You know what? Nothing leaps out as a massive smash-to-be this week, which--since I don't run a record company--might not be a bad thing.

Maybe the last remaining record stores in America will devote precious shelf space to some of this week's more deserving non-blockbuster titles, sell millions of new albums, create a widespread enthusiasm for recorded music that hasn't been seen in years, and single-handedly save the industry!

Or maybe space aliens will visit a Best Buy, decide to sample American culture, buy the new Jim Jones album, and say to each other, "Hey, dudes, this thing is just a mixtape! And it's for sale!"

Or maybe, just maybe, the latest album by Kidz Bop Kids will be given that one additional listen--the one that finally clicks with the most influential music critics in America--and a chain reaction of massive critical respect, essays and magazine covers will make them a phenomenon the likes of which hasn't been seen since the glory days of the Beatles!

Most likely,

It's a great week for new releases, if you ask me!

Mostly because I can't see a single CD here that's a natural to unexpectedly top the charts and make me long for those safe days of yesteryear--when superstars like Yung Joc and Soulja Boy Tellem took their rightful positions as America's biggest sellers! As a result, it would appear that many of this week's biggest albums may consist of more than just one hot single and oodles more filler!

On the other hand, it may signify that 2008 has already peaked in music sales!

I suspect it's just a coincidence, and suggest you do the same!

Natasha Bedingfield: Pocket Full Of Sunshine (Epic) For my money, this week's candidate for highest debut honors--and what an honor it is!--should go to England's lovely Ms. Bedingfield, a charming young lady who's got a great voice and a fine head on her shoulders as well! Oddly, a version of this album has been out in the UK since last April, but Pocket appears to be fully Americanized for the tacky ol'

As we approach the last shopping week of the year, what better time to focus on those artists who are masters of their craft? Those artists who have spent years and years confined in the studio, purposefully tweaking every gorgeous note of their masterworks--with no regard to commercial pressures--until, record companies be damned, their work is at last ready for public airing?

Yeah, what a great idea to focus on those kinds of artists!

And I think we all know that when it comes to those sort of artists--the ones who make music not for you or me but for the very eons themselves--we are most definitely talking about Chingy!

Oddly, a very bland rapper shares the same name!

Chingy: Hate It Or Love It (Disturbing Tha Peace/Def Jam) Better known to his elite posse as Chingington Butterworth III, young Mr. Chingy is featured here in all his glory, accompanied by Ludacris, Anthony Hamilton, Amerie, Bobby Valentino and others of similar repute, telling it like it is on such tracks as first

It may just be my imagination, but I can see two trends afoot in the record biz as the holiday season approaches!

First: Most of today's top rap artists seem to have no problem whatsoever when it comes to getting their product out in the stores during these precious few weeks! Writer's block? Not for them!

Second: Most of today's top rock artists have been today's top rock artists for several years now! That's why I'd have to recommend the latest releases by rockers Pink Floyd and Radiohead! The Floyd's Oh By The Way is a happy-go-lucky, 16-disc romp encompassing their entire discography! Only slightly less impressive is Radiohead's new Radiohead box set, a sweet 7-CD collection of all of the band's albums but their latest!  Both sets serve as an excellent introduction to those band's catalogs!

And for those rock fans looking forward rather than backward?  Social Security!

Bow Wow and Omarion: Face Off (Columbia) A battle royale of former teen titans or a nonstop party platter? With