springer be the referee?

Schools are becoming armed camps, and yet gun owners and dealers say banning firearms won't prevent murderous rampages such as the one in Littleton, Colo. Thousands still pluck down cash to attend gun shows, and many more visit insane Web sites such as www.shotgunnews.com and www.ak-47.net. Yeah, God bless America and the NRA.

Did you happen to notice the NBA and NHL playoffs are limping along? Don't worry, no one else has either. Farewell "Mad About You" and "Home Improvement"; good riddance "Melrose Place."

It's nearly summertime, so that must mean another Will Smith single, a sure indication another blockbuster movie and endless radio/music video airplay aren't far behind, and get a load of MTV touting all the premiere videos it's airing this month. Takes you back to the day when that's all they did: SHOW VIDEOS!

But we digress ...

Every month, P&P is counting down 10 significant '90s albums in its march toward the next decade. Volume 4 springs up in May. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Singer Brian Burns of the rock quintet Disappointment Incorporated and drummer Jerry Terwilliger of the Poughkeepsie, N.Y., rock group Pound size up this month's selections. Disappointment Incorporated recently made its Time Bomb Recordings debut with "F=�," while Pound's debut Island/Mercury LP, "Same Old Life," was released May 11 and contains its rising mainstream rock hit "Upside Down." Both will be featured in upcoming editions of P&P.

AL GREEN/GREATEST HITS, Al Green (The Right Stuff, 1995) - This remastered version of his 1975 hits collection featured five bonus tracks. Fittingly, fans of the 1970s' definitive male soul singer snapped this up, putting him back on the LP charts for the first time in eight years. Great songs never die, they just continually resonate. Burns: "I love Al Green. He's a hero of mine. 'Tired of Being Alone' just kills me. He's one of those artists who's the dividing line between the good and the bad. It doesn't matter what they do, I'm going to go out and buy it and listen to it, because he's established himself as part of culture, as opposed to someone who has one part of one song that I like. I'm always interested in what he's doing." Prime cuts: "Tired of Being Alone," "Let's Stay Together," "I'm Still in Love With You," "Here I Am (Come and Take Me)."

BLOOD SUGAR SEX MAGIK, Red Hot Chili Peppers (Warner, 1991) - Those naked guys wearing sweat socks over their private parts made their commercial breakthrough with this Rick Rubin-produced LP. It stretched pop's boundaries, ranging from the infectious repetitiveness of "Give It Away" to the uncharacteristically pensive "Under the Bridge." Burns: "Not crazy about it, to be honest with you. They never did it for me. It's not authentic for me." Terwilliger: "It doesn't knock me off my butt, but I love their rhythm section." Prime cuts: "Give It Away," "Under the Bridge," "Breaking the Girl," "Blood Sugar Sex Magik."

I DO NOT WANT WHAT I HAVEN'T GOT, Sinead O'Connor (Ensign, 1990) - The indignant singer-songwriter from Ireland committed career suicide in 1990 by tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul on "Saturday Night Live." She hasn't been the same since. Too bad, because she's blessed with a potent voice, brutally honest lyrics and loads of untapped promise. Now used-CD store owners can't give this album away. Burns: "I like it, I like it a lot. I like Sinead O'Connor, but I thought her tearing up the picture of the pope was a bad idea, regardless of my own trials and tribulations with the Catholic Church. I thought it was a real tasteless move and it offended a lot of people. She hurt herself by doing it, and quite frankly, it's made it difficult for me to appreciate what she does now." Terwilliger (laughing): "I'm not going to say anything bad about her, she never did anything to me." Prime cuts: "Nothing Compares 2 U," "Emperor's New Clothes," "Three Babies," "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got."

IT'S A SHAME ABOUT RAY, The Lemonheads (Atlantic, 1993) - For a brief period, Evan Dando was the darling of the alternative rock world. He had long hair, looked grungefully disheveled, didn't dress for success and ruminated about lost loves and other casualties in his life. It's a shame it didn't last longer. Burns: "I'm not a fan of the Lemonheads. I thought the best thing they ever did was that cover of Simon & Garfunkel's 'Mrs. Robinson.' " Prime cuts: "It's a Shame About Ray," "My Drug Buddy," "Mrs. Robinson," "Confetti."

TUESDAY NIGHT MUSIC CLUB, Sheryl Crow (A&M, 1994) - This small-town girl rose from rural Missouri to singing backup on Michael Jackson's "Bad" tour and friend Don Henley's "The End of the Innocence" album and writing songs for Eric Clapton and Wynonna Judd. Then she joined in on informal jam sessions with label mate David Baerwald, producer Bill Bottrell and songwriter Kevin Gilbert to fashion the basics for an album right up Bonnie Raitt's alley. It didn't come easily for Crow; the album took a full year to catch on, but once radio and MTV climbed aboard, she soared with a slew of memorable singles. Burns: "I like her. I had my doubts in the beginning; she used a song some guy wrote in a bar, but now that I'm hearing what she's doing, this chick is hanging tough. After being out here (in Los Angeles) for the past two months and scratching and tearing for every inch of territory that we can gain, it's enhancing my appreciation for people who've come and conquered like Sheryl Crow. It's hard enough for a man, but even harder for a woman." Terwilliger: "I like stuff that's more straight up." Prime cuts: "All I Wanna Do," "Strong Enough," "Run, Baby, Run," "Leaving Las Vegas," "Can't Cry Anymore."

HELLO NASTY, Beastie Boys (Grand Royal/Capitol, 1998) - Never count out Adam Horovitz, Adam Yauch and Mike D. They were in peak form on this multiplatinum effort, churning out a noisy firestorm of witty rhymes, samples and driving beats. Burns: "I'm mixed about that. I find myself listening to it and liking it, and other times I turn it on and think, 'God, I can't stand this shit.' I have a schizophrenic relationship with the Beastie Boys." Terwilliger: "It's cool. Those guys are really creative. I don't know how you would categorize them. One minute, they're hip-hop and the next they're alternative or this or that. They're really talented, and if you listen to their records, if you go way back, every record they either go back into something or move forward and create something new, another new noise. You know what they have that's real important? A smokin' gun of a friggin' fan base; they will sell records no matter what. It's like Metallica. Metallica could play Giants Stadium tomorrow with no record, no nothing, and sell the thing out in one hour. They could sell out in Tibet. It's a cult fan base, and the Beasties have that." Prime cuts: "Intergalactic," "Body Movin'," "Three MC's and One DJ," "Remote Control."

ODELAY, Beck! (DGC/Geffen, 1996) - In 1994, many were wondering, "Who the heck is this guy who got signed to a huge deal based on one song, 'Loser,' and was the million-selling 'Mellow Gold' album a fluke?" On this, his second release, Beck lived up to the hype, tossing all sorts of odd rhythms, beats and samples into the mix, concocting a musical Hairy Buffalo. Burns: "It's quite good, but because he's part of a very big, powerful music machine with a tremendous amount of leverage. He's given a lot of credit for a lot of things he didn't come up with originally, with all the sampling and such. Mick Jones of The Clash was doing that stuff with Big Audio Dynamite in 1990, but he hasn't received the accolades." Prime cuts: "Where It's At," "Devils Haircut," "New Pollution," "Lord Only Knows."

FUMBLING TOWARDS ECSTASY, Sarah McLachlan (Nettwerk/Arista, 1994) - The Nova Scotia-born singer-songwriter paid her dues on the Canadian folk circuit before dazzling Arista's ears in 1989 with her haunting "Touch" debut album. She took that early promise a step further with "Solace" in 1991 and really came into her own with "Fumbling," her most passionate and endearing to date. A brilliant song like "Possession," for example, speaks on several levels: McLachlan wrote it about an obsessed fan who was stalking her, while others can interpret it as a deeply personal love song. That's a true gift. Burns: "It's not me. She's good at what she does. I think my problem isn't with Sarah McLachlan, it's with the people who play her all the time." Prime cuts: "Possession," "Good Enough," "Ice Cream," "Hold On."

HARVEST MOON, Neil Young (Reprise, 1992) - Rock's greatest chameleon shifted gears from the tried and true rock of "Ragged Glory" two years earlier to the sentimentality of this tender sequel to 1972's "Harvest." The title track, with its enchanting waltz, is easily the best song he has done in the 1990s. Burns: "Amazing. I love Neil Young. Everything he does is redemptive. He's a guy who sets a tone for culture. I love the fact he schedules a concert and you never know what he's going to do when he shows up. He's a living artist. He might come out and play country tunes or something electric. He's unpredictable." Terwilliger: "He's killer. I love him. It's straight up: guitar, bass, drums. That's really what rock 'n' roll's all about. It's the kind of rock that will never die." Prime cuts: "Harvest Moon," "Unknown Legend," "War of Man," "From Hank to Hendrix."

AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE, R.E.M. (Warner, 1992) - Far removed from the density of 1983's "Murmur," Michael Stipe and the others further displayed their heart-on-sleeve pop emotionalism, never more apparent than on the mournful "Everybody Hurts" and "Man On the Moon," the wistful tribute to the late comedian Andy Kaufman. Rolling Stone critics named this the best album of 1992, amazingly beating out Nirvana's groundbreaking "Nevermind." Burns: "Not a huge R.E.M. fan, but I'm a big fan of some R.E.M. songs." Terwilliger: "I'm the same way, I like some of their singles, but live I've seen some bootleg footage of them and they kick it out. It's sort of like us, (our) record doesn't do us justice. They're another band that always adapts. They've broken the rules a little bit and put their stamp on rock 'n' roll." Prime cuts: "Drive," "Everybody Hurts," "Man On the Moon," "Monty Got a Raw Deal," "Nightswimming."

This week (June 27-July 3) marks two occasions: The year reaches its midway point at high noon July 1, just as you're munching on that grilled cheese sandwich at lunch - only 182.5 days till that big day everyone has been talking about but the reason escapes us - and Pause & Play is smack in the middle of its monthly countdown of the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Getting there has been half the battle.

Before the countdown continues, let's look back upon the first six months: The year, so far, belongs to Ricky Martin, nasty computer viruses, Pok�mon, Kid Rock, Austin Powers (again), "Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace" (again, for the fourth time), "The Sopranos," Blondie, Columbine High School, eBay, Cher, cargo pants, the Kosovars, "Behind the Music," Teletubby Tinky Winky, the euro, a merciful end to the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, and the swan songs of Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and John Elway. We also lost several icons: Joe DiMaggio, Dusty Springfield, Mel Torme, Shel Silverstein ... even Boxcar Willie, to name a few.

