The Pointer Sisters - Platinum & Gold Collection (2004)

Like Kool & the Gang and a handful of other contemporaries, the Pointer Sisters' career can be divided in half, with popular success in the late '70s and '80s preceded by a lengthy period grounded in less-commercial roots. Just the same, it's the Pointers' pop-oriented phase that has been compiled the most. Their entry in the Platinum & Gold Collection series recycles all the hits that you'd expect -- "Jump (For My Love)," "I'm So Excited," "Neutron Dance," "Slow Hand," "He's So Shy," "Automatic" -- and includes 12" mixes of "Gold Mine" and "I Need You." The group was hardly in need of another set like this one. But as far as cheap introductions are considered, this is one of the best options available. © Andy Kellman