Number Ones

Number Ones replaces Design of a Decade, released 14 years prior. Excepting the new song "Make Me" (hard neo-disco/funk excellence), each song here was indeed a number one hit on Billboard's various charts, though "Got 'Til It's Gone" sneaks through a side door via the Japanese charts. One number one, oddly, is missing: "So Excited," a perfectly fine, 2006 single which topped the club chart. This set is more thorough with 1986-1996, too, adding Herb Alpert's "Diamonds" -- which would not have been out of place on Control, given Jam & Lewis' production and Janet's precedence over Alpert's trumpet -- as well as "The Best Things in Life Are Free" (with Luther Vandross) -- all the smashes off janet., and "Scream" (with her brother). Say what you want about Janet peaking with Jam & Lewis during the latter half of the '80s -- to be fair, the argument is valid -- but she did rack up a career's worth of solid hits during the years that followed. Even if they were not as sonically innovative and lacked the same amount of pop appeal of the Control/Rhythm Nation-era singles, they clearly made a significant impact and have aged well.