Music that speaks volumes
The best of the “NOW” collections.
“NOW That’s What I Call Music!,” the global franchise that collects the biggest songs of the day into greatest-hits compilations, celebrated a major milestone in August when it released the 100th installment of the original U.K. series.
Stateside listeners are most familiar with the American editions of the “NOW” albums, with tracklists that function as pop music time capsules, reminding us all of the songs we were all obsessed with that season. For listeners of a certain generation, the “NOW” albums – purchased as CDs, ready to be inserted in a Walkman – were an essential introduction to popular music, a Spotify “Today’s Top Hits” playlist for the pre-internet age.
The American “NOW” albums may only be on Volume 67, out now and featuring ofthe-moment hits including Post Malone’s “Psycho” and Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up.” But look on the bright side – that’s 67 albums spanning 20 years of chart-topping history, ready to be mined for nostalgia. Revisit the essential “NOW” albums, from the franchise’s very first volumes to today.
Volume 2, 1999
Skip the spotty first volume and start with this rundown of pop music going into the new millennium. Hits include Britney Spears’ “...Baby One More Time” and Jay-Z’s “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).”
Volume 4, 2000
Even better is Volume 4, with era-defining songs such as Jennifer Lopez’s “Waiting for Tonight” and Blink-182’s “All the Small Things,” alongside one of the decade’s best one-hit wonders, Macy Gray’s “I Try.”
Volume 6, 2001
2001 may have been the single strongest year for “NOW” albums. Volume 6 gets the nod for its lineup of early 2000s greats — Britney Spears’ “Stronger,” NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” and Backstreet Boys’ “Shape of My Heart” all show up – joined by Coldplay’s “Yellow.” Bonus points for the novelty inclusion of Shaggy’s “It Wasn’t Me.”
Volume 8, 2001
There’s a lot to love on Volume 8, with eternal singles “Bootylicious” from Destiny’s Child and Usher’s “U Got It Bad” to the meandering funk of the Gorillaz classic “Clint Eastwood.” It’s only fitting that the “Shrek” soundtrack is represented on a 2001 “NOW” album, seen here via Smash Mouth’s cover of “I’m a Believer.”
Volume 15, 2004
Britney Spears’ “Toxic” is maybe the best pop single of the 2000s, featured on Volume 15, alongside “It’s My Life” from No Doubt and Beyonce’s “Me, Myself and I.” There are some hilarious relics of mid-2000s hip-hop, such as Ludacris’ “Stand Up” and Chingy’s “Holidae In.”
Volume 19, 2005
Bookended Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” and The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” Volume 19 features some fun one-hit wonders: Anna Nalick’s “Breathe (2 AM)” takes us back to the nights we spent crying at “Grey’s Anatomy” episodes.
Volume 20, 2005
Beyond enduring dance floor hits such as Missy Elliott’s “Lose Control” and Rihanna’s “Pon de Replay,” the real gems on Volume 20 are the rock hits toward the second half of the album. Kelly Clarkson was at her peak emo levels with “Behind These Hazel Eyes,” Weezer has the lovably dumb “Beverly Hills,” and Fall Out Boy’s “Sugar, We’re Goin Down” is the track that rocketed them to mainstream fame.
Volume 30, 2009
This album goes beyond the combined heavyweight powers of “Just Dance” from Lady Gaga and Britney Spears’ “Womanizer.” “Heartless” is from Kanye West’s “808s and Heartbreak,” which went on to dictate the next decade of hip-hop trends.
Volume 33, 2010
Volume 33 captures what a strangely hilarious year 2010 was for music, from the absurd Young Money posse cut “BedRock” and the doofy ukuleles of Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” to the bizarre phenomenon that was Owl City’s “Fireflies.”
Volume 38, 2011
Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” kicks off this monster compilation of thumping pop hits from Rihanna (“S&M”), Britney Spears (“Hold It Against Me”), Usher (“More”), Kesha (“Blow”) and Katy Perry (“E.T.,” featuring Kanye West), since apparently, every star artist was making booming club bangers in 2011.
Volume 46, 2013
“Locked Out of Heaven” and “I Knew You Were Trouble” may not be Bruno Mars’ and Taylor Swift’s most popular respective hits, but they’re both topthree best-ever singles for the artists. Pink and Nate Ruess’ sweet collaboration “Just Give Me a Reason” still holds up, and Sky Ferreira’s “Everything is Embarrassing,” which never reached the pop heights it deserved, is rightfully included.
Volume 60, 2016
Come for bona fide 2010s classics such as “This Is What You Came For” from Calvin Harris, featuring Rihanna, and Ariana Grande’s “Into You,” stay for Charlie Puth’s best hit to date – “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” his moody collaboration with Selena Gomez.
Volume 63, 2017
Call it recency bias, but 2017 was a blessed time for pop hits. We had “I’m the One” and “Slide,” DJ Khaled’s and Calvin Harris’ respective songs-ofthe-summer contributions. “Congratulations” is Post Malone’s most essential single, and until Selena Gomez releases her new album, “Bad Liar” remains enough to tide us over.
Volume 64, 2017
One “NOW” volume couldn’t contain all of 2017’s pop magic, and Volume 64 mopped up all the hits Volume 63 couldn’t include, from Maroon 5’s shamefully enjoyable SZA collaboration “What Lovers Do” to Childish Gambino’s pitch-shifted funk on “Redbone.” And no survey of 2017 hits could exist without the cultural behemoth that was Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee and Justin Bieber’s “Despacito” remix.