Chart Toppers: R&B Hits of the 80s

Priority's Chart Toppers series is an excellent budget-line collection, offering a strong selection of 15 original hits, grouped by a specific theme and decade, on each disc. Chart Toppers: R&B Hits of the 80's combines urban soul, Minneapolis funk, smooth ballads and dance-pop -- an eclectic bunch, to say the least, but the variety helps capture the feeling of the decade. A few of the songs haven't dated well, but for the most part, the selection of songs is terrific, albeit a little predictable. Among the highlights on the disc are Jody Watley's "Looking for a New Love," Bobby Brown's "Don't Be Cruel," Ashford & Simpson's "Solid," the Pointer Sisters' "Slwo Hand," Pebbles' "Mercedes Boy," Chaka Khan's "I Feel for You," Patti LaBelle's "New Attitude," Ready for the World's "Oh Sheila," Kool & the Gang's "Joanna," Gregory Abbott's "Shake You Down," the Jets' "Crush On You" and Larry Graham's "One in a Million You."