It's not very cool to admit, but I actually like..........

The Mock Turtles, "Can You Dig It"- This got a slagging in both its incarnations. First time around because they were an indie band who dared to get a decent production job and scored a hit, the second because it was courtesy of an ADVERT (boo hiss !). But it's just insanely catchy, with a glorious wah-wah guitar solo. Lighten up, indiekids !

Sheryl Crow- OK, it may have been the trousers initially. But the songs are just great (apart from "If It Makes You Happy", which is an utter dirge). Check out the You Tube clip of her and Shelby Lynne singing "The Difficult Kind" at the Grammys. It's not her best song on record, but the two of them transform it.

I know it makes me an insufferable cliche, but I still hate-

Whitney Houston- Comparisons between her and Aretha Franklin just fill me with rage. Listen to the closing bars of "I Say a Little Prayer", and you'll hear ONE SINGLE EXAMPLE of the type of octave-stretching that La Houston does in every syllable, when she (Aretha) sings "For me there is no-o-o-o-o-o-o-oone but you". Which do you think is more affecting ?