A look at the year's best music

The century closed with a wide variety of music with longevity, influence, and greatness that have yet to be determined. There was something for everybody in 1999. Highlights include the rise of rap metal (Rage Against the Machine, Limp Bizkit, and Kid Rock), stellar R & B, hip hop, and rap albums from old favorites and new faces (TLC, Eminem, Dr. Dre), the emergence of the teen pop market as one of the most profitable target audiences in music history (the Backstreet Boys and all their bastard clones), displaced porn stars blowing up as pop artists held by corporate puppet strings (Ricky Martin and Britney Spears), and the introduction of Latin music to American audiences (Carlos Santana, Jennifer Lopez, and Enrique Iglesias). Let's look back at the year that was 1999...