KANYE WEST: Late Registration (Universal).

EITHER hip hop floats your boat or it doesn't. KanYe West is one of the current sensations in the field, and he's a smooth MC. His second album is packed with special guests (including Jamie Foxx and Brandy) and most of the memorable musical moments are samples, as ever in hip hop. Listenable but hardly as groundbreaking as the hype suggests.

JEFF CRAWFORD