(FORTUNE Magazine) – THE RED VIOLIN Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Sony Classical): John Corigliano's aching score, performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra with soloist Joshua Bell and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, rumbles through your bones like a thunderhead.

LES NUBIANS Princesses Nubiennes (Omtown): If Hollywood ever tries to remake To Catch a Thief, Les Nubians should supply the soundtrack: The Afro-Gallic duo's cafe-au-lait soul is pretty much engineered for a high-stakes rendezvous in Monte Carlo.

DIANA KRALL When I Look in Your Eyes (Verve): Knockout jazz chanteuse. Standards by Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin. Any questions?

THE HANK DOGS Bareback (Hannibal): It's only after this English folk trio has lulled you into a contemplative stupor that you notice the lyrics, which are pulpy with psychological menace, like warped fairy tales.

THE HERBALISER Very Mercenary (Ninja Tune): Strolling through turn-of-the-century London sounds a lot like this: a loping pastiche of pub noise, funky raga, bachelor-pad jazz, and film-noir cool.

And one to avoid at all costs:

AUSTIN POWERS: THE SPY WHO SHAGGED ME Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Maverick/Warner Bros.): Yeah, Madonna's "Beautiful Stranger" is a lush daydream, and we dare you to resist Dr. Evil's hilarious rap on "Just the Two of Us." But beware: This disk is packed with enough filler to make Austin's mojo go limp. Dragadelic, baby.