*NSYNC: The Best Album of the 1990's

Some people would be embarrassed to say it, but not me: I think 'N Sync's album *NSYNC is the best album of the 1990's.

Scoff, mock, roll on the floor laughing if you will (and I'm sure a lot of you out there will), but for a child of the late 1980's, there still isn't much better than the glorious boy band. And when it comes to boy bands, 'N Sync was essentially the cream of the crop. So what if the critics said (and some still say) they sounded a little too much like Backstreet Boys. Us former teenie boppers know the truth: they were super cool.

The self-titled *NSYNC album, released in March of 1998, rode the success wave of the band's Summer tour with Disney that same year. Though sales started off sub par, the Disney tour gave the boy band a whole new fan club of adolescent, pre-adolescent, and closeted twenty-something female fans (and, let's be honest, a nice collection of male fans who would never admit it to anyone but their mothers). The album eventually reached number two on the pop charts, and would earn them a Teen Choice Award for Album of the Year in 1999.

Wait . . . I'm sorry, have I not proven my point yet? Are you still not convinced that *NSYNC is, in fact, the best album of the 1990's? Maybe you're thinking about the fact that none of the songs on the album peaked any higher than number eight on the major U.S. pop charts. Well, believe me when I tell you that in those blissful latter years of the 90's, it would have been hard to convince us boy band aficionados of this fact. Those of us who aren't ashamed to admit their adoration of 'N Sync are probably not too ashamed to admit that we can still sing songs like "Tearin' Up My Heart," "(God Must Have Spent) A Little More Time on You," and "Drive Myself Crazy" word for word, easy. So could-possibly, can-our parents.

Okay, so maybe *NSYNC isn't really the best album of the 1990's. And maybe 'N Sync isn't the standard by which we should rate the music of the 1990's. But lets face it, girls; we'd be lying if we said 'N Sync didn't, in many ways, represent us as we headed into to 2000's. The album didn't rock the music industry to its knees in awe, but it did, in part, usher in a time when boy bands' grips on the music industry would grant us albums from bands like 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys that would stick with us forever (whether we want them to or not). And it would introduce us to musical artists like Justin Timberlake, who surely owes some of his fame as a current musical artist to the glorious solos he soaked up on the *NSYNC album, thus making it an integral part of his career, and a major contributor to the musical legacy of the 1990's . . .

. . . Or not.

Well, let's face facts. Anyone who would possibly want *NSYNC would probably own it already. But in case this introspective look at that glorious album has kindled something within you (I'm talking to you, twenty-something females who know they still want this album), or if you're one of those folks who tossed the album at the turn of 2000 and realizes now they must have it back (I'm talking to you, twenty-something guys), here's a look at a few places you can find it:

Get the album from Shopaudioplus.com for only $1.85.

Buy the MP3 version from Amazon.com for $9.99, or buy from a third-party seller for as little as a penny!

Get *NSYNC from Buy.com for around $6 (ships and sells from a third-party seller); the site also details other deals you can get when purchasing the CD.

Best Buy also sells the album for $3.99, plus shipping and handling

Fans can also purchase the album for around $6 from Walmart .