The cream of the pop compilation is back once more as Now That's What I Call Music Vol.49 serves up another double disc of hits from the UK pop charts. As ever it holds a plethora of number ones from the likes of DJ Pied Piper ("Do You Really Like it"), Robbie Williams ("Eternity") and Hear'Say ("The Way to Your Love"). Also included are some of those global, all-conquering hits which lingered for ages like the soulful hip hop of Outkast's "Ms Jackson" which was actually released a few months before the previous instalment of the series, Now 48. The only downfall of this great compilation is as with the inclusion of Outkast or S Club's "Don't Stop Movin", much of the material is quite old at the time of release or already heavily featured on other albums like Smash Hits Summer 2001. Maybe they're saving themselves for the half century but having said that, apart from some bizarre inclusions at the tail end of disc one (don't even go there), almost every song is a classic of 2001. --David Trueman