In Neptunes productions, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo juice pop and hip-hop with nickel-plated hooks, but with N.E.R.D, the Virginia Beach natives go further, adding drummer Shae Haley and his often martial funk. Drawing mostly from their two Virgin albums, this set compiles hits, B sides and remixes for a demonstration of genre shakes, sonic spectacle and fun. On "Baby Doll" and "She Wants to Move," N.E.R.D are tuneful and carnal, rhythmic and painterly; on tricky jams like "Lapdance" and "Truth or Dare," they table conventional lyrics and song behavior for fierce aural theater. In the N.E.R.D lab, Williams and crew seize pop, smash it, then let their imaginations roam.

Listen to "She Wants to Move":

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“The A Team”

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.