What It Is: The entry into the 21st century for James Todd Smith (aka LL Cool J).

What the Idea Was: After spending most of the 1990s as an ab model, LL Cool J tried to come back to his harder roots (with mixed results) while declaring himself the "greatest of all time."

Why It's Only a Penny: LL should know that cred cannot be bought over the span of a single album (especially after that video for "Hey Lover," not to mention In the House), but he tries to do it anyway. The result is a strange mix of pop-centric funk beats accompanied by LL's tough guy stories, with guest spots from DMX, XZibit, Prodigy and Method Man (but also from almost-was Amil and never-weres Kelly Price and Kandice Love). Also, the full title is (deep breath) G.O.A.T. Featuring James T. Smith, The Greatest of All Time.

Why It's Worth the Shipping: With the pretty good jams "Take It Off," "Fuhgidabowdit" and "U Can't Fuck With Me," it essentially amounts to the last good LL Cool J album (were you even aware the guy put out three albums since this one?). The beats, while not terribly interesting, represent a noble attempt to bridge the two sides of LL's career. There is great, tight story telling on songs like "Homicide," but it's often derailed by awkward attempts at profundity (the chorus of "Homicide" is "I don't mean this in a disrespectful way/But Columbine happens in the hood every day"). In other words: a failure, but a pretty fascinating one.