Here are the Top 10 songs and albums that stand out for P&P at mid-'99:

Songs - "Maria," Blondie (Beyond); "Somebody Loves You," Nik Kershaw (Pyramid/WEA); "In Love," Fear of Pop featuring William Shatner (550 Music); "No Scrubs," TLC (LaFace/Arista); "If You Buy This Record Your Life Will Be Better," The Tamperer featuring Maya Days (Jive); "Music Sounds Better With You," Stardust (Roule/Virgin); "Believe," Cher (Warner); "Praise You," Fatboy Slim (Skint/Astralwerks); "I'd Like That," XTC (TVT); "In Our Lifetime," Texas (Universal).

Albums - "Apple Venus, Volume 1," XTC (TVT); "FanMail," TLC (LaFace/Arista); "You've Come a Long Way, Baby," Fatboy Slim (Skint/Astralwerks); "Millennium Hip-Hop Party," various artists (Rhino); "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too," New Radicals (MCA); "Dosage," Collective Soul (Atlantic); "Utopia Parkway," Fountains of Wayne (Atlantic); "15 Minutes," Nik Kershaw (Pyramid/WEA); "13," Blur (Virgin); "14:59," Sugar Ray (Lava/Atlantic).

And now, in the immortal words of Casey Kasem, "back to the countdown ...."

Every month, P&P is rattling off 10 significant '90s albums in its march toward the next decade. Volume 5 pops up in June. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

A trio of music authorities - Aston Harvey of the British dance group Freestylers; Kim Shattuck, leader of The Muffs, and Chris Cox, one-half of the remix team Thunderpuss 2000 - express their opinions on this month's selections.

The Freestylers, who were voted best band at the 1998 Muzik Magazine awards, have their sights set on America with its Mammoth debut album, "We Rock Hard," and the raucous single, "Here We Go." Shattuck and The Muffs, after several years with Reprise Records, bounced back June 15 with their fourth punk-packed LP, "Alert Today Alive Tomorrow," this time on the indie label Honest Don's M-M-Good Recordings. (Both groups will be featured in upcoming P&Ps.)

Cox and studio partner Barry Harris have had a remarkable string of success recently. Their reworking of Whitney Houston's "It's Not Right But It's Okay" topped Billboard's dance club play chart in January and now is poised to crack the Top 10 on the Hot 100 pop list. Their remixes of Amber's "Sexual (Li Da Di)," The Tamperer's "If You Buy This Record Your Life Will Be Better," Britney Spears' "Sometimes" and Abigail's "Let the Joy Rise" are lighting up the dance floors. They have more on the way from Houston ("Your Love Is My Love"), Donna Summer ("Love Is a Healer") and Jennifer Holliday ("A Woman's Got the Power").

VERY, Pet Shop Boys (EMI/ERG, 1993) - Dismissed as bubblegum synth-pop by critics from the outset, with "West End Girls" in 1986, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe finally won universal praise with this banner album. There were twinges of the Boys' trademark humor (notably "Dreaming of the Queen"), but elsewhere they masterfully voiced sexual and emotional fears in the AIDS era. Cox: "They've never really done me wrong as far as an album goes. That particular album, before it they had gone off and been a little experimental, and this was their foray back into classic Pet Shop Boys writing, like very clever lyrics and melodies and beats you can dance to. I don't know how you can be related to dance music and not have total admiration for the Pet Shop Boys for everything they've done. That was a classic album." Harvey: "I haven't heard anything from the Pet Shop Boys in a while, but they are pretty interesting for what they do, electronic pop. I'm not a major fan, but they've come up with some very good songs." Shattuck: "I went to a Pet Shop Boys record release party once, and I found it super vile. I don't like dance music at all, because I don't dance and when I see people dance I make fun of them, so the music that goes with it, I don't like. Blondie's 'Heart of Glass' is probably the closest thing to dance music I like." Prime cuts: "Can You Forgive Her?," "I Wouldn't Normally Do This Kind of Thing," "Dreaming of the Queen," "Go West."

INGENUE, k.d. lang (Sire/Reprise) - For years, the Canadian singer-songwriter embraced her country roots and reverence for the late Patsy Cline, but mainstream Nashville was leery of lang's butch haircut and penchant for wearing men's clothes. She didn't take it personally; she just moved on, crossing over to mesh pop with country on this critically lauded, award-winning album described by lang herself as "nouveau easy listening." Cox: "It's a beautiful album, texturally the way it sounds. There's some great writing and she does a great job vocally, but it was one of those handful of albums I found that you could listen to in its entirety over and over again. The entire album helped you forget all your woes and just indulge. It's one of the best albums to hear by candlelight." Prime cuts: "Constant Craving," "Miss Chatelaine," "Outside Myself," "Save Me."

(WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY? Oasis (Epic, 1995) - Despite the boorish behavior of the Gallagher brothers and their ongoing feud with Blur, there's no denying that their sophomore effort was a sweeping rock epic. "Champagne Supernova" and "Don't Look Back In Anger," particularly, were the group's shining moments. Cox: "All Beatles references aside - so many people consider them knockoffs, but who hasn't been influenced by the Beatles? - yeah, they're playing loud and heavy, but there's melodic content within the music. Noel's writing is wonderful, fun and clever and sarcastic. That's a wicked album." Harvey: "It's a very good album, but there's a bit of a controversy between us and them. Originally, the first version of (the Freestylers single) 'B Boy Stance' used some of the melody from 'Wonderwall' with a change of lyrics. It got stopped and it hyped us up; it didn't do anything bad, but we had to rerecord it. Subsequently, I met Noel Gallagher at the Muzik Magazine dance awards, where we won best band at last year, and, in a very drunk state, I actually got the courage up to talk to him. He told me he never heard the record. I sent him a copy of the original. Aside from that, I do like Oasis; they have some very good melodies. I won't begrudge them for not letting us use their music." Shattuck: "I'm not much of an Oasis fan. They seem like dumb hicks. They're cocky, and I don't think their music is all that interesting." Prime cuts: "Don't Look Back In Anger," "Wonderwall," "Champagne Supernova," "Hey Now!," "Roll With It."

LED ZEPPELIN (box set), Led Zeppelin (Atlantic, 1990) - Put on a Led Zep record now and stack it up against today's hottest acts, such as Buckcherry, Creed and Lit. Clearly, it's no contest. Thirty-year-old songs by this legendary British rock quartet have more of an edge and spontaneity than anything that has come along since. This vital box set only confirms it. Cox: "I didn't bother getting it, because I already had all the original albums on vinyl. But every male turning 13 should be given Led Zep as a rite of passage." Harvey: "Their music is rock, but it's also funk. The sound they achieved, especially the drum beats, is amazing. Led Zeppelin influenced a lot of bands. Rock music came out of America, but a British band kind of did it better. They were brilliant, but they probably didn't know that at the time; they were just doing their thing." Shattuck: "I guess I don't like Robert Plant's voice that much, but the band is pretty good. I like Jimmy Page playing the violin bow, but he ripped that off from somebody and claimed it to be his own. He ripped it off from Eddie Phillips of The Creation; he did that in the mid-'60s. It's really cool, and I want to do it, too, but you know ... Led Zeppelin did it!" Prime cuts: "Stairway to Heaven," "Whole Lotta Love," "Immigrant Song," "Rock and Roll," "Black Dog," "The Rain."

TRAVELING WITHOUT MOVING, Jamiroquai (WORK, 1997) - This retro-happy British outfit owes a great deal to Stevie Wonder, disco and Me-Decade funk, but while it seems they were plucked out of a time machine, the group avoids being overly derivative by keeping it fresh and contemporary. Cox: "I played this album repeatedly for a solid year. I've referred to them as Stevie Wonder and Steely Dan's love child, mixed in with Isaac Hayes. It has so much soul." Harvey: "They have a classic soul sound. It's kind of dancey and it isn't, you know what I mean? They're very good live, very well orchestrated." Prime cuts: "Virtual Insanity," "High Times," "Cosmic Girl," "Alright."

E. 1999 ETERNAL, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (Ruthless, 1995) - Straight outta Cleveland, this rap group combined funky hip-hop grooves with old-school samples. Their character studies were spiked with fervor and rapid-fire rhymes. Cox: "Not one of my favorites. I do listen to hip-hop. I can appreciate what they did in their rapping style, but this one wore on me really quick." Prime cuts: "1st of tha Month," "East 1999," "Land of the Heartless," "No Shorts, No Losses."

MCMXC a.D., Enigma (Charisma, 1991) - Romania-born producer Michael Cretu sparked a worldwide infatuation with Gregorian chants by backing the traditional sound with a dance rhythm. It was pure genius, though fleeting. Cox: "I thought it was an amazing, ground-breaking record to this day, but an entire album of that concept totally bored me to tears. As a producer, it was a brilliant move to take hip-hop beats and Gregorian chants with his beautiful wife, Sandra, doing sexy things on top of it, but the novelty wore off." Harvey: "I never liked Enigma. I hated them, actually. They're annoying. I know they had a No. 1 record and it did very well over here, but it wasn't really my cup of tea. It didn't touch a nerve with me." Prime cuts: "Sadeness Part 1," "Mea Culpa," "Knocking On Forbidden Doors," "Back to the Rivers of Disbelief Medley."

SEAL, Seal (Sire, 1991) - Trevor Horn's polished production was a big factor in this London-born singer's early success, but Seal distinguished himself with a unique, rock-fused soul vocal style. Cox: "Trevor Horn is a god of production. That album floored me. The layers upon layers of vocals and overdubbing creates this huge Phil Spector-like wall of sound; it's gorgeous, but it's perfectly clean. A very brief chapter of my life was spent in Tulsa, Okla., and when I was moving to L.A., that was one of the CDs I had in the car. For some reason, I had that CD on repeat through the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona at night. That's one of my desert-island discs." Harvey: "I really liked 'Crazy.' It's very slick sounding. Trevor Horn has been doing it for years with The Art of Noise." Shattuck: "I feel sorry for (Seal) for having those scars on his face. No wonder he's a musician; musicians don't have to be good-looking at all." Prime cuts: "Crazy," "Killer," "Future Love Paradise," "Deep Water."

