Various Artists - Billboard Top Hits: 1988 (CD)

All Music Guide

If there's anything the Billboard Top Hits compilations documenting 1985 through 1989 indicate, it's that the period covered wasn't exactly pop music's most glorious era. Not only was there a lot of rock music being made that aged almost instantly; the mainstream had yet to fully embrace rap music, and a lot of the production qualities infiltrating nearly every genre of music -- the overbearing use of mid-range and the blazing guitar solos, for two -- haven't aged well at all. Still, these cheap and concise compilations function as accurate scrapbooks of the years being covered, and they're especially fascinating for pop fans who like to keep tabs on trends, changes, and developments. The 1988 installment of Billboard Top Hits is an improvement over the three that immediately predate it for the simple fact that Starship have finally let go of its grip. Although there are some almost universally detested singles such as Richard Marx's "Hold on to the Nights," the Escape Club's "Wild Wild West," Will to Power's "Baby, I Love Your Way/Freebird Medley (Freebaby)," and Johnny Hates Jazz's "Shattered Dreams," there are a couple bright spots, including Exposé's "Seasons Change" (one of the best pop ballads of the '80s -- look it up) and Terence Trent D'Arby's "Wishing Well." And then there's Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy," which either makes people happy or just the opposite.

- Andy Kellman, All Music Guide