Santana

No 1: Mar 26th

There's not too many guitarists for whom the term legendary is fitting, but Carlos Santana is certainly one. No-one who has been a fan of rock music in the last thirty years can have failed to listen to and appreciate at least some of man and his band's work. Supernatural is both a triumph and a tribute with artists as varied as Eric Clapton and Lauren Hill collaborating on the tracks. Smooth with Rob Thomas on vocals was a phenomenal success as a single in the States and while it did less well in Britain it did propel the album to the no 1 spot for two weeks on March 26th.

S Club 7

No 1: Jun 18th

No 5: Jan 9th (No 2: Oct 1999)

Debuting straight at no 1 on June 18th is the second album from the pop septet S Club 7, imaginatively called 7. The group Rachel, Hannah, Bradley, Paul, Jon, Jo and Tina star in their own TV series from which this album comes. Unlike the first album S Club which peaked in 2000 on Jan 9th at no 5, the vocals are more diverse with even the lads getting a chance at the lead. Top tracks include the first single Reach (a Eurovision song in all but name), Bring The House Down and Love Train. More mellow and laid back than the first album, it should no doubt spawn a few more hit singles.

... Savage Garden

No 7: Aug 13th

The title track of their second album, Affirmation, took Savage Garden into the British singles Top 10 for the first time in 2000 when it peaked at no 8 in July and spurred the album to a new high of 7 on 13th August. Often incorrectly given the boyband tag (although they do have a big fanbase of screaming girls), the australian/british duo of singer Darren Hayes and multi-instrumentalist Daniel Jones have something more that takes them into the soft rock bracket. As well as the title track, three other singles have come from the album, the soft ballad I Knew I Loved You and two faster pop songs The Animal Song and Crash and Burn.

... Paul Simon

No 6: May 21st

... Simon and Garfunkel

No 8: Feb 6th

... Simply Red

No 10: Jun 4th (No 1: Oct 1996)

... Frank Sinatra

No 10: Jun 18th

Is it the passing of the old millenium that's causing this current trend for nostalgia? Or is it just good music making a comeback? Whatever, this compilation samples some of Frank Sinatra's more mellow and productive moments, mostly under the direction of Nelson Riddle. Standards which Sinatra made his owm such as The Lady Is A Tramp, Young At Heart and Night And Day are featured here with seventeen other classic tracks. While nothing new this compilation should let another generation appreciate the talent that was old blue eyes. The album debuts at no 10 on June 18th.

... Smashing Pumpkins

No 7: Mar 5th

... Sonique

No 6: Sep 24th

Proving the old rule that a new artist needs two successful singles to break an album, Sonique flies into the top 10 on September 24th at no 6 with Hear My Cry on the 12th week of the album's release. The two singles It Feels So Good and Sky are joined by 10 other songs showing how versatile the DJ is. Other stand-outs are the dance hit I Put a Spell on You, the funky Are You Ready? and the piano ballad Learn To Forget. Sonique is well-known on the club scene where her talent as a DJ has taken her to all the big dance events around the globe. In fact she's flirted with success many times, most notably with S-Express in the early nineties but her love of DJing held her back before now from becoming a full-scale recording artist.

... Spandau Ballet

No 7: Sep 17th

Gold: The Best Of Spandau Ballet rises to no 7 on September 17th. The London band had twenty hits and the first seventeen are here with only the final three low-charting entries of 87-89 missing. True was their only number one but other memorable Top 10s include Gold, To Cut A Long Story Short, Musclebound and Through The Barricades. The Kemp brothers went on to star famously as The Krays in the film of that name, and Martin has continued the type-casting of an East End bad boy in the BBC soap opera Eastenders which probably explains his prominence on the cover.

... Britney Spears

No 2: Jan 30th

No 2: May 21st

While the adults have been waiting for Whitney, the kids have been yearning for Britney, and she delivers on her second album Oops I Did It Again. The album debuts at no 2 on the 21st of May. The number one title track is accompanied by many more hits of the same calibre most notably the track Stronger and the mid-tempo Lucky. The teen queen also tries her hand at lyric writing on Dear Diary, the results being cheesy and endearing at the same time. Other highlights include her cover of the Rolling Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and the Shania Twain song Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know. More upbeat than the debut album, Baby One More Time which hit a new peak at 2 on Jan 30th, Oops... should be a strong feature in the charts for the rest of the year.

... Steps

No 5: Jan 2nd (No 1: Nov 1999)

... Stereophonics

No 7: Jan 16th (No 1: Mar 1999)

No 9: Feb 20th (No 6: Sep 1997)