Although CD singles are disappearing from the retailers' racks faster than you can say "obsolete", there's enough of a backlog since the switch to full size round about 1990 to keep us busy, and I thought we could have a thread in which we recommend strong singles from weak albums, strong singles from albums we're not sure about, and stand-alone singles like those terrace anthems we get from England every two years when it's European or World Cup time. Often with singles you get tighter radio edits, and in rare cases, superior remixes. There's money, time, and space to be saved when you buy CD singles!

Here are some recent purchases:

"It's all True" (superior Escort remix) - Tracey Thorn (Everything but the Girl, Massive Attack)
"Hurry up England - The People's Anthem" - Sham 69 & the Special Assembly
"Cassius 99" (remix/radio edit) - Cassius
"Umbrella" - Rihanna feat. Jay-Z
"Move Your Feet" - Junior Senior
"Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" - Spiller
"Chasing Pavements" - Adele
"Walking Away" - Craig David
"Another Chance" - Roger Sanchez
"Lady (Hear me Tonight)" - Modjo
"Work" (superior Freemasons radio edit) - Kelly Rowland (Destiny's Child)

I'll post more titles as I get them.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor is teh hawtness. It's a shame she only put a live version of this on her first album, and didn't/couldn't use the studio version.

LOVE her.

That's what I mean; sometimes you HAVE to buy the single. Spiller never troubled the charts again, but we've got this wonderful single forever now.

more gold:

"Rock Steady" - All Saints (their great comeback)
"King of my Castle" (superior Roy Malone's King radio edit) - Wamdue Project
"1973" - James Blunt (this song makes me misty eyed because 1973 was the best year of my life)
"This Love" - Maroon 5
"Drinking in L.A." - Bran Van 3000

Fans of the singer-songwriter genre, you must hear the single "1973".

1973 was the year I really got into music and comics.

more good stuff:

"Born to be Alive" - Patrick Hernandez
"Touch my Body" - Mariah Carey
"You're not Alone" - Olive
"Wild World" - Mr. Big (on a par with Cat Stevens' original)
"Stand by me" - Oasis (killer 4-track EP)
"Brimful of Asha" (superior Norman Cook remix) - Cornershop (tribute to Bollywood singer Asha Bosle)
"Hallo Spaceboy" - David Bowie (fans of Pet Shop Boys will need this one)
"It Feels so Good" (superior Can 7 Soulfood club mix) - Sonique
"Lift me up" - Geri Halliwell (plus two killer B's)
"All Around the World" - Oasis (killer 4-track EP)
"Valerie" - Mark Ronson feat. Amy Winehouse
"Don't Speak" - No Doubt
"Hey There Delilah" - Plain White T's (Paul Westerberg fans will like this one)
"7 Days" - Craig David
"I Don't Wanna go to School" - Drugdealer Cheerleader (Ramones fans will like this one)
"In my Arms" - Kylie Minogue
"The Journey Continues" - Mark Brown feat. Sarah Cracknell (Saint Etienne fans will need this one)

the hits keep coming:

"Bourée" - Jethro Tull (I don't collect Jethro Tull, but I've always liked the nobleness and airy feel of this instrumental)
"Supreme" - Robbie Williams (the only Robbie Williams song that I like)
"D'You Know What i mean?" - Oasis (killer 4-track EP)
"Holler" - Spice Girls
"Where the Poor Boys Dance" - Lulu (killer 3-track EP from unreleased album)
"Call on me" - Eric Prydz
"Walking on Thin ice" (Pet Shop Boys 7" mix) - Yoko Ono
"Patience" - Take That (good B-side as well)
"One of us" - Joan Osborne
"Genie in a Bottle" - Christina Aguilera
"A Mind of its own" - Victoria Beckham
"Dilemma" - Nelly feat. Kelly Rowland
"You Gotta be" - Des'ree
"Feeling for you" - Cassius
"This Groove" - Victoria Beckham (good B-side as well)
"Music Sounds Better With you" - Stardust
"Harder to Breathe" - Maroon 5 (no one hit wonder)
"X E Cute my X" - Drugdealer Cheerleader
"Just a Girl" - No Doubt
"Herculean" - The Good, the Bad & the Queen (Damon Albarn)
"Rule the World" - Take That

What I wrote before about saving money and space is not always true, however. I've now bought three singles from Oasis' "Be Here now" album, and they have cost me more than I would have paid for the whole album. However, this way I get three killer EP's instead of one uneven album. So I'm better off.

"That's What Love Can Do" by Boy Krazy - AMAZING song...but the other stuff of theirs I've heard? Meh.

Okay, here's another batch. I'm slowing down now. I had to buy many of the singles individually and used, so all that postage got to be too expensive for me. I don't regret buying the singles, however, as I in all likelihood would not have bought this music otherwise.

"2 Hearts" - Kylie Minogue
"She Bangs" - Ricky Martin
"Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" - Ms. Dynamite (my favorite R&B track since "Return of the Mack")
"Renegade Master 98" (Fatboy Slim old skool edit) - Wildchild
"Daylight" - Kelly Rowland
"Cry for you" (original edit) - September
"Never be the Same Again" - Melanie C feat. Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes (the whole album might be good)
"Take a bow" - Rihanna (worth it for the B-side "Don't Stop the Music" - Solitaire's more drama remix)
"Wow" - Kylie Minogue
"Rich Girl" - Gwen Stefani feat. Eve (procuced by Dr. Dre, contains an interpolation of "If I was a Rich man")
"We cry" - The Script (one of the best singles of the year so far, these guys could be huge)
"Stole" (album version) - Kelly Rowland
"Losing my Religion" - REM
"Missing" (Todd Terry club mix - Blanco/Eternal radio edit) - Everything but the Girl

Okay, my guess was right, the whole album "Northern Star" by Melanie C is good, albeit a curious mix of styles. Another album that I think might be all good stuff is the debut by The Good The Bad & The Queen - Damon Albarn has more than proved his worth with Blur and Gorillaz.

Get the album. It's EXCELLENT.

My brother played it for me when it first came out, and I agree it's a solid effort, but I never really dug REM all that much. The only other thing I've got by them is the single "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?". And "Shiny Happy People" I find a bit annoying.

15 years removed from constant radio airplay, "Shiny Happy People" has become one of my favorite REM songs.