The Ultimate Collection is at least the fourth way to repurchase songs from Michael Jackson's Thriller: If you didn't fall for the 1995 greatest-hits/new-material mishmash HIStory, the 2001 Thriller special edition or last year's Number Ones anthology, here's another, even more expensive choice. Collection offers a four-disc career overview plus a DVD of a Bucharest, Romania, concert from the early Nineties. Tucked between singles are unretouched demos (including a sketch of "We Are the World" with a fragile Jackson singing the whole song), the long-missing but little-missed Captain EO track "We Are Here to Change the World" and, naturally, a bloated new anti-war ode, "We've Had Enough."

The good part: This is the first package to include Jackson's early years — a few finger-poppin' Jackson 5 hits; the Wiz duet with Diana Ross, "Ease On Down the Road"; and assorted Jacksons productions found on the delightful Disc One. Previously unreleased outtakes include an easy-listening version of Thriller's "P.Y.T" that bears little resemblance to the original and a drop-dead-funky unreleased track left off 1991's Dangerous: "Monkey Business." Its dazzling, uncontrived exuberance makes you wonder about Jackson's artistic judgment: If he rejected this, what else is sitting on the cutting-room floor?

“Time to Pretend”

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”