MAMA SAID KNOCK YOU OUT, L.L. Cool J (Def Jam, 1990) - Answering fans and critics who thought he had grown soft after hitting platinum status in the late '80s, the street-wise rapper talked tough on his fourth album and backed it up sonically. Cox: "I'm a sucker for his early stuff, but after he went into basically pop records, this was his comeback. He needed to show he was still real and still about hip-hop." Harvey: "Totally amazing. The actual track, 'Mama Said Knock You Out,' has got to be one of the Top Five all-time greatest hip-hop records. He had been getting a lot of flak for whatever he was doing beforehand, then he came out with this record and the delivery of the rap and the music, it's mind-blowing. It was a Marley Marl-produced album, and over the years, he's been a major influence on us." Shattuck: "That's a good title for a song. I like that. I imagine the music's good just from that title alone." Prime cuts: "Around the Way Girl," "Mama Said Knock You Out," "Boomin' System," "6 Minutes of Pleasure."

BLUE, LeAnn Rimes (Curb, 1996) - The second coming of Patsy Cline came in the form of a 13 year old girl from Garland, Texas. She was handed the title track, originally written for but not recorded by Cline, and with it made an indelible impression on country music. She fittingly won the 1996 Grammy for best new artist. Cox: "I'm allergic to country music; I just fall on the floor, convulsing. Seriously, I can admire what she has done in such a short lifespan; she's totally become a superstar and she does have an amazing voice." Harvey: "I prefer Shania Twain; she's well tasty. That LeAnn Rimes song, 'How Do I Live,' has been on the chart over here for like two years. That's all I know about her." Shattuck: "That voice, I love that voice. I wish I could do that yodeling thing she does; she's better than Slim Whitman." Prime cuts: "Blue," "Fade to Blue," "Light In Your Eyes," "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)."

It's a strange business, this thing called the music industry. Look no further than the disparate stories of New Radicals, Morphine and Guy Mitchell.

Gregg Alexander, essentially a one-man show known as New Radicals, recently handed a bomb to MCA Records: He announced he longer will be a recording artist - contractual obligations be damned - and will concentrate on writing for and producing other artists, such as his current work on Danielle Brisebois' RCA debut, "Portable Life," set for a September release.

It's a bizarre development, especially after New Radicals made a surprise international splash with the single, "You Get What You Give," P&P's single of the year in 1998. Cut from the power-pop mold of 1970s Todd Rundgren, the song was a pleasing, pop-pumped petal, complete with MTV-ready choruses, layers of guitar chords and infectious harmonies. It had it all.

New Radicals' debut album, "Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too," also fared well, going gold and still clocking time on Billboard's chart this week.

Why the change of heart for Alexander? Fans, now consoling each other on the Internet, speculate that Alexander was unhappy with New Radicals' wildly uneven live performances. That's not a stretch, considering New Radicals was a studio project and Alexander hastily put together a touring outfit once the song and album took off.

In a statement, Alexander said he was "tired of fronting a 'one-hit wonder.' "

Never mind that MCA is poised to release "Someday We'll Know" as the second single and had authorized an accompanying video. He has assured himself of one-hit-wonderdom without much of a fight.

Alexander said he was "more interested in being the next Mutt Lange than a performer." Memo to Gregg: Next time, you should take that car for a test spin before you drive it off the lot; in other words, you should have explored whether New Radicals could fly live before handing out your demos early on.

"I accomplished all of my goals with this record," Alexander said, "and I'm ready to move on and make the next step in my career."

He accomplished all his goals with one record? Oh ... please. Thank God, the Beatles didn't come to that self-serving conclusion after "Sgt. Pepper" or there would have been no "Abbey Road." Pink Floyd could have called it quits after "Dark Side of the Moon," but it didn't; it gave us "The Wall." Bruce Springsteen didn't give up after "Born to Run"; he graced us with "Nebraska."

Not that New Radicals is anywhere near those league of legends.

The truth of the matter is, Alexander may say he has the music in him, but he's afraid of failure. Who isn't? At least some of us still have the dreamer's disease.

Which brings us to Morphine and Guy Mitchell.

The Cambridge, Mass.-based Morphine was a guitarless, jazz-influenced rock trio. Singer Mark Sandman played bass, Dana Colley was on tenor and baritone saxophone and Billy Conway was on drums. Conceptually, it was a coup. For anyone who saw them live, like at the 1994 South By Southwest gathering, it was an aural experience.

They played their hearts out live and in the studio. They didn't sell many records, not like New Radicals, but they were infinitely more talented and memorable ... which makes it all the more sad to learn that Sandman died July 4 of a heart attack during a performance in Italy. Sandman, a former member of the 1980s blues-rock group Treat Her Right, died doing what he loved best. He was 46.

Mitchell was there at rock's birth in the mid-1950s. For at least one 10-week period, he was nearly as big as Elvis Presley. His breakthrough hit, "Singing the Blues," topped Billboard's Hot 100 for 10 weeks and sold more than 1 million copies. It was a finger-snapping gem, punctuated by Mitchell's whistling melody. He had one more No. 1, "Heartaches By the Number" (1959), before bouncing from label to label in the early 1960s and turning to country music later.

Mitchell died July 1 in Las Vegas of complications after surgery. He was 72. He deserved more than a one-paragraph obituary in U.S. newspapers and magazines.

New Radicals, Morphine, Guy Mitchell ... like we said, this is a strange business.

And now ... on to P&P's monthly countdown of the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Every month, P&P is rattling off 10 significant '90s albums in its march toward the next decade. Volume 6 pops up in July. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Along for the ride, providing expert commentary on this month's selections, are an eclectic trio of artists - Doug Corella, keyboardist for The Verve Pipe; lead singer-guitarist Matt Scannell of Vertical Horizon, and Trey Parker, one-third of the hip-pop act EYC - all of whom will be featured in future P&P editions.

Still savoring the Top 10 success of 1997's "The Freshmen" off the platinum-selling "Villains" album, The Verve Pipe return July 27 with its sophomore RCA effort, succinctly titled "The Verve Pipe." The first single, "Hero," is already climbing Billboard's modern rock tracks chart. Sharing space on the same chart is Vertical Horizon's "We Are," the stunning leadoff single from its RCA debut album, "Everything You Want" (released June 15). The former P&P single of the week is rising in the Top 10 on P&P's weekly Picks chart.

EYC, a boy-band innovator, is pumped for its premiere Red Ant album, "I Feel It," due Aug. 24. In the meantime, the trio is crisscrossing the country on Nickelodeon's All That Music & More tour with 98 Degrees, Monica, B*witched and Tatyana Ali, among others.

NEVERMIND, Nirvana (DGC/Geffen, 1991) - No album cut a bigger, pioneering swath in the 1990s than this classic from Kurt Cobain, Chris Novoselic and Dave Grohl. The Seattle trio fused dark, dreary and surprisingly melodic punk with metal to unwittingly inaugurate the so-called grunge movement. It opened doors for Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, to name a few. In the end, the album's multiplatinum success and the unbridled adulation were part of Cobain's tragic undoing. Corella: "That album blew me away that there's actually songs; songs were on the rise again. We had just come out of the '80s; there were bands like XTC doing songs then, but there weren't bands that were as interested in songwriting. Nirvana brought it back and it was exactly what we needed. For a band to explode like that and have all this anger with these really great hooks at the same time, it was an incredible experience at the time." Scannell: "It tore through the nation. That record was like wildfire. I actually don't own it. I never bought it, and I never bought into it, but at the same time it was obvious that this guy wore his heart on his sleeve and it was real. That's one of the things I absolutely respected about Kurt Cobain, that he was so real about his songs. I value that so much, and it influenced me." Parker: "I didn't get into that. That wasn't my kind of music." Prime cuts: "Smells Like Teen Spirit," "Come As You Are," "On a Plain," "Lithium."

3 YEARS, 5 MONTHS & 2 DAYS IN THE LIFE OF ..., Arrested Development (Chrysalis/ERG, 1992) - For one brief shining moment, this seven-member hip-hop collective looked like the wave of the future. Devoted to its African-American roots, the group championed poetic lyrics and an airy vocal style, a welcome alternative to the chest-pumping gangsta rap of the day. Corella: "I don't know the whole record; I just know parts of it. I remember hearing 'Tennessee' for the first time in a parking lot in Ann Arbor, Mich., when I was auditioning for another band. I loved the whole hook of that song." Parker: "Loved it. The whole album is wonderful. First and foremost, I love the originality, where they came from and what they gave off vibe-wise, the music styles and the influences they brought. It meshed so well together." Prime cuts: "Tennessee," "Mr. Wendal," "People Everyday," "Fishin' 4 Religion."

GARBAGE, Garbage (Almo Sounds/Geffen, 1995) - In order to form a more perfect union, singer-guitarist Shirley Manson, formerly of the Scottish group Goodbye Mr. McKenzie, teamed with drummer Butch Vig and others for an alternative-rock experiment that became the real deal. Vig, incidentally, was already a star in his own right: He produced Nirvana's "Nevermind" and albums for Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum and Sonic Youth. Corella: "When I first heard them, I thought, 'Yeah, this is pretty cool.' I didn't buy the album until after seeing them live in L.A., and they blew my mind. Shirley Manson is fantastic, as a songwriter, as a frontwoman, and with Butch Vig, the chemistry is great." Scannell: "Shirley Manson is amazing. Butch Vig, those guys, they're huge, kick-ass producers doing this project. I think Garbage is awesome. Sonically, the music landscape is so hip, but then you've got such creative lyrics. To me, it matches clever songwriting with fabulous production, and neither one gets in the way of the other." Prime cuts: "Stupid Girl," "Only When It Rains," "Vow," "Queer."

JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH: NEW WAVE HITS OF THE '80s, VOLS. 1-15, various artists (Rhino, 1993-1995) - These easily could have served as the soundtracks to "The Wedding Singer." Think back to MTV's glory days, Kajagoogoo, outlandish fashion statements and a phalanx of keyboards. Brings a tear to your eye, doesn't it? Corella: "What's on there, Toni Basil, Dexys Midnight Runners, Falco? I don't know, I think I can deal with it, but it brings back memories I'd rather forget." Scannell: "If it has The Cars on there (It doesn't), then it's my favorite record. The Cars were an unbelievable band; those guys, five nerds from Boston, kicked ass. Ric Ocasek, I met him in New York and I was a stammering idiot, and it's not even because he's married to Paulina (Porizkova). He's a genius; Elliott Easton was one of the best guitar players of the past 30 years. Every single part was perfect." Parker: "We were on the tour bus yesterday and saying how much we missed the '80s. There was some great music in the '80s, so I'd like that compilation." Prime cuts: Blondie's "One Way or Another," Devo's "Whip It," Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," Romeo Void's "Never Say Never," Duran Duran's "Rio," Madness' "It Must Be Love" ... to name a few.

