Freestyle Greatest Beats: The Complete Collection, Vol. 1

Expanded to 10 volumes from the original 7, Timber Records head Joey Gardner's Freestyle's Greatest Beats is a roughly chronological history of the music. Volume 1 scores with freestyle fundamentals from heavy hitters such as TKA, Cover Girls, Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam, and Exposé. This disc is heavy on the classics and features cuts that aren't played as much anymore. Jellybean's "The Mexican," in its original form, blurs the line between dance music and rock; England's Information Society brings some Euro-cool to the Latin hip-hop; and Nayobe's hyperemotional "Please Don't Go" hits the head as hard as the hips. --John Sanchez