After offering comprehensive overviews of funk with the multi-volume series In Yo' Face and Phat Trax, Rhino wisely distilled those two sets into one indispensable single disc, Millennium Party: Funk. Boasting 20 songs, all of which are indisputable classics, Millennium Party is the best single-disc sampler of '70s and early-'80s funk available. There's no James Brown or Sly Stone on the collection -- instead, the earliest music on the disc is Curtis Mayfield's 1972 masterpiece "Superfly." From there, the disc winds through a head-spinning series of classics, including "Brick House," "Love Rollercoster," "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)," "Jungle Boogie," "I'll Take You There," "Best of My Love," "Atomic Dog," "Fantastic Voyage," "More Bounce to the Ounce," "Rapper's Delight," and "You Dropped a Bomb on Me." Although the disc isn't presented in chronological order, it doesn't matter, since the sequencing makes for better listening. Besides, it's hard to find flaws with a collection that contains as many flat-out great songs as this. Essential for both casual listeners and funk fanatics. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi