Charles McCarter: Despite my misgivings about the cheesy live-action cover (give us a nice illustration instead!) and the bizarre nature of some of the English lyrics on the vocals, I'd recommend that COWBOY BEBOP: KNOCKING ON HEAVEN'S DOOR soundtrack. After all, anything that is more BEBOP music has to be good (or at least a heck of a lot better than a lot of other stuff that's out there.) And Kanno fans will want to check out the CDs for ARJUNA, the latest show by Kawamori Shoji.

Mark Johnson: My Japanese CDs of choice consists of two albums this year. Okui Masami, known for her massive amount of anime themes from CYBER TEAM IN AKIHABARA to SLAYERS to UTENA, has released her 7th album "Devotion" (KICS-890). My other suggestion would be Judy and Mary's final 2 CD collection "The Great Escape" (ESCB-2230) (memorable to anime fans for their original opening theme for RUROUNI KENSHIN).

Ken Lee: SUPER SONIC DANCE - MOVE. The bad-ass JPOP Techno group behind some of the best kick-ass music in INITIAL D anime, this is arguably MOVE's best song to date. SUPERSONIC DANCE is the epitome of all things "Avex Trax" and this song is the distillation of pure jubilation. Driving, pumping, catchy techno tracks abound on this CD-Single. Don't get turned off by the fact that this is a single: This CD-Single contains 3 of the best Japanese dance/club mixes around. SUPERSONIC DANCE is the highlight. But it's followed by an equally powerful RIDE ON THE WAVE (Rave Transcentral Mix) only found on this CD-Single. Suffice to say that this trance/techno JPOP tune is simply stunning. Add to that STAY WITH ME (Club Mix), and you have a triumvirate of musical glory. Bad-ass.

Eric "Scanner" Luce: All three of the NOIR soundtracks and BGM CD's by artist Kajiura Yuki: NOIR ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK 1, NOIR ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK 2, and NOIR - BLANC DANS NOIR, which also includes the CD single NOIR BGM OUTTRACK COLLECTION.

These CDs feature an excellent blend of music. From the James Bond-ish OP to the extremely engaging and somewhat haunting action song "Salva Nos" (several different versions across all 4 CDs!) This is a must-have for any fan of the show. Even those who are not in to the series have liked this music. Get one for your favorite anime enthusiast. Make it a collective present, tell three different people to get you each of the albums and end up with the entire set.

John Yung: Kanno Yoko's work frequently gets recommended in this category, but she better not rest on her laurels just yet. Kajiura Yuji's work on the NOIR soundtrack may have been overplayed in the anime series, but it's still thrilling after many auto-repeat plays in the CD player. The FLCL soundtrack CDs featuring songs by the pillows is another party pleaser, but if you prefer something more orchestral, you can't go wrong with Hisaishi Jo's work on the soundtrack from Miyazaki's latest: SEN TO CHIHIRO KAMIKAKUSHI (SPIRITED AWAY).