OK COMPUTER, Radiohead (Capitol, 1997) - Over waves of guitar and haunting melodies, Thom Yorke's aching vocals say it all. Expanding upon and maturing from its previous album, "The Bends," Radiohead became the group everyone dreamed they could be like - experimental, literate, sublime. Corella: "Never heard it ... no, I'm just kidding. How can you not be influenced by a band like Radiohead? They've turned so many things around for me, in a positive way, and it's really inspired me as an artist. I prefer 'The Bends,' but when I'm in that 'OK Computer' mood, it just kills me. I actually heard they recorded enough material for two records and so when the next one comes out it's going to be a combination of the sessions from 'OK Computer.' " Scannell: "Oh, jeez ... what a record. Actually, my favorite is 'The Bends,' but 'OK Computer' proves they're an insanely talented band. I've heard from people at Capitol that they have stuff in the vault that it is earth-shattering and they didn't even put it on 'OK Computer.' They're the pinnacle of good, creative songwriting." Prime cuts: "Karma Police," "Subterranean Homesick Alien," "Paranoid Android," "Let Down."

DEBUT, Bj�rk (Elektra, 1993) - The hippy chick from Iceland, fresh from her stint fronting The Sugarcubes, unleashed her considerable songwriting and vocal talents on an unsuspecting world with this pop delight. Some find her weird, others say she's ingenious. She's both. Corella: "Anything by her is okay with me. I'm absolutely in love with Bj�rk as a woman, as a songwriter and singer. I drove four hours to Chicago to see her play at the House of Blues. What I like about her is that she's always trying to break her own rules and boundaries." Scannell: "What that record taught me is using your voice as an instrument, voice as texture, as opposed to necessarily being about lyrical content. I can relate it to our song, 'We Are,' a little bit in that the chorus is saying something, but at the same time it's also a bit of a mantra. It's 'We are' repeated over and over again, but it's almost the sound of the voices as much as it is the lyrics. Jon Anderson from Yes did this all the time; he'd sing something that just sounded good." Parker: "When we were in Europe, we did some shows with her. She's, let me just say, eccentric. Her presence onstage and how she performed was, how should I say, unique. We're all about EYC, expressing yourself clearly, so I totally dug her." Prime cuts: "Big Time Sensuality," "Human Behaviour," "Venus As a Boy," "Violently Happy."

APPLE VENUS VOLUME 1, XTC (TVT, 1999) - Seven years is an awful long time to work on an album, but it was well worth the wait for Andy Partridge and Colin Moulding's grand return from a self-imposed hiatus. They were every bit as moody, witty and relaxed as ever. Corella: "It's so great to hear these guys again. What can I say? Everyone in our band is such huge fans of XTC. They're incredible writers and thinkers. I'm envious that (The Verve Pipe singer Brian Vander Ark) got to work with Andy Partridge last year (for 'The Avengers' film track 'Blow You Away'), but I'm happy for us as a band as well, because it made Brian a better writer. There's a song on our new record, called 'In Between,' that has those Andy Partridge qualities, the angles he takes." Scannell: "The song, 'Greenman,' is tremendous. Everybody should get that record just on principle because it's an XTC record." Prime cuts: "I'd Like That," "Easter Theatre," "Greenman," "River of Orchids."

PLEASE HAMMER DON'T HURT 'EM, M.C. Hammer (Capitol, 1990) - He made a career out of sampling Rick James, but at least he did it in a wonderfully vibrant, old-school way. The album spent 21 weeks at No. 1 and sold more than 10 million in the United States alone. His downfall was his unrestrained lavishness. Corella: "I don't know, I just wish I had a pair of his pants." Scannell: "I'm not a Hammer guy, maybe I should go back and revisit it. The guy employed like 700 people on his tour. Did you see that 'Behind the Music' special on him? I see this poor guy, I couldn't even watch it 'cuz I felt so bad for him and he looks like a nice guy. He had a shitload of money and spent it all on pants." Parker: "I loved it. We all come from a big dance background, so when he first came out, his videos were awesome." Prime cuts: "U Can't Touch This," "Pray," "Have You Seen Her," "Here Comes the Hammer."

LOVE DELUXE, Sade (Epic, 1992) - It's unanimous; dim all the lights, this is the decade's sexiest album. As in the past, Sade stayed true to her jazz roots, inflecting it with classy smooth grooves. Amazingly, she hasn't done an album since. Corella: "Oh yeah, that's one of the great records to play when you're with your girlfriend or significant other. I love her voice. It's so sexy, sultry." Scannell: "I love her voice and her songwriting and the grooves on that record. When she sings, 'You are my religion,' on one of those songs, it's incredible. If you're a red-blooded American guy, it's over. Know what I mean?" Parker: "I love me some Sade. Let me just say, she's very good for a sex life. Her voice and the music are so soothing." Prime cuts: "Kiss of Life," "No Ordinary Love," "Cherish the Day," "I Couldn't Love You More."

THE HITS/THE B-SIDES, Prince (Paisley Park/Warner, 1993) - Prince's best moments were captured on these three discs. Of the 56 tracks, 18 were B-sides and six were previously unreleased. A year later, Prince adopted a symbol as his name and began his war of words with Warners. His reputation quickly lost its luster. Corella: "In the '80s, '1999' is what did it for me. The amount of work he puts out is amazing, volumes and volumes of music. Our new song, 'Hero,' is more along the line of 'Raspberry Beret' with the hand claps in the back. It's totally from Prince. We tried to establish an upbeat vibe like Prince would have. Prince can do that, he's a chameleon. He goes through so many different transitions and does it well." Scannell: " 'Purple Rain' is the best thing he ever did. That guy, whew, he's so good." Parker: "I love everything he does. We got to open for him in Europe. A guy that's going to change his name to a symbol, you know has got some different things going up in that head. As an artist, he's amazing and I respect him and look up to him, but some of his ways, man ... we were opening for him and he was coming out to the stage one day and he made everyone turn around while he walked out. What is that all about? I mean, 'We're opening for you, man.' One of the cool things is, by the third show, we were performing and our manager was on the side of the stage. We were doing our thing and looked to the right and our manager's pointing to the back of the stage. The whole New Power Generation and Prince were watching us. We stepped it up about 10 notches and went nuts. It was cool that he took the time, because it was us, then it went Duran Duran and then Prince. For him to come out to see us before Duran Duran even goes on, we thought it was awesome." Prime cuts: "When Doves Cry," "Purple Rain," "I Would Die 4 U," "1999," "Little Red Corvette," "Let's Go Crazy," "Diamonds and Pearls."

They say there's something on the Web for everyone. Most of it is useless information.

Just type in anything on a search engine - let's say ... butt-munch, Snagglepuss or Carefree sugarless gum - and you will come up with a million and one references. Everything you always wanted to know about nothing but weren't afraid to ask.

For the fun of it, we typed in a series of music-related questions and artist names to see what we could come up with.

Here are the results:

"What's wrong with today's music?" - There were no shortages of opinion. One poor soul at //members.tripod.com/Beeracuda/music.html can't find anything worthy to listen to on the radio. "Is it just me, or has the music industry simply gone downhill in the past few years?" he asks.

"What's out there today bears absolutely no resemblance to what I grew up with in the '70s," he writes, blasting rap in particular. "My idea of music is a song that has a good rhythm, good lyrics and decent-sounding instruments. The only thing I hear from rap music is headache-inducing drums, someone scratching a record. ... What I hear in rap songs (when I understand them) is nothing more than people talking trash about some 'chick' or how 'bad' they are, etc. Is it the shock value of some of the words they say which makes these songs so popular?"

Don't torment yourself, fella. We can solve your first mistake right here, right now: Turn off your radio. Go play your quadraphonic '70s albums and relax. Better yet, since Dear Abby's not here, we'll give her pat answer to everything: seek counseling.

"Whatever became of Taco?" - Nobody really knows, but damned if there isn't a Web site dedicated to him. At www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Towers/5227/index.html, the Webmaster greets visitors with "Welcome to the only Web site devoted to the often-overlooked entertainer Taco Ockerse and his one hit song, 'Puttin' On the Ritz.' "

It's sad, almost pathetic, isn't it? But the site has had nearly 24,000 hits. It offers visitors a brief Taco bio, discography (and you can click to buy any one of his two studio albums) and links (of course, they didn't have any links to link to, but that's just a minor detail).

Now, about that bio ... it's only one paragraph, and it reveals the last official Taco sighting - "He apparently played the role of 'man at party' in the 1991 German film 'Karniggels,' directed by Detlev Buck."

Glad we cleared that up.

Taco, we hardly knew ye.

"Worst album ever" - At www.songsearch.com/worst.html, a contributor made a clear-cut choice: William Shatner's "Transformed Man." No argument here.

"You have to hear it to believe it!" the contributor writes. "Capt. Kirk should have stuck to flying the Enterprise around the galaxy, it had to be less dangerous than making this turkey public! Check out 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds,' Bill's version of the Beatles classic. He had to be on drugs when he did this one ... or at least temporarily insane. Unbelievable."

That "worst" search also came up with a list of the Top 10 worst film performances by a singer - 10, Steve Alaimo ("Wild Rebels"); 9, Ricky Nelson ("Rio Bravo"); 8, Fabian ("North to Alaska"); 7, Frankie Avalon ("The Alamo"); 6, Bobby Vinton ("Big Jake"); 5, Tony Bennett ("The Oscar"); 4, Trini Lopez ("The Dirty Dozen"); 3, Paul Anka ("Girls Town"); 2, Sting ("Dune") and No. 1, Glen Campbell ("True Grit"). What, no Tom Jones in "Mars Attacks!"?

"Henry Gross, where are you?" - Amazingly, that prompted 35,547 references, most referring to anyone named Henry or Gross but quite a few linking to Gross CDs available to buy. Gross, indeed.

The, uh, most interesting link came from //best.com/~bigerbtr/beards/celebrity/music/music.html. The former Sha Na Na singer, whose solo career included a maudlin ode to his dead dog "Shannon," was immortalized on the Celebrity Beards Web site. Yep, his mug is right up there with everyone from new-age artist Philip Aaberg to Alan Parsons Project's Eric Woolfson.

