Thomas Dolby - The Singular Thomas Dolby (2009)

Boasting a brilliant title and snappy cover art, The Singular Thomas Dolby collects all of Dolby's A-sides -- a whopping 19 of them -- and adds a DVD of his often groundbreaking music videos as a second disc. Combined, the two do indeed offer all the singles that the synth pop maverick had, sequenced in chronological order on both the CD and DVD, and while this approach might not cover every major song of Dolby's -- notably "The Flat Earth" is absent -- it does provide a thorough, almost exhaustive, retrospective that does trace Dolby's development in the '80s and takes his crucial videos into account, making this the best overview of his peak years yet assembled. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo