Craig David

No 1: August 20th

The hottest property in UK music for many years, teenager Craig David bursts onto the top spot in the first week of release with his debut album Born To Do It on August 20th. Craig's star has been rising all year from his lead on the Artful Dodger's Rewind, through his chart-topping debut single Fill Me In, to the equally successful follow-up Seven Days. Now praised by the UK music scene and being wooed by american R&B artists that he has worshipped growing up, he looks set to be hot internationally too. The album has many great tracks although garage fans may find a little too much R&B for their tastes. Bound to be one of the year's biggest sellers.

... Dr Dre

No 4: May 14th

Dr Dre's Chronic in 1992 was a major album in the American R&B market, as was the album he produced for long-time collaborator Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. Dre also changed the sound of the R&B by sampling a lot of George Clinton's Funkadelic days. In recent years his work with Eminem has brought the white rapper to the world's attention. The best tracks on Dre's second album Chronic 2001 which peaked at no 4 on May 14th, are considered to be the two singles with the rest of the album not showing anything innovative or new. Having said that, his work is bringing R&B to a wide public in Britain...

... Celine Dion

No 4: Jan 2nd (No 1: Nov 1999)

The news that Celine Dion is pregnant will be welcome to many of her fans because her lack of children is essentially the reason the French-Canadian chanteuse has given up the business for a while. All The Way (A Decade of Song) is a mixture of Dion classics such as My Heart Will Go On and Think Twice with new songs such as the feel-good uptempo That's The Way It Is. The album's peak in 2000 was no 4 on the first chart of the year. Let's hope Celine has a happy pregnancy, a wonderful child and a great new album soon...

... The Doors

No 9: Sep 17th

Amazingly the number 9 debut of the latest compilation of The Doors' material, The Best Of... is the highest peak of the band's releases ever in the UK Album chart. Lead singer Jim Morrison died at age 27 on 3rd July 1971, and, as with all musicians who die young, has remained a cult figure ever since. This album has all the well-known items but any "real" Doors fan will tell you that it's no more than a crash-course on the subject - for the full story you have to listen to the original lps...