Gross also was spotted at www.cyndilauper.com, where it was revealed that Lauper sang background on Gross' 1981 song "That Someone" soon after she split from her band Blue Angel.

See what you can learn from the Web? It's an invaluable educational tool. Use it, know it, love it.

With that in mind, Pause & Play hopes you appreciate its monthly countdown of 10 significant '90s albums in its march toward the next decade. Volume 7 pops up in August. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Providing some guest commentary are the king of parodies, "Weird Al" Yankovic; singer-guitarist Adam Gardner of the Boston power-pop group Guster, and vocalist Karina Denik� of the ska-pop band Dance Hall Crashers.

Yankovic is "Running With Scissors" (Way Moby/Volcano) in the Top 25 on Billboard's 200 pop albums chart this week and, with a gold record already in his pocket, he's well on his way to topping 1 million in sales. Hybrid/Sire has big plans for Guster's second album, "Lost and Gone Forever" (released Aug. 24). They're already off to a great start; the band's infectious "Barrel of a Gun" was P&P's single of the week last week. Dance Hall Crashers left MCA for the personal touch of an indie, releasing its fourth full-length album, "Purr," on Pink & Black/Fat Wreck Chords on Aug. 24. All three will be featured in future P&P editions.

THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL, Nine Inch Nails (Nothing/TVT/Interscope, 1994): Heavily influenced by David Bowie's "Low," Trent Reznor continued his dark vision of angst-and-despair-riddled industrial rock. Amazingly, Top 40 radio climbed aboard the self-destruction bus. Yankovic: "I love Nine Inch Nails, which is pretty obvious from the fact that 'Germs' off my new album is a Nine Inch Nails-style parody. I love that album and listened to it a gazillion times." Gardner: "I guess my only comment is that a long time ago we used to do a cover of Nine Inch Nails, an acoustic version of 'Down In It.' We love to throw in things you wouldn't expect." Denik�: "I like some of the stuff on there, but some of it I'm totally uninterested in. Trent Reznor drives me batty." Prime cuts: "Closer," "March of the Pigs," "Big Man With a Gun," "Downward Spiral."

DIG YOUR OWN HOLE, The Chemical Brothers (Astralwerks, 1997): One listen to "Block Rockin' Beats" is all it takes to get hooked to the premier techno album. Combining the best elements of rock, hip-hop and house music, the English DJ/production team left the underground dance world in a trail of dust and took its bombastic sound global. Yankovic: "I like them, but I don't have any of their CDs. I've been meaning to pick one up, because I really like that electronica stuff. They've made some of the best videos I've ever seen. Their latest one just blows my mind." Gardner: "I'm glad that electronica music is in the mainstream. It's something I've only recently discovered. I guess I used to dismiss it as 'God, they're not really doing anything or writing anything. That's great if you're on acid,' but now I'm going to say I'm just glad it exists." Denik�: "I'm into certain electronica music, like Stereolab and Bj�rk, but the Chemical Brothers are okay." Prime cuts: "Block Rockin' Beats," "Setting Sun," "Get Up On It Like This," "Dig Your Own Hole."

GARTH BROOKS, Garth Brooks (Capitol, 1991): Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle and Randy Travis ushered in the "new country" scene in the 1980s, snapping Music Row out of its doldrums. Brooks took it to multiplatinum heights with this huge debut, and he earned every penny. With his classic country-styled voice, he poured every ounce of heart and soul into studio and live performances. "The Dance" says it all. Yankovic: "I'm not really into country. I saw him perform live once and he's an incredible showman. It's very easy to see how he's been able to cross over and become one of the hugest artists of the 20th century." Denik�: "I can't listen to that at all, but you know, he's good. He's a great entertainer and a great songwriter. I really don't understand why people are so in love with him. I'm always surprised to hear the kinds of numbers of people who go to see him. I'm like, 'That guy?!' " Prime cuts: "Friends In Low Places," "The Dance," "Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)," "If Tomorrow Never Comes."

THE CHRONIC, Dr. Dre (Death Row, 1993): A founding member of N.W.A., this revolutionary rap visionary made a big splash with his solo debut, garnering two Grammys and spawning a host of imitators and pretenders. There's only one Dr. in the house. Yankovic: "I like that, I'm down with Dr. Dre." Denik�: "I like the earlier N.W.A. stuff, but I think he's getting a little too poppy for my taste. They had a harder edge back in the day, but I still respect him. He's still my homey." Prime cuts: "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang," "Dre Day," "Let Me Ride," "The Chronic."

THE PET SOUNDS SESSIONS (box set), The Beach Boys (Capitol, 1997): Arguably the greatest pop album of all time, this Brian Wilson nugget has influenced several generations of artists. The box set, remixed a year earlier by Wilson in glorious stereo, contains every studio nuance imaginable, giving a rarefied glimpse into the inner workings of a tortured genius. Yankovic: "Brian Wilson is so cool. I love the Beach Boys, and 'Pet Sounds' is worthy of the hype, definitely. Little-known fact: I actually did a session with Brian Wilson. He called me in to do some accordion work on a song that I don't think ever got released. It was going to be on an album that was going to be called 'Sweet Insanity.' It was when he was working with his psychiatrist, Dr. Eugene Landy. It was almost painfully autobiographical, and I don't even remember the name of the song I did, but it was done in waltz time and he had me doing this extreme oom-pah-pah accordion part. I was more than happy to do it; it was an incredible joy to work with Brian Wilson." Gardner: "Oh god, if you hear our record, you can hear that we're obviously influenced by 'Pet Sounds' directly. There was one track where we said, 'Let's make this sound like the Beach Boys.' It's 'All the Way Up to Heaven,' certainly the bridge section, there's like a five-part harmony that's 'Pet Sounds' all the way. We've got jingle bells ringing, a little tremolo thing going on." Denik� (laughing): "I wasn't influenced by the Beach Boys; I was influenced more by people who were influenced by the Beach Boys." Prime cuts: "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Sloop John B," "God Only Knows," "Caroline, No," "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times."

TEN, Pearl Jam (Epic/Associated, 1992): The Seattle-based rock group came together almost by accident in 1990, formed by guitarist Stone Gossard and bassist Jeff Aument after the death of Mother Love Bone singer Andrew Wood. A demo tape landed in Eddie Vedder's hands in San Diego, and he was quickly asked to join. They seemingly came out of nowhere with this grunge classic, selling more than 9 million copies and helping to prompt record labels to sign every single musician in Seattle. Yankovic: "Eddie Vedder, he's very cool. It's like a time capsule, there's so many hits from that album. (Laughing) I'm thinking about the song 'My Baby's In Love With Eddie Vedder' on my new album. I have to keep apologizing for that song; I really meant no harm toward Eddie. It's a joke. In fact, I apologize to him in the liner notes." Gardner: "That's a great record. It's amazing to me how Pearl Jam is right there at the front of grunge and they're still evolving. It's hard to do that and not get pigeonholed. That's an incredible feat." Denik�: "I can't stand his voice. I'm kind of a vocal snob, so that's part of the problem. It sounds like he's hurting his voice. He probably has nodes. It's painful for me to listen to." Prime cuts: "Jeremy," "Alive," "Even Flow," "Black."

FEAR OF A BLACK PLANET, Public Enemy (Def Jam, 1990): Flavor Flav and company took on Hollywood racism and urban policy, among other things, on this hip-hop masterpiece, a funky, intense follow-up to the 1988 groundbreaking "It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back." Denik�: "That's pretty awesome, I have to say. It's a great record, totally influential. Everyone quotes it as being one of their all-time top records, and for good reason. They didn't give a shit. They came out with some bold things, saying things that nobody had said before and they didn't care. At that time, I think people were leery of hip-hop and what it was going to mean to the music industry and they were really afraid of it. It has tons of energy." Prime cuts: "911 Is a Joke," "Brothers Gonna Work It Out," "Burn Hollywood Burn," "Pollywanacraka," "Welcome to the Terrordome."

TO BRING YOU MY LOVE, PJ Harvey (Island, 1995): Polly Jean tapped into the raw, emotional power of blues and gospel and spawned some disturbing, yet intriguing songs of birth, destruction and sacrifice. Some powerful stuff. Yankovic: "She's excellent. There's something exotic and weird about her, but she's sexy in a bizarre kind of way. It's like a New York sexy vibe. It's hard to pinpoint. She's a great songwriter and a very interesting performer, very eminently watchable." Denik�: "I have tons of friends who love PJ Harvey. I totally like her songwriting, but again I'm a vocal snob, so there's a few points in there where she can't quite go get what she's going for. Musically, she's interesting and there's a lot of playfulness in her stuff." Prime cuts: "Down By the Water," "Send His Love to Me," "To Bring You My Love," "Working For the Man."

CLEVELAND ROCKS! MUSIC FROM THE DREW CAREY SHOW (TV soundtrack), various artists (Rhino, 1998): Not a fan of the hit ABC series? Then you won't enjoy this combination of classic rock and R&B tracks and wildly funny cast performances. Yankovic (laughing, recalling that he appeared in an episode last year): "That was another Epiphany for me. They had me come on doing a cameo as 'Weird Al,' and at the time I had had (laser) eye surgery and I was clean-shaven. They said, 'We want you to wear fake glasses and a fake mustache.' I went along with it, because Drew's a pal and I didn't want to upset the producers. During the taping, I felt like I was wearing a 'Weird Al' Halloween costume, and I decided that was the last time I was going to do that." Prime cuts: "Cleveland Rocks," The Presidents of the United States of America; "Five O'Clock World," The Vogues; "What Is Hip?," Tower of Power; "Moon Over Parma," Drew Carey; "Lust For Life," Iggy Pop; "Cleveland Rocks," Ian Hunter.

MUSIC BOX, Mariah Carey (Columbia, 1993): Don't laugh, this is fairly decent for what it is, an inoffensive pop record. Digging deep into her gospel and opera roots, Carey showed off her pop sass and smarts more than ever before. Yankovic: "What can I say? She's your pop diva, she's good Top 40 fodder, but she's an incredible singer." Denik�: "I have to give her some credit for carving her own path. She's obviously an amazing singer, but I'm not crazy about some of her style and some of the songwriting is a little boring to me." Prime cuts: "Dreamlover," "Hero," "Anytime You Need a Friend," "Without You."

Thank God, or whoever, for the invention of the cassette tape.

Maybe it breaks all kinds of copyright laws, but who cares: For the past 15 years, Pause & Play has enjoyed making tapes of its favorite music and sprinkling in a few timely sound bites. Who needs radio when you can pop in your own mini-time capsule on the drive to work.

Forget the All Spice challenge. Try the home-taping challenge. See if you can top this sampling from P&P's latest taping session:

Sound bite - Dan Quayle, dropping out of the GOP presidential race: "There's a time to stay and a time to fold, a time to know when to leave the stage."

Segue into ...

"Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit of ...)," Lou Bega - because Quayle's exit is certainly something to celebrate;

"Summer Girls," LFO - for Marilyn Quayle, poor thing;

"Comedy," Shack - a nod to Murphy Brown.

Sound bite - John McCain, announcing his candidacy - "It is a challenge to each of us to join in the fight against pervasive cynicism that is debilitating our democracy."

Segue into ...

"Back That Thang Up," Juvenile featuring Manny Fresh & Lil' Wayne - why bother, John? Georgy Porgy is so far ahead, it's not even a contest;

"Better Days (And the Bottom Drops Out)," Citizen King - because McCain won't know what hit him;

"Lesson In Leavin'," Jo Dee Messina - he'll be naming this tune in two notes after the New Hampshire primary.

Sound bite - Mel Gibson, at a screening of his new film on "The Simpsons" - "Listen, I don't want to get spotted by the crowd, so I'm gonna take a leak behind the Dumpster." He accidentally sets off the theater's fire alarm. Chief Wiggum - "Look, it's Mel Gibson! Hey, everybody, rush over there!"

Crowd forms around Gibson. Gibson - "Hi, everybody." Dr. Nick Riviera - "Hi, Mr. Gibson."

Segue into ...

"All Star," Smash Mouth - well, he did win an Oscar for "Braveheart";

"For the Movies," Buckcherry - in keeping with the Hollywood theme;

"It's All About You (Not About Me)," Tracie Spencer - because his fans come first. Right? Yeah, right.

Sound bite - "Teletubbies Title Song" - "Over the hills and far away, Teletubbies come and play ... 1, 2, 3, 4 ... time for Teletubbies!"

Segue into ...

"Wanna Be a Baller," Lil' Troy featuring Yungsta, Fat Pat, Lil' Will, Hawk, Big T - for the sheer shock value;

"Freak With Me," Tee Kee & Diamon Ra'mone - same as above;

"Pimpin' Ain't No Illusion," UGK featuring Kool Ace & Too Short - one mo' time!

You get the picture. There's so much fun to be had ... just like P&P's monthly countdown of 10 significant '90s albums. In our march toward the next decade, Volume 8 pops up this week. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Ready, willing and able to opine on this month's selections are Marc Almond, former frontman of the 1980s new-wave duo Soft Cell; singer-songwriter David Mead, and the New York-based Freshm�ka, the enigmatic dance music master.

The lush album "Open All Night" (Instinct), Almond's first U.S. release in eight years, was released Sept. 28, the same day as Mead's impressive RCA debut LP, "The Luxury of Time." With partner Duke Mushroom, The Freshm�ka - whose Moonshine Music debut album, "I Am The Freshm�ka," will be out Oct. 5 - has remixed hits for Guster PM Dawn, Busta Rhymes, Montell Jordan, Method Man, Sandra Bernhard and KC & the Sunshine Band.

All three artists will be featured in future P&P editions.

Now, on to the countdown ...

LIVE THROUGH THIS, Hole (DGC/Geffen, 1994) - Courtney Love didn't just pop out of nowhere. Before she married Kurt Cobain, her musical past included forming Sugar Babylon with L7's Jennifer Finch and Babes In Toyland's Kat Bjelland. She started Hole in 1989, using a classified ad to find bandmates with similar influences (from Big Black to Fleetwood Mac). "Live Through This," the group's big-label debut, was released a week after Cobain's suicide. It immediately thrust Love into the limelight and the album onto several year-end critics' polls. Almond: "I'm a big fan of Hole, and I really like this album. I like Courtney Love's whole attitude and persona. There's something really great about her." The Freshm�ka: "That's a great record, I do own it. I love 'Miss World' and 'Doll Parts.' I'm not going to let my cynicism show and wonder who really wrote the record, but I do think it's a great piece of work. When she first stepped out for that first video for 'Miss World,' I was so scared." Mead: "Not to be a party pooper, but I'm not a Hole fan. I don't want to flog anything. It's an important record, let's put it that way. It obviously opened a lot of doors for a genre of music that needed to be explored. It doesn't strike me as the most accomplished thing in the world." Prime cuts: "Doll Parts," "Miss World," "Violet," "Asking For It."

UNDERTOW, Tool (Zoo, 1993) - This nihilistic hard-rock album was raw, loud and benignly defiant, catering to a somber segment of society. It was equally complex and soul-purging. Its longevity, spread slowly by word of mouth, speaks for itself. The Freshm�ka: "A band I've never really listened to, nor am I planning to. It sort of goes against what I dig musically. It's very dark and brooding. I'm into melodic and peppy. I can't say it's my thing, although their videos are certainly creative." Mead: "I felt like I had heard it before. I'd much rather listen to Rage Against the Machine, and lyrically, Alice in Chains probably does it better than Tool." Prime cuts: "Sober," "Prison Sex," "Crawl Away," "Undertow."

THE GLOBE, Big Audio Dynamite II (Columbia, 1991) - Mick Jones had to replace his original B.A.D. lineup in 1990, but that didn't stop the former Clash man from blazing more trails. Still devoted to sampling (the group's 1986 debut U.K. hit, "E=MC2," is considered the first rock song to feature sampling), Jones was in his prime here. The title track experimented with techno and ambient sounds, while the brilliant "Rush" wrapped itself around The Who's "Baba O'Riley." Almond: "Big Audio Dynamite were always very interesting. They were very experimental with the dance music thing, using samples and sounds, so I think they were very ahead of their time in a lot of ways." The Freshm�ka: "It's an incredible classic. It set a precedent for so many things. There's nothing I can say about Mick Jones except 'Wow!' " Mead: "I'm not a big fan of Mick Jones' voice, but I think that blending of pop sensibility with the trash can kind of throwing together beats was really cool and very catchy." Prime cuts: "Rush," "The Globe," "Innocent Child," "When the Time Comes."

BEG, SCREAM & SHOUT! THE BIG OL' BOX OF '60s SOUL, various artists (Rhino, 1997) - Six CDs of pure excellence, from top to bottom. There's plenty from veterans (Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Otis Redding), second-tier stars (Joe Simon, Joe Tex, Tyrone Davis), one-hit wonders and other obscurities. Packaged in a mock 45 singles case, this definitive soul box set mines the vaults of Motown, Stax/Volt, Atlantic, Atco and Chess, to name a few. This was truly Rhino's shining moment in the box-set sun. Almond: "Anything to do with '60s soul has to be great. 'Tainted Love' was an old '60s soul record (by Gloria Jones in 1964, which is included in the box set); we loved all that. Someone asked me recently if I would do a covers album; I would love to do one of old '60s stuff and give it my own treatment." The Freshm�ka: "That's the foundation. That's where it all begins. This box set is beautiful packaged; again Rhino, always creative. I'm a big Rhino guy." Mead: "You can't get enough of that. I'm all for it. Thumbs up." Prime cuts: Let's name one from each disc - "Choice of Colors," The Impressions; "Stay In My Corner," The Dells; "The 'In' Crowd," Dobie Gray; "The Oogum Boogum Song," Brenton Wood; "Harlem Shuffle," Bob & Earl; "But It's Alright," J.J. Jackson.

PURPLE, Stone Temple Pilots (Atlantic, 1994) - This rock quartet from San Diego was, at a time, called Shirley Temple's Pussy. Yikes, good thing Scott Weiland, Eric Kretz and the DeLeo brothers came to their senses. With this, their second album, they proved they weren't a Pearl Jam knockoff. They maintained the rockin' aggressiveness of their debut LP, "Core," and combined it with broad, melodic strokes and experimentation. No sophomore slump here; the album topped the U.S. chart for three weeks. The Freshm�ka: "Underrated record, underrated band. Troubles aside, I thought it was a beautifully textured record. 'Interstate Love Song' reminded me sort of the finer moments of George Harrison, for some reason. Very cool record." Mead: "I think they were just about there. I think the one after that, 'Tiny Music ... Songs From the Vatican Gift Shop,' that was a great record. 'Purple' had its moments. They're actually a very good example of a band that has developed." Prime cuts: "Interstate Love Song," "Vaseline," "Big Empty," "Unglued."

WEEZER, Weezer (DGC/Geffen, 1994) - With former Cars leader Ric Ocasek at the production helm, you knew this one was going to be special. Every nook and cranny of this 10-track album was filled with simple but catchy lyrics and solid pop melodies. Wildly innovative videos also helped make this the multiplatinum-selling sleeper of the 1990s. The Freshm�ka: "To be honest with you, it's one of the top three records of the decade. It was in my Walkman for a year and a half. If I could work with (singer-guitarist) Rivers Cuomo, I'd be very happy. I swear this guy is my alter-ego. There's nothing wrong on that record. (singing) 'My girl has eyeballs in the back of her head ...' I don't even know where to begin on that record; it was so damn inspirational, because in the midst of this rock resurgence, that record and The Presidents of the United States of America record put some tongue-in-cheek spin to it." Mead: "Fucking great. They were really great cheesy little pop songs, tongue-in-cheek. That's where irony should have almost just stopped, period. You can't get any cuter than that. It was cute, clever, self-deprecating." Prime cuts: "Undone-The Sweater Song," "Buddy Holly," "Say It Ain't So," "In the Garage."

THE FAT OF THE LAND, Prodigy (Mute/Maverick/Warner, 1997) - Powered by frontman Liam Howett's trademark snarl, this sinister outfit fused rapid-fire rap with hard-core breakbeats and funky samples. Controversy over the track "Smack My Bitch Up" didn't keep it from crashing onto mainstream and leading the techno wave. Almond: "I love their stuff, I love their videos. They're one of the most exciting things happening in dance music in Britain over the past few years. They're very original and they're extreme, but there's also a lot of irony in there." The Freshm�ka: "Tough call. I don't know the record that well; all I know are the singles. All I can say is that was the beginning of the end for me for the Beastie Boys when they asked them not to play 'Smack My Bitch Up' live when Prodigy opened for them. That was the beginning of the PC Beasties I couldn't get with, so I say kudos to Prodigy." Mead: "It inspires a certain amount of evil, like you feel a little evil when you listen to it." Prime cuts: "Breathe," "Firestarter," "Smack My Bitch Up," "Diesel Power."

LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE, George Michael (Columbia, 1990) - Michael's first post-Wham! album, "Faith," was all about image; "Listen Without Prejudice" was about songs. He began rejecting the traditional rock lifestyle by limiting his video screen time and cutting back on tours. He became more socially aware ("Praying For Time") and even mocked his Wham!/"Faith" days on "Freedom 90." For the "Freedom 90" video, he went one step further: His "Faith" biker jacket was symbolically burned. It didn't spend 12 weeks at No. 1 or sell 9 million copies like "Faith," but "Listen Without Prejudice" was Michael's creative coup. Almond: "I don't mind George Michael, but he's really not my kind of music. It seems the only time I hear a George Michael record is when I'm sitting at a restaurant getting ready to eat. It doesn't bother me. The guy's got a real pleasant voice. I love 'Jesus to a Child' and 'You Have Been Loved' (both from the 1996 album 'Older'). I like his ballads more than his dance stuff." The Freshm�ka: "A blueprint of great shit. I have to go back to Wham! I have all the 12 inches of 'Club Tropicana,' 'Bad Boys,' 'Young Guns' and 'Wham Rap,' way before we were waking up before we go-go." Mead: "He writes great pop songs. He's incredibly talented, and like it or hate it, the way he goes about marketing himself, he's extremely good at that too, which is not easy." Prime cuts: "Praying For Time," "Freedom 90," "Mother's Pride," "Waiting For That Day."

DIVA, Annie Lennox (Arista, 1992) - As one-half of the Eurythmics, one of the most successful duos of the 1980s, Lennox had name recognition on her side when she released her solo debut album. The synthesizer-heavy sound of the Eurythmics gave way to lush, mournful ballads and radio-friendly melodies. She snared a slew of awards along the way. Almond: "She has a great voice and I like her persona, but I've never liked her solo albums. I prefer the really early Eurythmics stuff. I found her solo albums to be a little soul-less, maybe a little bit too much production." The Freshm�ka: "Not really my speed, but a great record. My fiancee loves it. It's one of those sappy sort of records that's much cooler than Lilith Fair but still not really my thing. Beautiful arrangements, beautiful production. It's slick, and I understand why it worked. Hey, my mom liked it. But I'll take Eurythmics any day over Annie Lennox solo." Prime cuts: "Why," "Walking On Broken Glass," "Little Bird," "Cold."

DOOKIE, Green Day (Reprise, 1994) - This punk-inspired trio played to 12 people at its first showcase gig in 1990 and still got a deal with Lookout. Two albums later, with angst-ridden rock on the rise, several major labels got into a bidding war. Styled after '70s punk pioneers Buzzcocks and the Sex Pistols, Green Day delivered "Dookie" for Reprise and all hell broke loose. It sold more than 9 million copies and stayed on Billboard's pop chart for more than two years; the band won a Grammy for best alternative music performance and best album honors in Rolling Stone's 1995 readers' picks poll, and suddenly other punk-rock bands came out of the woodworks. The Freshm�ka: "Very important record. I gotta say, for a three-piece - with all due respect to Nirvana - Green Day ripped it live as hard as anybody I've ever seen in my life. Often copied, often imitated, never duplicated. It's easy to say they stole from punk, and god bless 'em for it, but their song structures were incredible. They wrote bubblegum pop, and they understood their market. It never offended me. If I were in Fugazi, I might take offense, but I'm not a punk guy. I'm a pop guy. I thought it was a ballsy record at the right time in history. I own that record; I even paid for that record. In the music business, as you know, you don't pay for much; I paid for 'Dookie,' just like I paid for 'Weezer.' " Mead: "That would be No. 1 on my list of records I never want to hear again. Not because it was bad, it was just one of those things you could not get away from. Again, a record that has spawned thousands of imitators, I guess, is the highest form of flattery, so you can't discount it, that's for sure." Prime cuts: "Basket Case," "Long View," "When I Come Around," "She," "Welcome to Paradise."

All our buddies at the Psychic Friends Network are diligently working the phone lines, fielding calls from Y2K alarmists, so it looks like Pause & Play will have to make its own 21st century musical predictions.

Just a second here, gotta polish the crystal ball down with Windex.

The picture is fading in and out; images are starting to appear. Okay here we go ... here's what the future holds in store for several artists and other musical entities:

By 2005, the Backstreet Boys will tire of their name and will conduct an Internet poll to determine a new moniker. More than 50 percent vote for the Teletubbies, but since that name is already taken and protected by international copyright laws, the Boys settle on the next best thing: Henceforth, they will be known as Producers Puppets.

Kid Rock's son, approaching college age in 2010, will forgo academics and will manage his father's tour with the Dick Clark Revue, sharing the oldies stage in Las Vegas, Reno and Atlantic City with Limp Bizkit, Blink 182, Lit and Len.

In 2008, Garth Brooks will assume the personality of Colin O'Toole, a washed-up Irish saloon singer who has assumed the personality of Chris Gaines who was once Garth Brooks. No one will notice, no one will care.

Geriatric rocker Carlos Santana will make another remarkable comeback in 2029, enlisting the help of Inspectah Deck, Dixie Chicks, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Jennifer Lopez and the seemingly endless supply of outtakes from old Tupac Shakur sessions for another platinum-selling, multigenre album.

Britney Spears will marry Ricky Martin in 2015, and after the ceremony, ambushing NBC reporter Jim Gray will pepper her with questions, trying to get her to admit she had her breasts enlarged in 1998.

Tommy Boy will release "Jock Jams Volume 57" in 2009; what sets this one aside from previous releases is Chris Berman's Geritol burps.

The Beatles, too, will make another incredible comeback, this time in 2011. The remaining members of the Fab Four will collaborate with Type O Negative in rerecording the entire Beatle catalog for a proposed 50-CD commemorative box set.

In July 2006, for the first time ever, the entire Billboard Hot 100 remains the same as the previous week. Further proof that nothing new ever happens at radio.

By the end of 2001, The Artist Formerly Known As Prince will demand a release from his Arista contract, will denounce Clive Davis as the devil reincarnate and will replace his symbol with a blank space, becoming the first nameless artist ever. It will cause confusion with his publishing company because they won't know who to make out the royalty checks to.

Mariah Carey will retire in 2008 to devote her time and earnings to collect DVDs, Pokemon items and Beanie Babies, play more Dragonball Z and Final Fantasy, watch WWF, WCW and NASCAR competitions and develop friendships with Pamela Anderson, Sable and Melissa Joan Hart.

Well, it could happen ...

This week, Pause & Play goes back to the past with Volume 9 in its countdown toward the next decade. By the end of November, you will have read synopses of 100 LPs. These are, in one column's humble opinion, the Top 100 essential albums of the 1990s.

Indulging in meaningful dialogue this time around are FireHouse singer C.J. Snare, guitarist Henning Ruemenapp of the top-selling German rock group Guano Apes and master mixer-musician Yellow Note (a k a David Barratt).

FireHouse, which had seven chart hits in the early 1990s - including the gold-selling "Love of a Lifetime," released its fifth album, "Category 5" (Mystic Music), on Oct. 19. Guano Apes' debut RCA album "Proud Like a God," released stateside on Sept. 28, has gone double platinum in Germany and gold in Poland, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal. Its first single, "Open Your Eyes," is making headway at college radio. Barratt's second full-length drum 'n bass album, "Yellow Note vs. The Daleks," was issued Oct. 5 on Jungle Sky. Barratt's works can be heard in a variety of TV commercials (Diet Coke, L.A. Gear, Kodak).

All three artists will appear in future P&P editions.

Now, on with the countdown ....

EVIL EMPIRE, Rage Against the Machine (Epic, 1996) - Who knew? With Tom Morello's screeching guitars and Zack de la Rocha's angry lyrics, this Los Angeles rock-punk-rap quartet vented all the way to top of the charts. Railing against racism and the government, they boldly went where few bands have gone. Snare: "They were on Epic Records at the same time as us and I remember Epic Records saying, 'Oh, we're going to put the push on these guys. We feel like they have a grass-roots kind of appeal to the kids who like rap and rock.' Have I heard it? No, so I can't really comment. I like a lot of the grooves the guitarist has, but I'm not much into speaking over music. Singing is something I like more. Maybe I'm old school." Ruemenapp: "In Germany, they put a sticker on the album cover and it said, 'Real Evil.' Actually, I like the first album better. That's not so much my kind of music; I like only parts of it." Barrett: "That's a good choice. That covers a lot of bases. It's a wonderfully ironic record as well; it has this incredibly dedicated and honest socialist manifesto being celebrated by people going to M.I.T. When you go to their shows, it's attended by a very bourgeois audience, which is totally ironic. And it's so '90s. I don't want to slack Rage Against the Machine, but everything that goes on around it is contrary to what they stand for. But the record sounds great, and they have a phenomenal guitar player." Prime cuts: "Vietnow," "Without a Face," "Down Rodeo," "Bulls On Parade."

URBAN HYMNS, The Verve (Hut/Virgin, 1997) - The Verve went largely unnoticed in the United States after several albums of dreamy, atmospheric rock in the early 1990s. But with a well-placed string section here and multitextured guitar parts there, the British group finally found a wide audience with this career masterpiece. The dark, introspective and cryptic mood never wore thin from the epic "Bitter Sweet Symphony" to "Come On." Sadly, all good things come to an end, including this band, which split up earlier this year. Snare (laughing): "I get them confused with The Verve Pipe. It's kind of like the difference between Firehose and FireHouse." Ruemenapp: "It's not so long ago that I bought that one because it was quite cheap, I found it in a shop. I used to hate the singer because I only used to see him in the videos. At some point, I realized they had some really good songs, hymn-like songs." Barrett: "I don't think it's their best. I love The Verve, but I don't particularly like that record. I knew somebody who worked at Hut and they gave me the CD before it came out. When I listened to it, I thought, 'It doesn't have that dreamy quality of their other albums,' and thought it wouldn't do well. I was thoroughly wrong about that; it sold like 9 million copies around the world or whatever." Prime cuts: "Bitter Sweet Symphony," "Sonnet," "Lucky Man," "Come On."

