At the beginning of a new year, with 12 unpredictable months spread out ahead, it’s understandable if you might want to cling to something familiar and recognizable. That’s why I want to tell you about a number of hits compilations that will inspire all sorts of warm and fuzzy sensations of nostalgia.

By the time a sizable cross-section of the general public became aware of U.K. electronic act The Prodigy in 1997, the band, led by unmistakable front man Keith Flint, had been at it for a few years. But it was via the one-two punch of singles “Firestarter” and the controversial “Smack My Bitch Up” that they began to achieve household-name status. While none of The Prodigy’s follow-up discs matched that success, they nevertheless had enough material to draw from, prior and subsequently, to assemble into a substantial double-disc set titled Their Law: Singles 1990-2005. Remixes, live tracks and studio versions of more than 30 songs serves equally as a reminder of and an introduction to The Prodigy’s unique contributions.

I just know that I’m not the only gay man who remembers Bryan Adams, the disco diva, before he became Bryan Adams, the gravelly voiced rocker dude. His 1979 disco smash, “Let Me Take You Dancing” figures prominently on the soundtrack to my coming out. Of course, that song is nowhere to be found on Adams’ Anthology (A&M/Chronicles), a double-disc collection plus bonus DVD, although “Remember,” from the same period, hints at it. Adams quickly reinvented himself, as you can hear in these three dozen songs, and eventually became an inescapable force throughout the ’80s and ’90s via hits such as “Cuts Like a Knife,” “Run to You,” “Heaven,” “Summer of ’69,” “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You,” “Please Forgive Me,” and others.

Lisa Loeb is a good example of an artist who was able to cash in on a movie soundtrack. Her song “Stay (I Missed You)” figured prominently in the hit Gen X romantic comedy Reality Bites, and earned her an enormous amount of attention. Unfortunately, the songs on albums that came after never propelled her to the chart tops in the way that “Stay” did, although “Do You Sleep?” and 1997’s “I Do” came close. Nevertheless, Loeb need not be dismissed as a one-plus hit wonder. The Very Best of Lisa Loeb (Geffen) lives up to its claim by presenting the three aforementioned tracks along with 15 more selections, including “Falling in Love,” “Fools Like Me” and “What am I Supposed to Say?”

Love him or loathe him, there is no denying Eminem’s impact on contemporary music. A dirty white mouthpiece for Dr. Dre’s production skills, Marshall Mathers infuriated everyone except for his suburban target audience. Curtain Call: The Hits (Aftermath/Interscope), the eagerly anticipated Eminem collection, wastes no time in entertaining and insulting on new track “Fack,” in which Em is having sex and, well, you have to hear it yourself to believe it. What follows, aside from two more below-par new tracks, is Eminem at his most visceral and vibrant on songs such as “The Way I Am,” “My Name Is,” “Stan,” “Lose Yourself,” “Without Me,” “Like Toy Soldiers,” “The Real Slim Shady,” “Just Lose It” and others. Also of note is the bonus track live recording of Eminem and Elton John performing “Stan” at the 2001 Grammy Awards show.

Kenny G must be a good sport. I mean, he’d have to be for all the ribbing he takes. For more than 20 years, Mr. G has been blowing away on his soprano sax and has, no doubt, accumulated a large fan base who regularly purchase his albums. Best known for both his curly mop of hair and his biggest hit single, 1986’s “Songbird,” Kenny G straddles the light jazz and new age worlds, and nothing illustrates that better than The Essential Kenny G (Arista/Legacy), his latest compilation. Spreading out the wealth of material over two CDs, the compilation also includes a few selections from G’s popular holiday releases.

Prog-rock superstars who made their greatest and longest lasting mark during the 1970s, culminating with their 1979 masterpiece Breakfast In America, Supertramp remains a staple of classic rock radio. Just a few years ago, their song “Give a Little Bit” underwent a revival when it was featured in a Gap ad. Retrospectacle: The Supertramp Anthology (A&M/Chronicles) is a double-disc set that includes “Give a Little Bit,” along with the string of hits from Breakfast In America, including “The Logical Song,” “Goodbye Stranger” and “Take the Long Way Home,” among others. Also present are pre-Breakfast standards such as “Bloody Well Right,” “Dreamer” and “Even in the Quietest Moments,” to mention a few, as well as tracks from the band’s later years.

From the subject matter to the production to the delivery of MC B Real, Cypress Hill always struck me as a West Coast version of Public Enemy. Like PE, Cypress Hill was political, had a violent streak and could turn out hits like nobody’s business. Take a hit of songs such as “How I Could Just Kill a Man,” “Hand on the Pump,” “Insane in the Brain” and “(Rock) Superstar,” among others, from Cypress Hill’s Greatest Hits From the Bong (Columbia), and you’ll catch my drift.

Regardless of whether she shares Cypress Hill’s drug philosophy or not, Reba McEntire has had an amazing musical career. Sure, she’s got her own TV sitcom, has played opposite Kevin Bacon in a movie and has even charmed Broadway audiences, but McEntire is first and foremost a singer. The latest singer to release a #1’s (MCA Nashville), after Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey, Destiny’s Child and others, McEntire gives her fans a pair of new songs, including “You’re Gonna Be,” to anchor the double-disc set. The remaining 31 tracks, covering a period of more than 20 years, show the contemporary country diva flirting with crossover success while always remaining true to her Oklahoma, and later Nashville, roots.

As if a single-disc collection could possibly contain all of the facets of the late Johnny Cash, we have the compilation The Legend of Johnny Cash (Island/American/Columbia). It’s impossible to sum up Cash’s legend in 21 tracks, so while it’s a compact overview, the assortment is the kind of thing that will appeal to those who learned everything they know about the man in black from the popular biopic.

Surprisingly, on the other hand, Etta James’s The Definitive Collection (Geffen/Chronicles) does an admirable job of spanning a 50- year period and allowing listeners to hear the living legend’s evolution first hand. From her early days as a teen R&B singer to her time as a cherished singer of ballads, such as her trademark tunes “At Last,” “A Sunday Kind of Love” and “I’d Rather Go Blind,” to more contemporary selections such as “Take It To The Limit,” “Damn Your Eyes” and “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long,” this “definitive” collection presents this definitive vocalist in a proper setting.

Quick, off the top of your head, name Fuel’s 2000 hit single. If you were able to do that, now hum a few bars. If you did both of those things then The Best of Fuel (Epic), which anthologizes 11 of Fuel’s best songs, including 2000’s “Hemorrhage (In My Hands),” with the “don’t fall away and leave me to myself” chorus, is just what you needed. “Shimmer,” another hit for the band, and “Jesus or a Gun” are just a few the songs that sparked Fuel’s career.

Like members of the Beatles, Pete Townshend of The Who was able to have a solo career that established an identity for him outside of the band for which he was first known. Gold (Hip-O), one of the most comprehensive compilations of Townshend’s solo work, draws from seven of his studio albums, including classics such as “Empty Glass,” “All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes” and “White City.” It’s a little frustrating that the songs aren’t in chronological order, but it’s still a distinct pleasure to find nearly three dozen of Townshend’s best songs in one setting. A music legend alongside Johnny Cash and Etta James, Townshend infuriated many in the GLBT community when he came out in an interview and then later back-pedaled. Nevertheless, his creative genius is undeniable, gay or straight.

Shakira is not the only mono-monikered female singer of Colombian extraction. Soraya may not be as well known stateside, but she is still worth exploring. The Best of Soraya (Hip-O/Universal) focuses on her Spanish-language albums, and is a good introduction to an artist worth exploring further.