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    Louis Armstrong was this nation's first premier instrumental soloist, and the person who almost single-handedly helped change jazz from being almost strictly a collective sound into one that emphasized spotlight individual statements as much as harmonic and rhythmic interplay. There are numerous Armstrong anthologies and greatest hits sets available, but the Louis Armstrong - Platinum & Gold Collection< (BMG Heritage) is geared more toward listeners on a budget or fans seeking a quick introduction to his music. The 12 songs were recorded between 1933 and 1947, when Armstrong was solidifying the innovations he'd pioneered in the Œ20s. While such numbers as "I've Got The World On A String," "Mahogany Hall Stomp" and "Ain't Misbehavin" are classics, these aren't the songs that made Armstrong a jazz legend. Instead, they're comfortable, entertaining examples of the tunes that he performed after he'd become an established star. 
    Ken Boothe became a top reggae vocalist during the late Œ60s and early Œ70s, when Jamaican music was moving from rocksteady into roots and rockers reggae. He excelled at reworking great soul songs and making them equally magical reggae numbers, though he was also capable of writing and doing straight reggae material.  You're No Good , a 17-song set, mixes strong remakes like "Duke of Earl" and "You're No Good" with Boothe pieces such as "Sattamasgana" and "Silver Words." These tunes are sometimes sentimental, other times piercing or anguished, and performed with exemplary skill. 
    Biz Markie returns to the rap game with  Weekend Warrior (Tommy Boy), a disc that has a pronounced old school sound and production style. Markie remains a quick wit and frequently hilarious comic, who's not above posturing or issuing challenges to competitors on disc, but never does so in a threatening or insulting fashion. He collaborates with Lil' Kal on three tunes, Erick Sermon on "Not A Freak,"  and shifts into dancehall mode during a nifty exchange with Elephant Man on "Let Me See U Bounce." However it will be interesting to see how well this does in the current marketplace, because it lacks either the lyric framework or musical approach now in vogue.
    Lou Rawls once served as Sam Cooke's backup singer, and also sang gospel with the Pilgrim Travelers during the quartet era. He's enjoyed hits and smash albums while recording in a jazz, blues, R&B, soul and supper club vein, but he returns to singing standards and saloon numbers on his newest effort Rawls Sings Sinatra (Savoy). Unlike many rockers now dabbling in jazz, Rawls knows the territory inside out. He's also comfortable with challenging arrangements, swings naturally, and is a master ballad interpreter. "Come Fly With Me" and "That's Life" are personal favorites, but there's not a dud among the disc's 12 numbers. The onslaught of blues reissues continues with two more various artists' works.                 Worried Life Blues  (BMG/RCA Bluebird)gathers 16 numbers from the Bluebird vaults spotlighting classic and mostly pre-war acts like Sonny Boy Williamson 1 (John Lee Williamson), Big Joe Williams, Bessie Smith, Big Bill Broonzy, and others. Unfortunately, the compilers not only didn't put the selections in chronological order, they inserted some very late period material by Tampa Red and Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup that's not among their finest work. But this deficit is balanced by the inclusion of some seminal pieces, among them Leadbelly's magnificent "The Midnight Special" from 1940 and Tommy Johnson's "Canned Heat Blues," which provided the name for the rock band Canned Heat. This isn't essential stuff, but most of it is worth having. The same holds true for  Modern Blues  (Fuel 2000), 20 numbers that were recorded not only for Modern Records, but its subsidiary labels like RPM and Meteor during the Œ40s and Œ50s. But there's a larger portion of gems to junk here, as the disc includes anthems like B.B. King's "Three O'Clock Blues," John Lee Hooker's immortal "Boogie Chillen," Elmore James' "Standing At The Crossroads" and Lowell Fulson's "Tramp." There's also an excellent Lightin' Hopkins boogie number "Jake Head Boogie," and Etta James' dynamic "W-O-M-A-N." While it is impossible to fully detail a label's history on one disc, Modern Blues  provides a better-than-average overview of that company's blues legacy. 
    Hip-hop's early hitmakers are celebrated on  Yo! MTV Raps (Rhino), which was also the title of the video outlet's first show dedicated to rap and hip-hop culture. The show debuted in 1988 as a Saturday night program, then expanded to a daily show a year later. Interestingly, much of this now sounds tame and almost pop, but was widely viewed as radical by the music mainstream at the time the songs were hits. Most of these names are forgotten now, though many rap fans have fond memories of groups like A Tribe Called Quest, Boogie Down Productions, N.W.A. and the duo of Pete Rock and C.L. Smooth. While MTV has always had mixed feelings about rap and hip-hop, this disc marks the start of the network's entry into the genre. 
    Lastly, the great Bobby Womack has done everything from play guitar for the Blind Boys of Mississippi to record on Sam Cooke's label, write classics for Wilson Pickett, and become a soul and gospel icon. Womack's recently returned to gospel, but  Bobby Womack: Anthology (EMI/Right Stuff)is a two-disc set highlighting his finest Œ70s hits for EMI. The first disc includes "I'm A Midnight Mover," "I'm In Love," and "That's The Way I Feel About Cha'," while the second disc has "Lookin' For A Love," and the marvelous "Across 110th Street," which ranks among the most requested film soundtrack tunes of all time. Womack didn't make all his great music during the Œ70s, but he certainly made a lot of it then, and every prime number from that period is contained on this set.
 (Ron Wynn is editor of Everything Underground).