We've seen her get dirrty; now it's time for Christina Aguilera to get Stripped.
The former genie releases her second album proper, one she calls more personal and authentically X-tina, featuring collaborations with Lil' Kim and Redman and production by Alicia Keys, Linda Perry and Scott Storch.
In other pop-gone-mature news, Nick Carter steps out as the latest boy band member to release a solo album. Now or Never finds a more down-home Carter playing guitar as well as performing some of his own material.
Also out Tuesday is the "8 Mile" soundtrack -- featuring Eminem's get-pumped anthem "Lose Yourself" plus songs by Nas, Jay-Z and Xzibit -- in addition to Shaggy's Lucky Day and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony's Thug World Order.
Iceland's Sigur Rós release their first major-label album alongside Tori Amos' Scarlet's Walk, a sprawling record written on a road trip after September 11.
Finally, if you guessed that Nirvana's long-awaited (and much fought-over) greatest-hits album would get a special mention, you know you're right.
4ft Fingers - From Hero to Zero (Golf) 999 - Biggest Tour in Sport (Captain Oi!) Acumen Nation - Coming Down (Underground Inc) Add N to (X) - Loud Like Nature (Mute) Christina Aguilera - Stripped (RCA) Read: "Christina Aguilera: Not Your Puppet"
Alka - Deployed (Caroline) Tori Amos - Scarlet's Walk (Epic) Read: "Tori Amos Writes Scarlet Letters, Draws Tour Map"
Avantasia - The Metal Opera Pt. 2 (Century Media) Barn Shakers - 5 Minutes to Live (Goofin) Bile - Demonic Electronic (Underground Inc.) Black Bombay - Black Bombay (Amiata) Blades of Grass - Blades of Grass Are Not for Smoking (Rev-Ola) Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - Thug World Order (Ruthless/Epic) Cadillac Angels - Bucking the Odds (Envicta) Nick Carter - Now or Never (Jive) Read: "Nick Carter Album A Trip Back To The '80s"
Classics - Aiming for Girls and Missing (Skunk Ape) Lacuna Coil - Comalies (Century Media) Cowboy Nation - Cowgirl a-Go-Go (Paras) Damage Done by Worms - Evil Eyes (Crazy Love) Daycare Swindlers - Heathen Radio (Go Kart) Dixie Chicks - Collector's Box (Chrome Dreams) Dr. Dooom - First Come First Serve (Threshold) Electric Frankenstein - Listen Up Baby (TKO) Ellis and the Angry Teens - Can You Hear the Sound (Goofin) Flunk - For Sleepyheads Only (Guidance) Gabin - Gabin (Astralwerks) The Gloryholes - Want a Divorce (Dirtnap) Justincase - Justincase (Warner Bros.) Knightowl - Best of 2 (Familia) Koma - Criminal (Locomotive Music) Rachel Lampa - Blur (Word) Landmarq - Aftershock (Cyclops) Bill Laswell - Dub Chamber 4 - Book of Exit (ROIR) Lil Jon & the Eastside Boyz - Kings of Crunk (TVT) Patty Loveless - Bluegrass and White Snow - A Mountain Christmas (Epic Nashville) Manic Street Preachers - Forever Delayed (Epic) Adam Marsland - 232 Days on the Road: Live (Karma Frog) MC Unique - The King of Linguistics (Rap Junkie) Jimmy McGriff - McGriff Avenue (Milestone) Jo Dee Messina - A Joyful Noise (Curb) Meredith Monk - Mercy (ECM) Mr. Scruff - Trouser Jazz (Ninja Tune/NTone/Big Dada) Tracy Nelson - Deep Are the Roots (P-Vine) Nirvana - Nirvana (Universal) Phish - Live Phish Vol. 13 10/31/94 Glens Falls Civic Center, Glens Falls, NY (Elektra) Phish - Live Phish Vol. 14 10/31/95 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, Illinois (Elektra) Phish - Live Phish Vol. 15 10/31/96 The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia (Elektra) Phish - Live Phish Vol. 16 10/31/98 Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada (Elektra) Q & Not U - Different Damage (Dischord) Queer for Girls - Android Sex & Cartoon Drugs (Feedback Boogie) Race for Titles - Race for Titles (The Redemption Recording