Last year's Modern Life Is Rubbish found Blur vaulting from the indie ranks, combating the slacker invasion and jousting with archrivals Suede by reviving the spirit of the Kinks, early Jam and Hunky Dory-era Bowie. Blur became the Great Brit Pop Hope. With one of this year's best albums, they realize their cheeky ambition: to reassert all the style and wit, boy bonding and stardom aspiration that originally made British rock so dazzling. Producer Stephen Street (Morrissey) lends a glossy finish to songs encyclopedic in their reference points (the Walker Brothers and Gary Numan, mod and glam memories, dole-queue reality). Parklife melds effects-heavy '60s guitars and cheesy New Wave synths into a joyful, highly musical noise. From perfect car-radio fare ("Girls and Boys," "London Loves") to breathtaking ballads ("To the End," "End of the Century"), this is explosive pop.

“Tonight's the Night”

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."