Various Artists - Now, Vol. 2

Yes, the title of the Now That's What I Call Music series is corny, but the compilations are undeniably entertaining and even useful. For instance, Now, Vol. 2 contains 18 tracks, almost all of them hits from 1998 and 1999 (Sublime's 1996 hit "What I Got" being the major exception to the rule). The only thing tying these songs together is that they shared space on the charts and airwaves, but that's enough -- it's a terrific time capsule, at the very least, capturing what American pop radio sounded like in the late '90s. Besides, there are some great singles here -- Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time...," the New Radicals' "You Get What You Give," U2's "The Sweetest Thing," Sheryl Crow's "My Favorite Mistake," Fatboy Slim's "Praise You," Garbage's "I Think I'm Paranoid," Spice Girls' "Goodbye," Everclear's "Father of Mine," Jay Z's "Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem)," Baz Luhrmann's "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)," and Robbie Williams' "Millennium." If you're keeping track, you'll notice that the above songs take up over half of the record, and that makes the disc a real bargain. The remaining songs might not be as good, but they are decent, representative tunes from 1999 and help make Now That's What I Call Music, Vol. 2 an entertaining snapshot of a fleeting era in pop music history. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits 98° Performer Backstreet Boys Performer Baz Luhrmann Performer Brian Eno Producer Britney Spears Performer Cake Performer Daniel Lanois Producer Everclear Performer Fatboy Slim Producer, Performer Garbage Performer, Producer Jay-Z Performer Lee Perry Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part Mark Martin Producer Matt Rowe Producer Max Martin Producer Quindon Tarver Performer R. Kelly Performer, Producer Rami Producer Richard Stannard Producer Robbie Williams Performer Semisonic Performer Sheryl Crow Performer Spice Girls Performer Steve Hall Mastering Steve Lillywhite Producer Sublime Performer The 45 King Producer The 45 King & Louie Producer The New Radicals Performer Timmy Allen Producer U2 Performer