Ladies & Gentlemen: The Best of George Michael

George Michael’s 1998 double-disc greatest hits, even if contractually required, was a boon, pulling together oodles of Wham! and solo hits plus a slew of standalone singles, collaborations and a B-side or two from what was already a next-level body of work. The existence of the album is justified alone by its brilliant disco-heavy lead single, one of two new songs: “Outside,” his sly response to an arrest for sex in a public toilet in LA via a coming out anthem. The other new track was no less winning, a lovely cover of Stevie Wonder’s “As” with Mary J. Blige.