2001 Grammy Pop Nominees;

Something like the classy version of the Now! or the Totally Hits series, the Grammy Nominees sets gather a self-explanatory batch of key tracks. This volume cherry-picks Record and Album of the Year choices, along with various pop-category nominations. The 17 cuts take in everything from teen pop (Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, 'N Sync, and Backstreet Boys) to the grownup (Madonna, U2, and Radiohead) to the really grownup (Paul Simon, and Steely Dan). Eminem is here, too, with a cleaned-up version of "The Real Slim Shady." Especially given past years' embarrassments, Grammy Nominees 2001 proves to be a listenable overview of the Recording Academy's continued wrestling with the modern world. --Rickey Wright