Now That's What I Call Music! 8

This volume of the chart-survey series is its best yet, offering stellar examples of nearly every subgenre it approaches. Interestingly, the platinum machine's eighth outing is also its most subtle (the take-your-time sultriness of Aaliyah's "Rock the Boat," Usher's "U Got It Bad") and teasingly offbeat (Gorillaz's dub-wise sleeper "Clint Eastwood," the Wiseguys' noise-hop "Start the Commotion") moments. Whether this indicates a trend toward the return of a higher-quality singles chart has yet to be determined, but save for a small handful of crummily derivative nontunes from Jessica Simpson, Fuel, and 3 Doors Down, the music here makes a good case for itself. Could a broadening definition of what's mainstream be fomenting? Caveats: 'N Sync's "Pop" is included in a remix that bleeds the record of some of its novelty, while Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Real" appears without the Ja Rule rap that helped lift it to bestseller status. --Rickey Wright