Bagley, K. (2002). Antarctica. Bridgestone: Capstone Press

The Ballad Hits is the second greatest hits compilation album by Swedish pop duo Roxette, released on 4 November 2002 by Roxette Recordings and Capitol Records. It was the first of a two-part series of "best of" albums released by the duo in quick succession, and was followed by The Pop Hits in March 2003. Two new songs were recorded specially for The Ballad Hits: lead single "A Thing About You" and "Breathe". The album was a commercial success upon release, and has been certified gold or platinum in a number of territories.

Leo Sayer is a British-born singer-songwriter musician, and entertainer whose singing career has spanned four decades. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s, and became a top singles and album act on both sides of the Atlantic in the 1970s. His first seven hit singles in the United Kingdom all reached the Top 10 – a feat first registered by his first manager, Adam Faith. His songs have been sung by other notable artists.

RCA and the Elvis estate made no bones about their intention on replicating the blockbuster success of the Beatles' The Beatles 1 with their own single-disc collection of number one hits – hence, the 2002 release of Elvis: 30 #1 Hits. The idea of collecting all the number one hits is simple enough, but there are problems inherent with the concept, not the least of which is that RCA did this once before. Unlike the Beatles, who went through numerous changes in just seven years of recording, Elvis had nearly three times as many years' worth of material and hits to choose from. Also, he hit on a number of different charts – not just pop, but also R&B, country, and adult contemporary.

Patricia Kaas' 2002 release Piano Bar is a lovely, seductive collection of romantic mood music, pulled directly from the chanteuse tradition but sounding utterly contemporary. Some credit must go to producer/arranger Michel Legrand, who keeps the polished surface softly glimmering, yet this is merely a stage for Kaas, whose vocals are never flashy, but always alluring. The album consists primarily of mid-20th century songs from such stalwart European composers as Charles Anzavour and Jacques Brel, who were covered frequently during the '60s by European and American singers alike. As such, Piano Bar can feel a bit like a '60s vocal pop album at times in terms of approach and material, but Legrand's synth-heavy arrangements help bring it into the modern era as much as Kaas' unhurried delivery. The end result is a lovely, winning album, another fine recording by a fine vocalist.

Vostok (2002). Inspired by the mysterious depths of the hidden lake under Antarctica, Vostok is a haunting voyage into an unknown space filled with wonder and awe. Craig Padilla masterfully crafts a subterranean soundworld, transforming electronic instruments into subtle abstract beauty that feels no less organic than inorganic, in this visionary long-form ambient work. Vostok is a place of purity and stillness, of undisturbed existence…

Peter Hammill has been at it for almost 40 years now, and yet, since the early 2000s, he has been on a new way up, creatively speaking. Clutch (2002) and Incoherence (2004), his previous two studio albums, had both hit high artistic marks, but that is only one of the main reasons why Singularity was so highly anticipated by the fans. It was also the Thin Man's first studio album since remastering his '70s LPs for EMI, his first since the re-formation of his old group, Van der Graaf Generator. Yet, most importantly, especially for a man of words like he is, it was his first studio release since his heart attack two years earlier. Were all the expectations generated by these "firsts" met? Surprisingly, yes. Singularity stands among Hammill's best albums of the past 25 years.