Sexx Laws

Essentially a Now That's What I Call Music! for grown-ups, Grammy Nominees 2001 gathers songs from the year's Grammy-nominated pop, rock, and contemporary R&B artists. Not surprisingly, the collection concentrates on the most mainstream nominees -- you won't find any Metallica, Rage Against the Machine, or Deftones here. Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" comes the closest to pushing the envelope, but for the most part the album features songs by venerable acts, including Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now" and Paul Simon's "You're the One," as well as teen pop hits like Britney Spears' "Oops!...I Did It Again" and Christina Aguilera's "What a Girl Wants." The album gives a brief nod to R&B with Destiny's Child's "Say My Name" and Macy Gray's "I Try," but no male R&B artists are included. Multiple Grammy winners U2 and Steely Dan are represented by "Beautiful Day" and "Cousin Dupree," respectively; Madonna's "Music," Radiohead's "Optimistic," and Aimee Mann's "Save Me" are some of the album's other highlights. Though it's somewhat surprising that some of the other big-name nominees -- such as Sting, Lenny Kravitz, the Foo Fighters, and Sheryl Crow -- weren't included on this collection, Grammy Nominees 2001 is still a decent sampler of 2001 Grammy winners and runners-up. ~ Heather Phares