Various Artists - Chart Toppers: R&B Hits of the 80s (CD)

All Music Guide

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: RB 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."

- Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide