The Residents - Meet the Residents

:-(

Surfer Blood - Hardboiled [honorable mention]

:-)

Macy Gray - The Very Best of Macy Gray: 8 (A-)

I already have her first two albums (as well as The Sellout, released after this). So, I’d be paying for three tracks from album three, plus three non-album tracks, plus three remixes of songs I already have.

The Wronglers with Jimmie Dale Gilmore - Heirloom Music: 7 (B+)

# [country/bluegrass] [really nice looking product]

The Bongos - Numbers with Wings: liked

:-)

The Roches - The Roches: 8.5 (high A-)

Classic album cover. w/Fripp.

The Roches - Keep On Doing: 8 (A-)

w/Fripp. I have a nice vinyl copy of this.

Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga - Love for Sale: 7 (B+)

#traditional/popvocals

Macy Gray - Covered: 7 (B+)

# [r&b/covers]

Kelis - Kaleidoscope: 7 (B+)

#r&b

Mammoth Penguins - There’s No Fight We Can’t Both Win [honorable mention]

:-)

Naughty by Nature - IIcons [honorable mention]

:-)

Sleaford Mods - UK Grim: liked

:-)

Buck 65 - Dirtywork [EP]: 7 (B+)

Digital-only

Albert Collins/Robert Cray/Johnny Copeland - Showdown!: 7 (B+)

#blues

Naughty by Nature - Naughty's Nicest: 8.5 (high A-)

Comparing these two, Naughty’s Nicest (Rhino) has three songs not on Nature's Finest (Tommy Boy):

"Everyday All Day" – from debut

"Yoke the Joker" – from debut

"Dirt All by My Lonely" – from Nature's Fury

And Nature's Finest has four songs not on Naughty's Nicest:

"Penetration" – actually a Next song, feat. NBN

"Clap Yo Hands (Remix)" – from Poverty's Paradise

"Nothing to Lose (Naughty Live)" – from Nothing to Lose soundtrack

"Naughty by Nature (The Megamix)" – previously unreleased

If you discount the megamix, which one should, then they have an equal number of tracks. As far as regular-issue albums, Nature's Finest has five tracks from the debut, while Naughty's Nicest has seven. They both have the same two tracks from Poverty's Paradise, although Nature's Finest adds a subpar remix of the best track, "Craziest." They both have the same three tracks from 19NaughtyIII. Finally, Naughty's Nicest has one from Nature's Fury.

Essentially, Nature's Finest over Naughty's Nicest gets you a live track (!) and a subpar Next r&b song, so, essentially nothing, while Nature's Finest gets me the three album tracks listed above. Also, since I don't really like the debut, but it's considered "their best" by many, Naughty's Nicest gives me seven whole tracks from that. Bottom line: Naughty's Nicest is the no-brainer. Plus, it's sequenced via album, not all over the place, no megamixes, live tracks, r&b songs by other artists featuring NBN, subpar remixes of their best track, etc. No big surprise that Rhino did a better reissue job than the original label, Tommy Boy. A great label, but still, not a reissue specialist.

[TL;DR: Nicest - 13 album, 3 soundtrack | Finest - 11 album, 3 soundtrack, 1 live, 1 megamix, 1 Next]

Tavares - The Best of Tavares: Capital Gold Series [placeholder]

The nine extra tracks not on Best of Tavares (1977) are not good enough to justify a purchase of this remastered 1993 release, which also drops two from the former. Listened to the nine extra tracks three times each.

Young Fathers - Tape One [EP] [honorable mention]

:-)

Macy Gray - The Trouble with Being Myself: 7 (B+)

# [r&b]

Tavares - Madame Butterfly [honorable mention]

:-) [Not quite sure how or why this got on the 3-listen list. I think it was a mistake or moment of sloppiness. Pleasant enough anyway.]

Todd Snider - Live: Near Truths and Hotel Rooms: 7.5 (high B+)

#folk/live

Joni Mitchell - Don Juan's Reckless Daughter: neutral

:-|

Tavares - The Best of Tavares: 8.5 (high A-)

Looks like it was remastered and put on CD in 1989, but not upgrading to such an early remastering job.

Naughty by Nature - Poverty's Paradise: 9 (A)

Tavares - Hard Core Poetry [honorable mention]

:-)