Co.) Rascal Flatts - Melt (Hollywood) Kenny Rogers - Gift (Curb) Bic Runga - Beautiful Collision (Columbia) Sigur Rós - Untitled (MCA) Simian - We Are Your Friends (Source/Astralwerks) Sixpence None the Richer - Divine Discontent (Reprise/Squint/Curb) Stars of Lid - Avec Laudenum (Kranky) Subincision - Berkeley's Newest Hitmakers (Substandard) Suicide - American Supreme (Mute/Blast First) Tandy - The Lowdown (Gammon) Tank - One Man (Blackground) This Is the Army - Call Me Mister (Jasmine) Thrust - Parade of Idiots (Bomb) Too $hort - What's My Favorite Word? (Jive) Mick Turner - Moth (Drag City) Various artists "8 Mile" soundtrack (Interscope) Various artists - The Excelsis Box Set (Projekt) Various artists - "Grand Theft Auto" (Sony) Various artists - Lenny Dee Presents Industrial F---ing Strength 4: Chillin' Is Killin' (The Music Cartel) Various artists - Punks on Drugs (Antidote) Various artists - Songs in the Key of Z Vol. 2: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music (Gammon) Various artists - Totally Hits 2002 (Warner Music/BMG) Kirk Whalum - The Gospel According to Jazz: Chapter 2 (Squint/Curb) Yu-Gi-Oh - Music to Duel By (DreamWorks) Badly Drawn Boy - Have You Fed the Fish? (Artistdirect) Björk - Björk's Greatest Hits (Elektra) Björk - Family Tree (Elektra) David Cross - Shut Up, You F---ing Baby! (Sub Pop) David Gray - A New Day at Midnight (ATO) Ms. Jade - Girl Interrupted (Beat Club/Interscope) Read: "Ms. Jade, Nelly Furtado Battle Timbaland On Video Set"
Jaheim - Still Ghetto (Divine Mill/Warner Bros.) Jay-Z - The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) Read: "Jay-Z Album Preview: Hova Ups The Ante With Blueprint 2"
Third Eye Blind - Crystal Baller (Elektra) Read: "Third Eye Blind Recruit Fred Durst, Andrew W.K. For Third Album"
Justin Timberlake - Justified (Jive) Read: "Justin Timberlake: Justify My Love"
Twista - Kamikaze (Atlantic) Read: "Twista Finishing His Kamikaze, Playing Mickey And Mallory With Lil' Kim"
U2 - U2 - The Best of 1990-2000 (Interscope) Various artists - Irv Gotti Presents ... The Remixes (Murder Inc./Def Jam) Read: "Irv Gotti Shooting Ja Rule, Bobby Brown, Charli; Reveals Remixes List"
The Wallflowers - Red Letter Days (Interscope) 3 Doors Down - Away From the Sun (Universal) Crazy Town - Darkhorse (Columbia) Fat Joe - Loyalty (Atlantic) Kool G Rap - The Giancana Story (Rawkus/Koch) Pearl Jam - Riot Act (Epic) Read: "Pearl Jam Finalize Riot Act, Plan More Live Albums"
Saliva - Back Into Your System (Island) Read: "Saliva Shoot Down Domestic Abuse On New Single 'Always' "
Read: "TLC Album Preview: 3D Tributes Left Eye With Sass, Spunk, Silence"
Various artists - "Die Another Day" soundtrack (Warner Bros.) WC - Ghetto Heisman (Def Jam) Audioslave - Audioslave (Epic) Read: "Rage/Cornell Project To Release Album In November"
Toni Braxton - More Than a Woman (Arista) Foxy Brown - Ill Na Na 2: The Fever (Def Jam) Craig David - Slicker Than Your Average (Atlantic) George Harrison - Brainwashed (Dark Horse/Capitol) Ja Rule - The Last Temptation (Murder Inc./Def Jam) Matchbox Twenty - More Than You Think You Are (Atlantic) Mudvayne - The End of All Things to Come (Epic) Baby - The Birdman (Cash Money) DJ Envy - Block Party (Epic) Jennifer Lopez - This Is Me ... Then (Epic) Sum 41 - Does This Look Infected? (Island) Read: "Sum 41 Ask, Does This Look Infected?"
Various artists - "Chicago" soundtrack (Epic) Various artists - "Paid in Full" soundtrack (Roc-A-Fella/Def Jam) Charli Baltimore - The Diary (You Think You Know) Mariah Carey - Charmbracelet (MonarC/Island/Def Jam) Dashboard Confessional - Unplugged 2.0 (Vagrant) Nas - God's Son (Columbia) Read: "Nas Sets Release For God's Son, Pooh-Poohs Jay-Z's Challenge"
