Screw the album songs ....

You should really give these b-sides a chance too:

-Did U http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVHQDJxMzo
-exist for you http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEcEqegsKkU

My top three favorite songs from her are PLEASE SMILE AGAIN, I Have Never Seen, and THE SPEED STAR but I also like/love:

Come
Did U
Violet Sauce & Violet Sauce Spicy (from PLAY)
Say The Word
White Light
Shine More
dreaming I was dreaming
So Crazy
No (from Queen of Hip-Pop)
Ups & Downs with Nao'ymt (Also from Queen of Hip-Pop)

IMO you should DEFINITELY without a doubt download her album Concentration 20 imo it is her best album, and definitely her most diverse, it's her second album under avex.

lolz I'm sorry but i have 2 say "I KNOW YOUR STYLE" n it's not Namie' style(she did mention it)
hehe It's easily 2 see what kind of music u prefer =]

i also like STYLE more than PLAY

Yeah seriously. >_>

Namie has done so many different genres, so like others have said, it depends on what you want. Everything she does is great though, I won't lie. Queen of Hip-Pop is the ultimate dance album. PLAY is incredibly polished and each track just stands out. BEST FICTION is great for newcomers and is of the utmost quality. STYLE is her most varied in "style", with beautiful songs lile Four Seasons to hard R&B like Put 'Em Up.

You'd only like her first album, I think, if you are open-minded enough to listen to 90s stuff. Chase the Chance is probably one of the easier ones to get into. Who doesn't love it? :] Concentration 20 just makes you want to rock out and the whole CD is very experimental and one of Namie's most unique and interesting. Are you interested in Suite Chic? That acted as a sort of 'vessel' to her becoming an R&B artist. :)

And would you dare venture back to further to her Super Monkeys days? :lech She sang Go! Go! ~Yume no Hayase De~ at the end of her live STYLE tour in Okinawa. asdasa, Try me and Taiyou no season are great Eurobeat dance tracks if you can get into it. And Paradise Train is just REALLY catchy. Mr. USA adorable is absolutely adorable and priceless, as it was Namie's (and her friends') first song!

Many people say break the rules is her worst album, but what's interesting about it is that she sings in English a lot more than on her other albums. And it has gems like Please Smile Again and Never End. You might like the other album tracks like Himawari (even if she was sick recording this) and Girlfriend.

If you're also looking for good collaborations between Namie and other artists, well, we all know of BLACK DIAMOND (obviously) but what about lovin' it? That song is beautiful and was used in a charity project for 911 victims. In it she duets with VERBAL of m-flo, much like in Luvotomy. She was also featured in two of ZEEBRA's songs "After Party" and "Do What U Gotta Do", and she was also in "Wet and Wild", one of Heartsdales songs.

Uh, so? Okay, you most probably know what Namie's style is NOW. I bet she changes it again. So those songs are not Namie's current style. I still say those songs are way better than anything she's made recently.

Anyway, her 60s 70s 80s songs sound like stuff from her pre-Style/Queen of Hip-Pop/Play days.

Well that's a matter of taste. She's more into R&B music so I think that's why Rocky Raven says that.

And I don't see how those songs sound like her pre-R&B days?

Exactly. It's a matter of taste, that's why I don't see why just because the songs aren't in Namie's "style" that they aren't as good as the songs she's made in her preferred "style". And I kinda don't like it when someone easily assumes what kind of overall music I prefer based on what I like from one artist. That's just the kind of Namie Amuro music I prefer and think is her best.

None of the songs in 60s70s80s sound like her recent urban, "hip-pop" undertakings. New Look and Rock Steady sound like they belong in Break the Rules. What A Feeling brings to mind Body Feels Exit.

No they dont @_@
Hehe well, I didnt mean anything serious in my previous post, sp just take it easy, friend =]
Btw, I think u will never find her Best(in your standard) again, I feel great when she decided 2 break the rule n followed her current music style, b/c if she didnt, i wouldnt be her hardc fan like i am now =P

@Genki+ do you prefer r'n'b or pop, or all of it?

Style, Queen of Hip-Pop and PLAY are awesome mix of r'n'b and hip-pop and they're very catchy!
And her odler albums are mostly pop, except Genius... Namie also has very nice B-sides as: exist for you, Drive, Darling, the Speed Star, Nobody...

Well, i didn't say anything new, but i maybe helped a bit :)

A lot of new fans probably wouldn't even have heard of her if she didn't change her style.

Don't get me wrong, I didn't say I don't like her new style. She still makes good songs ("No" is my favorite in her current style) and Play is an excellent album. Maybe I'm just biased because I started listening to Namie way back when Can You Celebrate? came out, but I think she has yet to surpass her Break the Rules period.

