More faithful to the spirit of the original mid-‘70s Carpenters Singles compilation than the expanded version from a few years back, the SACD (Super Audio CD) edition of Singles 1969-1981 (A&M) sounds as amazing as you’d expect from an SACD. The weird echo effects from the earlier version of this collection are gone and the late Carpenter’s exquisite vocals are more crystalline than ever. Additionally, more authentically hit single oriented tunes, even minor ones, such as “Bless The Beasts and Children,” “This Masquerade,” “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft” and “Merry Christmas, Darling,” replace previously included toss offs such as “I Need To Be In Love,” “All You Get From Love Is A Love Song” (still available on the double disc Yesterday Once More compilation from 1985) and a superfluous reprise of “For All We Know” (which is especially unnecessary since the song is included in its entirety). As single disc anthologies go, the SACD edition of Singles 1969-1981 is simply super.

If she was still alive today, there is no doubt in my mind that Carpenter would be enjoying the level of diva worship that has been lavished on Kylie Minogue. The two disc Ultimate Kylie (EMI) celebrates the diva in style, presenting both phases of her lengthy career, the 1980s and the 2000s. A glossy product of the Stock, Aitken, Waterman hit factory, Minogue chugged into our consciousness with her rail-rocking remake of “The Locomotion” and followed it up with such club and radio friendly hits as “I Should Be So Lucky” and “Hand On Your Heart,” to name a couple. Following an absence of more than 10 years from American radio and video, a seemingly ageless Minogue re-emerged with a vengeance in 2001, and we haven’t been able to get her out of our heads since. Gone is the Stock, Aitken, Waterman bombast, replaced with French DJ dynamics as you can hear on more recent hits such as “Can’t Get You Out Of My Head,” “Slow,” “Love At First Sight” and “Come Into My World,” to mention a few. The other big news here is the new track “I Believe In You,” co-written by Minogue, Jake Shears and Babydaddy of Scissor Sisters, as well as the Nick Cave duet “Where The Wild Roses Grow.”

Somewhere between Madonna and Minogue’s first wave of success is Martika, who is undergoing something of a revival since Eminem sampled her song “Toy Soldiers” for his song “Like Toy Soldiers.” It makes sense then that a Martika compilation would be called Toy Soldiers: The Best of Martika (Columbia/Legacy). Her first hit single “More Than You Know” followed the ‘80s Madonna blueprint to a tee and was a catchy bit of dance fluff. “Toy Soldiers” itself was a dramatic diversion, but her cover of “I Feel The Earth Move” was a Stock, Aitken, Waterman knockoff. Of particular interest are Martika’s collaborations with Prince, such as “Martika’s Kitchen,” “Love…Thy Will Be Done,” and “Don’t Say U Love Me,” a pair of remixes and the Japanese version of “Toy Soldiers.”

Like Kylie Minogue, Tina Turner has had a few different phases in her musical career, most of which are accounted for on the double disc anthology All The Best (EMI). From her tenure as half of Ike & Tina Turner (“Nutbush City Limits,” “River Deep, Mountain High”) to her mid-‘80s comeback (“Let’s Stay Together,” “What’s Love Got To Do With It”) and on through to today (the new tracks “Complicated Disaster” and “Something Special”) Turner is a diva of the highest order. While having her ‘70s solo recordings (including “Acid Queen”) unrepresented doesn’t necessarily diminish this collection, it wouldn’t have hurt to have replaced some of her minor ‘90s recordings with a track or two.

Queen of disco Donna Summer’s crown may be a bit tarnished, but there is no way around her contributions to the disco era and beyond. But for someone who released a little more than a dozen major-label studio albums, she has had more than her share of hits compilations released. Gold (Hip-O/Mercury/UMe), the latest, is a two disc set that comes a little more than a year after Journey: The Very Best of Donna Summer. To its credit, Gold does include some previously overlooked gems including “Spring Affair,” “Dinner With Gershwin,” and “Love’s About To Change My Mind,” to choose a few, and it is in chronological order, which is always a good thing in my book. Note to Universal Music’s fact checkers, the three Stock, Aitken, Waterman tracks on disc two are from the album Another Place and Time.

Now we’re going to switch gears to the male of the species. And few males are as manly as Tom Jones. Renowned for his skintight slacks, impressive package, hairy chest and, oh yeah, his smoky, soulful vocals, Jones even scored his own TV variety show at the height of his fame. The 42-track Gold (Hip-O/Deram/UMe) assemblage gives the listener an impressive array of Jones’ chart-toppers, including “It’s Not Unusual,” “What’s New Pussycat?,” “Thunderball,” “Green, Green Grass of Home,” “Delilah,” “Without Love (There Is Nothing),” “Daughter Of Darkness,” “I (Who Have Nothing)” and “She’s A Lady.” The only thing that would make this collection complete would be if Jones’ unexpected late ‘80s hit collaboration with Art of Noise on a cover of Prince’s “Kiss” was included.

Like Tina Turner and Kylie Minogue, Steven Tyler and Aerosmith had distinctive phases in their career. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Aerosmith helped to define the hard rock of the era with songs such as “Sweet Emotion,” “Dream On” and “Walk This Way,” to name a few. After getting lost in the disco-punk-new wave period of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, Aerosmith re-emerged and reclaimed its metal mantle beginning in the mid-‘80s with songs such as, appropriately enough, “Dude (Looks Like A Lady),” “Angel,” “Love In An Elevator,” “Janie’s Got A Gun” and even a re-make of “Walk This Way” with Run D.M.C. These songs, as well as an acoustic version of “Living On The Edge,” an orchestral version of “Amazing,” “Cryin’,” “Crazy” and much more can be found on Aerosmith’s Gold (Geffen/Chronicles/UMe).