By GERRY GALIPAULT

(March 1999)

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.

(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; it's the only way to go.)

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'."