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10 Ice Cube Lethal Injection (Priority). Ice Cube's raps about police brutality and white immorality enter the ear and expand in the brain like a Black Talon bullet; his lyrics are sometimes inexcusable, but his logic is often inescapable. Ignore his high-caliber insights at your peril.
...And the Worst
More Songs for Sleepless Nights (Epic Soundtrax). The movie-sound-track boom is getting out of hand. The nostalgia-laden Sleepless in Seattle album contained actual songs from the movie, like Louis Armstrong's classy A Kiss to Build a Dream On. This shameless Sleepless sequel, featuring selections like Al Jolson's Sonny Boy, includes a disclaimer: ''None of the recordings in this collection appear in the motion picture Sleepless in Seattle.'' Is the audience asleep?