I still think 60s70s80s sound nothing like her current hip-pop phase. They are closer aesthetically to her older stuff than her new songs.

Oh, yes, it's dumb that people won't give her older music pre-STYLE or even pre-Suit Chic a chance. I think it's very good and is just as great as her current music. :) Good music is good music. Very different to her current music the further you go back, but still very good nonetheless.

That's interesting that you think WHAT A FEELING is like Body Feels EXIT. It kind of is because she goes back to her dance/electronic music with it. So it's reminiscent of that.

But I don't see how NEW LOOK or ROCK STEADY would fit on break the rules. To me, they don't sound like anything she's done before. They're exceptionally modern. Heck, even ROCK STEADY has a bit of an R&B feel.

Well, listening to music is very subjective, after all. New Look and Rock Steady remind me of the power pop with a strong dance vibe of Break the Rules. No More Tears, Break the Rules, and Please Smile Again all have the elements found in 60s70s80s, particularly the playfulness of Please Smile Again. And even in Break the Rules, there was already evidence of the pop urban/R&B flavor of her later music: Looking for You, Never Shoulda, Girlfriend are just as bass-heavy.

Well, she's hd different phases of her career, different sounds and stuff.

From older Namie, I would reccomend: Think Of Me, Body Feels Exit, Please Smile Again

From newer Namie, I would reccomend: Violet Sauce, Want Me Want Me, NO

Thanks everyone for the suggestions :D I don't really prefer any style, but whenever I try to find a song myself, I always find the wrong songs and sometimes it gives me a bad impression of the artist, so that's why I ask other people because they know more about the artist and their best songs.

I don't have her earlier stuff, I'm going to try those out first. Thanks again everyone :D

From Sweet 19 Blues: Let's Do The Motion, Rainy Dance, I Was A Fool, and I'll Jump IF you've already heard the single tracks.

Concentration 20: Pretty much everything but the instrumental which I think is titled I Know...although I'm not sure cause I always skip the instrumental...but for me everything else is a gem!!!

Dreaming I Was Dreaming was ONLY featured on her single, and her 181920 best album, it's a GREAT ballad, one of the songs that got me into her older pre-Genius 2000 era.

Genius 2000: Respect The Power Of Love, Leavin' For Las Vegas, I Have Never Seen, Something 'Bout The Kiss, I really like Things I Collected and Asking Why as well :)

Break The Rules: A lot of people say it's her worst album...but I beg to differ seeing as the new mixes on S19B sucked!!! So this is a step ahead of that album, anyways good songs are Break The Rules, Never End, Please Smile Again, Girlfriend(Almost all in english except for maybe 2 lines in the choruses, and No More Tears. Think Of Me is good too, but the version on Love Enhanced~Single Collection~ is by far 20x better than the original!

Say The Word/Lovin' It: Say The Word original and new mix on LE~SC~ are both GREAT!! and the b-side on the Say The Word single I like titled Let's Not Fight. Lovin' It was used as a charity single I think, and was a collab with Verbal and I'm pretty sure her last work with TK, nonetheless it's a good song.

Suite Chic: Lot's of goodies on this one, What's On Your Mind, Damn Fight, Ain't Yours, Sing My Life, Uh Uh..., Good Life, Just Say So, Not This Time, Without Me, Signs Of Life, honestly I loved every song on this album except for the interludes.

Style: Namie's Style really does set the tone for this album, Put 'Em Up, Indy Lady, Fish, Lovebite, Four Seasons:luv2, Gimme More, and Come were great as well!!!

Queen Of Hip-Pop: Honestly I have not much to say, just listen to the whole album, first one that got me into Namie, and the first one I bought!

PLAY: A jewel as well, same as QOHP and Concentration 20!

Best Fiction: Do Me More, Sexy Girl, New Look, Rock Steady, and What A Feeling.

Basically all of the songs I listed are imo her best from each album and such, the original mixes of her older songs are amazing compared to the crappy album mixes they received, anyways that's pretty much it, hope this helps!!!

^ Well, the music analyses is interesting, but I still think that the 60s70s80s songs are not like any break the rules songs seeing as they weren't even produced by the same person. Obviously she had R&B stuff before STYLE (not counting Suite Chic) but I don't think it sounds QUITE like her newer stuff.

Very much agreed wow. Sweet 19 Blues would have been so much better as a whole! :)

^I find it funny that I like the KC Dub mix more than the original for Sweet 19 Blues, but the original is still perfect, but as I said all the songs I posted from every era are prolly her best from that specific era.

any song from STYLE and after would be great :)
after that, start venturing into her older songs.. 'never end','say the word', 'respect the power of love' and 'can you celebrate?' are awesome!