Def Jam 1985-2001: History of Hip Hop, Vol. 1
AsChuck  D.put it, "most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps." But quite  a few of them have been signed to Def Jam records. Aside from a brief  period in the early '90s (anyone remember Downtown Science?), rap's  premier label has remained ahead of the game for the past 15 years.  Proof positive is this collection. Starting with LL Cool J's classic  "Radio," it gathers many of the label's early hits--singles that were  wildly successful at a time when hip-hop didn't have many commercially  viable outlets--along with several of its new generation platinum-plus  selections.Besides the well-chosen inclusion ofDomino's sadly overlooked "Getto Jam" and Oran "Juice" Jones's classic "The Rain,"  there aren't many surprises in the lineup, which is a good thing. FromEPMDtoJay-Z, all the  songs you wanna hear are right here. On the minus side,3rd BassandNice and Smoothcould have been better represented, and we could have done without theFoxy BrownandJa Ruletracks. All told, however, this is a bit ofHistoryworth  owning.--Rebecca Levine