As with practically every successive Three 6 Mafia album, Most Known Unknown is more of the same, executed a little bit better than before. That means a parade of first-rate productions by Juicy J and DJ Paul, the group's primary members, and plenty of street-level rhymes of the most hardcore variety. "Stay Fly" stands out -- not only amid the rest of the album, but amid the entire Three 6 catalog -- with its propulsive intensity and crafty hook. Juicy and Paul sample an old Willie Hutch song here, and the result is striking. Sure, Three 6 has always had a knack for roof-raisers like this, going back to similarly styled anthems like "Tear da Club Up" and "Hit a Muthafucka," but none have had such crossover potential. Features by Eightball, MJG, and Young Buck -- who are also from Memphis -- make the song even more dizzying, as the verses come quickly and hit hard. Nothing else on Most Known Unknown comes close to matching the excellence of "Stay Fly," unfortunately, though there are plenty of good songs here. "Swervin'" and "When I Pull Up at the Club" are two such instances, while "Side 2 Side" shows off Juicy and Paul's ability to import concurrent trends, in this case the "we-don't-dance dance" of Terror Squad's "Lean Back." And of course, you'll find all kinds of gratuitous profanity, sex talk, and drug references, along with over-the-top showboating aggression -- everything that has come to be expected from Three 6. Clocking in at 20-plus songs in roughly 80 minutes Most Known Unknown is indeed more of the same, plus a little extra quality, so if you're a fan, you won't be disappointed. On the other hand, if you're new to the group, likely introduced to them via "Stay Fly," you should expect over-the-top hardcore Southern rap. The beats are all done in-house and are the main draw. The rapping is not bad, though what the guys lack in technique and invention, they compensate for with lyrical excess. Three 6 Mafia is the hardcore of the hardcore, and not for the faint of heart.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

Keith Urban had a rough go of it in late 2006, when the tour for his brilliant Love, Pain & the Whole Crazy Thing was delayed fore health-related reasons. Urban has nonetheless been a road dog in 2007, and this greatest-hits package couldn't have come at a better time. Covering eight years, these are not merely album cuts, but in most cases the actual radio edits of hit singles -- album lengths are generally longer -- so these are the actual versions of tunes that made country radio and the video channels, so it doesn't replicate previous collections. From "I Told You So" and "Making Memories of Us" it goes right on through to the far more powerful version of "Days Go By" and "Where the Blacktop Ends." The 16 catalog tracks top what is the norm for compilations like this, which usually stop at ten or twelve cuts. But there's a bit more; a lot more actually. There are two new tracks that lead this baby off, and the first one's a doozie. "Romeo's Tune" was written by Steve Forbert who, back in the mid- and late '70s, was the next up-and-comer on the songwriting scene (and who appeared on an early Cyndi Lauper video), who has been compared to both Bob Dylan and John Prine, but at the time, his brand of easy, open rock was far more refreshing than that of either of those comparisons. The song is a great fit for Urban, whose voice has just enough graininess in it to recall the original, but it also rocks harder. Urban is faithful to the original but lets his guitar do plenty of talking in the mix. This should be released as a new single to country radio and hopefully there'll be a video coming to boot. The other bonus is "Got It Right This Time (The Celebration)," which was self-penned. It begins with a B-3 and a Fender Rhodes, a slippery drum loop, and one of those trademark, mid-tempo love ballad hooks that Urban can write all day long. Given his travails over the past few years, this sounds like a love song for his new wife, Nicole Kidman. That's conjecture, but given that it was written in 2006, it's a pretty good bet. When the guitars open up and the snare starts to crack, Urban's croon glides over this soulful, easy rocker and builds to a killer bridge where the electric six-strings, percussion, organ, and piano swell to the bursting point and it's all joy. Bottom line: it's one of the great romantic rockers of 2007. Equal parts Tom Petty, Don Henley, and Bob Seger, it's a country-pop song that will go down as one of his best. Clocking in at almost 76 minutes, this is a comp for the fans, and for the uninitiated as well.© Thom Jurek /TiVo

Released at the perfect time -- just as Three 6 Mafia was enjoying their first genuine crossover hit, "Stay Fly" -- Most Known Hits compiles most of the group's best songs from over the years, stretching back all the way to the standout Chapter 2: World Domination album. Most Known Hits thankfully incorporates some of the one-off albums affiliated with Three 6 Mafia over the years, including the Choices soundtrack and the Hypnotize Camp Posse and Tear da Club Up Thugs albums. All that's really missing are the group's better-known underground recordings, of which there are many. For instance, there's nothing here from the group's breakthrough Mystic Stylez album -- only songs from the major-label releases that began with Chapter 2. Since most of Three 6 Mafia's albums were filled to the brim with music and by nature uneven, it's nice to have a best-of like this. Newly intrigued listeners who were turned on to Three 6 Mafia in the wake of "Stay Fly" should find this release very beneficial. It's a cost-effective way to sample the deep Three 6 Mafia back catalog.© Jason Birchmeier /TiVo

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Two years into a young career, B2K had three proper studio albums, a holiday album, and two remix compilations on the shelves. After that third studio album, they broke up. The obvious next step? A best-of, of course. All of the chart hits dating from 2002 and 2003 are included ("Uh Uh," "Bump, Bump, Bump," "Gots ta Be," "Girlfriend"), along with a handful of album cuts. Though this compilation might've been seen as just another piece of product to take advantage of the group's fan base, it was actually quite handy and timely for casual fans who couldn't keep up with the group's release schedule. When this was released, the oldest song was two years old, so just about everything should've been fresh in the memory of the average listener.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

The Hits does contain Jagged Edge's biggest hits from 1997 through 2005, but it's very brief at only 11 cuts and leaves out a handful of singles that did chart (four of which went Top 40 R&B) throughout the same span of time. Most of the group's albums -- 1997's A Jagged Era and 2001's Jagged Little Thrill especially -- have more to offer than just their singles, so this compilation will satisfy only those who are set on obtaining the outright smashes (such as "Let's Get Married," "Walked Outta Heaven," "He Can't Love U," and "Where the Party At") and nothing else. It has to annoy the group that this disc was released only six months after their self-titled fifth album, and that the compilers didn't even consider some of the best album cuts ("Wednesday Lover" and "Watch You," just to name a pair). Regardless, The Hits is a decent introduction to a group that made up for its lack of jaw-dropping greatness with consistently good output.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

Much to his credit, Wyclef Jean is more of a producer in the vein of classic R&B and soul producers than he is in alignment with many of his contemporaries. Where most hip-hop and R&B producers are just focused on making a beat or making the hook as catchy as possible, Wyclef has a vision beyond that with his production style as well as his endeavors as a solo artist. This attention to detail and broad scope of music styles has been evident since his early years as a key member (if not the key member) of the Fugees. In a genre where formulas and playing it safe are the norm, Wyclef is a mad scientist taking constant risks and fusing elements of almost every genre imaginable into an amazing signature sound. And although not every experiment can be deemed a success (his cover versions of Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" and a duet with Kenny Rogers revisiting "The Gambler" immediately come to mind), Wyclef's production skills on his worst day are still better than many producers' finest hour. Greatest Hits covers three solo albums over a period of six years. While the argument can be made that such a short span of time might warrant a greatest-hits compilation a bit premature, Wyclef has enough quality tracks to justify one -- especially if you are just looking to own his most well-known hits. From his commercial successes on the pop chart ("We Trying to Stay Alive" with fellow ex-Fugee Pras and the classic "Gone Till November") to some of his lesser known hits that only made an impact on the R&B charts, every single one of his finest solo moments is contained here. Die-hard fans will already own many, if not all, of these tracks, but those just getting warmed up to Wyclef's style will find Greatest Hits to be an essential primer.© Rob Theakston /TiVo

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The only blunder made with the selections on Ginuwine's Greatest Hits is that it doesn't contain "Love You More," a sweet ballad that received a fair amount of play on U.S. radio stations and scaled up to the Top 30 of the R&B chart. Apart from that, there are no gripes to be had with Greatest Hits. It otherwise remains true to its title. The spread from Ginuwine's first five albums, released from 1996 through 2005, is fairly balanced. While another three or four songs could've been added to the program, it'll satisfy anyone with a moderate interest in one of the more successful male R&B vocalists of the late '90s and early 2000s -- one who handled the club tracks ("Pony," "Hell Yeah"), ballads ("So Anxious," "Differences," "Stingy"), and midtempo material ("What's So Different") equally well.© Andy Kellman /TiVo

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