Rhino's 2001 retrospective The Very Best of Miki Howard is a generous, near-definitive overview of Howard's biggest R&B hits from the '80s. She didn't have many crossover hits, but she did have numerous entries on the R&B charts, all of which are here, including a duet with Gerald Levert, "That's What Love Is." Although this is a little lengthy for listeners with abbreviated attention spans, it does summarize Howard's peak very well, and is as comprehensive a Howard retrospective as could be hoped for.

Tougher Than Love is the debut album by singer-songwriter Diana King. The album peaked at #179 on The Billboard 200, #85 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and #1 on the Top Reggae Albums chart. It features the four hit singles, "Shy Guy", "Love Triangle", "Ain't Nobody" (a cover of the Rufus & Chaka Khan song from 1983), and "Treat Her Like a Lady." Diana King is a Jamaican singer-songwriter who performs a mixture and fusion of reggae, reggae fusion and dancehall. She was born to an Indo-Jamaican mother and an Afro Jamaican father. She is best known for her hit 1995 single "Shy Guy" and her remake of "I Say a Little Prayer" which was featured on the soundtrack to My Best Friend's Wedding.

Original Album Series contains the first five albums from the mighty Dayton funk band Slave: Slave (1977), The Hardness of the World (1977), The Concept (1978), Just a Touch of Love (1979), and Stone Jam (1980). Each disc is in a thin cardboard pouch with reproductions of the original front and back sleeve designs. Since the series limits itself to five discs, the band's phenomenal sixth album – Show Time (1981) – couldn't fit, but this is a convenient way to snap up the majority of the output from one of the planet's best funk bands. Not even the two-disc The Definitive Groove Collection covers all the great singles and album cuts featured within this small box.

Diana King's sophomore outing Think Like a Girl is a well-crafted, diverse set of soul/pop/reggae that merited much more attention it received. The album contains several ultra catchy songs that have hit written all over them, namely the infectious title track and "Wicked." King is also an extremely earnest and sincere singer, and nowhere is that more evident than on the album's 30-second a cappella interlude "Mi Coffee." On some tunes, such as "Love Yourself" and the single "L-L-Lies," King sings in her trademark, powerful reggae style.

With their long track record, Kool & the Gang have always offered dance-provoking rhythms and Something Special fits that bill, too. Featuring the number one single "Take My Heart (You Can Have It If You Want It)," James "J.T." Taylor approaches the song in a cool, mesmerizing tone, closing out the vamp in his falsetto with a burst of energy while the background vocals chant the subtitle throughout the chorus. Not known to lead a song in falsetto, Taylor further utilizes this talent on the motivated rhythms of the nocturnal scenario of "Steppin' Out." It maintained a steady stride, rising to the number ten spot on the charts. The third single from the album was "Get Down on It." As the title indicates, this is a gritty funk track that worked its way up the charts to claim the number three position, selling more than 500,000 copies. Although there were no more charted singles from this album, the entire collection is deserving of recognition. On a slower note, "Pass It On" and "No Show" received regional airplay.

Complete Collection is a six-disc, U.K.-only set celebrating the breadth and depth of Lisa Stansfield's extensive and impressive career. It includes her five studio albums – Affection; Real Love; So Natural; Lisa Stansfield; and Face Up – as well as an exclusive sixth disc, with recordings from a 1992 Wembley date, club mixes (including a great Massive Attack version of "Live Together"), B-sides, and three songs from Stansfield's Blue Zone days. Not enough? Each studio album is augmented with at least two bonus tracks. Complete Collection is definitely the most comprehensive Lisa Stansfield retrospective; it borders on overkill. But since it's only available in the U.K. – and is also quite pricey – the single-disc Biography is perfectly acceptable for the casual Stansfield fan.