Greatest Hits

These days she's fodder for tabloid writers and late-night comics, but way back in the '90s Mariah Carey ruled the charts. This two-disc collection offers up evidence why, for better or worse, Mariah's five-octave, pop/R&B stylings set the diva standard. Greatest Hits culls its offerings from Carey's five albums on Sony (she is now signed to Virgin), and you get all the facets of her platinum-plus sound. From the soulful smolder of her 1990 debut "Vision of Love" (still one of her best tracks) to the coyer-than-thou duet with Jay Z ("Heartbreaker"), Carey thrills, trills, and hits notes that only canines comprehend. Fans will gobble this collection up, but inclusion of some of Carey's more adventuresome remixes (e.g. the Puffy-produced "Fantasy," featuring ODB) might have made this package more noteworthy. --Amy Linden