AMPLIFIED HEART, Everything But the Girl (Atlantic, 1994) - A blood disorder nearly killed guitarist-keyboardist Ben Watt, making his recovery and this engaging album all the more miraculous. Watt's alluring melodies and lovelorn ballads and Tracey Thorn's achingly melancholic vocals never missed a beat, even when remixer Todd Terry took "Missing" to the dance floor. Ruemenapp: "I bought their best-of record a couple of months ago and I was really astonished because it was nothing that I expected. I expected to hear something more like 'Missing.' They're not so much my favorite." Barrett: "Again, it's an act that I'm very fond of, but I liked them more before they turned electronic. I did, however, enjoy Ben Watt's book, which was written at the same time as when that record was made about his illness. There's a couple of references to that in the songs, which I found quite moving. And I think the passion between those two (Watt and Thorn) is remarkable." Prime cuts: "Missing," "Rollercoaster," "Walking to You," "25th December."

POST, Bj�rk (Elektra, 1995) - For this Icelandic star, quirkiness works to her advantage. Like Beck, Bj�rk is comfortable with a wide range of musical styles, from disco to ambient dub. She's fearless, never thinking twice to add jazz horns or supplement a song with crunchy guitars or symphonic strings. In the end, it's her inanely charming voice that wins over fans. Snare: "I'm not really fond of her work. It's too quirky for me." Ruemenapp: "There are some songs I really like. She's a great artist. She's a bit strange but also poppy commercial. She's always something special." Barrett: "She's a person after my own heart, a complete whore when it comes to style. I mean that in the nicest way (laughing). She jumps from genre to genre; I'd love to do some work with her." Prime cuts: "Army of Me," "It's Oh So Quiet," "Hyper-ballad," "I Miss You."

THE REPRISE COLLECTION (box set), Frank Sinatra (Reprise, 1990) - What a way to celebrate Ol' Blue Eyes' 75th birthday. This excellent four-CD box set, containing 81 tracks from 1960-1984, captured him in his vocal prime. No one could turn a phrase like the Chairman of the Board, and no one likely will ever again. Ruemenapp: "I definitely like that. He was one of the last great entertainers. You don't really find that anymore. You have Tony Bennett, but Sinatra carries something over from the old age, the glamorous '40s and '50s. It's like he's from a different orbit. I love this big-band style, the arrangements; it's really cleverly done. To me, he was like an Elvis, even at 80 years of age." Barrett: "Excellent. Everyone knows he's a great singer, and the arrangers always get the big credit, but I think he had an enormous amount to do with the arrangements on a lot of his records." Prime cuts: "It Was a Very Good Year," "Love and Marriage," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "Something Stupid," "My Way," "Theme From New York, New York."

INTERNATIONAL POP OVERTHROW, Material Issue (Mercury, 1991) - Power-pop was back in a big way in 1991, with Jellyfish, Matthew Sweet and Urge Overkill leading the way. Don't forget this Chicago trio. Jim Ellison and company injected their girl-crazy lyrics with simple, melodic-heavy guitar pop ... long before Fountains of Wayne came along. Prime cuts: "Valerie Loves Me," "Diane," "Very First Lie," "Lil' Christine."

IN UTERO, Nirvana (DGC/Geffen, 1993) - Determined to make an even louder statement than the groundbreaking "Nevermind," Nirvana enlisted producer Steve Albini to create a raw yet tuneful catharsis. It alienated some grungies, but true Nirvana fans knew where Kurt Cobain was coming from, especially his commentary on the price of fame ("Serve the Servants"). Snare: "I liked Nirvana. I understood them. I could see why people really liked them. What really puzzled the hell out of me was why people liked Pearl Jam. I'll be really blunt, it fuckin' scared me. Here I am, an artist in the music industry and here's this mega band, and I'm like, 'You know what? I'm in trouble, because I don't get it.' This guy's really unhappy to be there, and he's dissing awards. If he doesn't want them, by gosh, give me a shot at 'em. I don't like (Eddie Vedder's) voice that much, and I don't think they were that cool of a band. I totally got Nirvana. Kurt Cobain was cool; I liked the sound of his voice. The songwriting was great. That's a great album." Ruemenapp: "This is a record I held in my hand a couple of weeks ago. I was thinking about buying it, but actually I wanted to have 'Nevermind.' It was much too expensive, so I let it go. I like them a lot." Barrett: "I own it, it's phenomenal. I don't think Kurt realized exactly what he was doing; a lot of his songwriting was so poppy. Take like 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' - I know it wasn't on this album - but that easily could've been a Boston song. Done in a different arrangement, it's not all that different from 'More Than a Feeling.' He walks that line perfectly between the accessible and the private, which is done so well. It's so powerful." Prime cuts: "All Apologies," "Heart-Shaped Box," "Very Ape," "Milk It," "Frances Farmer Will Have Her Revenge On Seattle."

FANMAIL, TLC (LaFace/Arista, 1999) - Five years between albums would destroy most groups, but after enduring a bankruptcy filing in 1995, a bitter split from manager Pebbles and Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes' much-publicized falling out with NFL star Andre Rison, this trio only got stronger. Here, they blended R&B with hip-hop sensibilities and all the pop smarts and sass at their disposal. Snare: "I've only heard 'No Scrubs,' and I don't think it's as strong as their last album. I heard all of their last album and really liked it." Ruemenapp: "It's a great dance album, really good production and good singing. I don't like it when they get too hip-hoppy; I like the ones with the melodies, like 'Unpretty' and 'No Scrubs.' " Barrett: "I only know the singles, but I love to death 'Unpretty.' An absolutely fantastic song. It's such a wonderful concept introduced into R&B. One of the things I love about R&B and hip-hop is that it's so visceral and direct and deals pretty much with the id. That song deals with the consequences when the id runs wild." Prime cuts: "No Scrubs," "Unpretty," "Silly Ho," "I'm Good At Being Bad."

THE REAL THING, Faith No More (Slash/Reprise, 1990) - Mr. Bungle's Mike Patton replaced original singer Chuck Mosely in 1988 and promptly helped this veteran San Francisco metal-funk act reach mainstream America in "Epic" proportions. Technically, this album was released on June 20, 1989, but it didn't chart until February 1990, remaining for 60 weeks en route to platinum status, so it qualifies as a '90s must. Snare: "I think they were probably some of the innovators of what's happening today, with Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock. I totally give them two thumbs up." Ruemenapp: "That's definitely one from the master collection. They influenced us a lot, especially (lead singer) Sandra (Nasic). Mike Patton is really a favorite of Sandra's. They were more than just rock 'n' roll; they had some pop stuff with this hard appeal but with good melodies." Barrett: "I'm not wildly familiar with it. That came out at a point when I was walking away a bit from rock. I got back into it through H�sker D� and Nirvana." Prime cuts: "Epic," "Falling to Pieces," "From Out of Nowhere," "War Pigs."

EVERYBODY ELSE IS DOING IT, SO WHY CAN'T WE?, The Cranberries (Island, 1993) - This Irish alternative-rock band's impressive debut album was their best, tart and tuneful from start to finish. Dolores O'Riordan's enchanting vocals glimmer on "Linger" and "Dreams," but it lost its sheen a year later on the grating "Zombie." Nobody's perfect. Snare: "I think she has a really cool voice, the way she goes from the chest to the head. I like the Cranberries. They put forth some valid musical expression." Ruemenapp: "I don't like the voice too much. It really gets on my nerves. But they also have some really good songs." Barrett: "I hate to say it, but I can't stand her voice. I can't bear to be in the same room with her voice. I'm sure she's a lovely human being and absolutely charming, but she's reminds me of an Irish comedian called Frank Carson who had this 'eeerl' in his voice all the time." Prime cuts: "Linger," "Dreams," "How," "Pretty," "I Will Always."

How will the 1990s stack up against the swingin' rock bluesy, Elvisized 1950s? Or the soulful, psychedelic, Fab Fourness of the 1960s? Or the classic rock, disco-charged, punk-piercing 1970s? What about the new wave, MTV-pretty, big hair '80s?

As cliched as it sounds, only time - lots of time - will tell whether grunge, Garth, the shrieking of Mariah, Whitney and Celine and cookie-cutter boy bands of the Lollapaloozed 1990s will be looked upon favorably.

There was plenty of good music to be found and just as much to avoid in the 1990s, like any ol' decade. For the past 10 months, though, Pause & Play has been taking a proactive look back at the '90s, preferring to remember the good ... namely the Top 100 essential albums of the decade.

Of course, every list is subjective. Not everyone will agree with the inclusions; others will question the exclusions. This much can be said about the 1990s: It was remarkably easy to compile 100 essential albums. That bodes well for the decade's legacy.

Before concluding this countdown, Pause & Play will reveal - as promised - its Top 10 favorite LPs of the 1990s. They are:

1) "Nevermind," Nirvana (DGC/Geffen, 1991) - Maybe there were better albums, but none cut a wider swath than this ground-breaker.

2) "Goodbye Jumbo," World Party (Ensign, 1990) - We bow down to you, Karl Wallinger.

3) "The Simpsons: Songs in the Key of Springfield," various artists (Rhino, 1997) - Thank you, thank you, thank you for every laugh.

4) "Very," Pet Shop Boys (EMI/ERG, 1993) - They still reign supreme on the dance floor.

5) "Achtung, Baby," U2 (Island, 1991) - They don't make 'em like that anymore, literally.

6) "OK Computer," Radiohead (Capitol, 1997) - One word comes to mind: stunning.

7) "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," Lauryn Hill (Ruffhouse/Columbia, 1998) - Soul is back!

8) "Fumbling Towards Ecstasy," Sarah McLachlan (Nettwerk/Arista, 1994) - ... because "Possession" helped bring together at least two soul mates.

9) "Urban Hymns," The Verve (Virgin, 1997) - The most atmospheric pop in ages.

10) "The Pet Sounds Sessions" (box set), The Beach Boys (Capitol, 1997) - Simply the best album ever made.

Now, on to the final countdown ....

Along for the ride, adding their expert commentary, are Scritti Politti leader Green Gartside, Anthrax vocalist John Bush and Tonic singer Emerson Hart.

Gartside has revived Scritti Politti, best known for the 1985 pop hit "Perfect Way