Dina Carroll keeps popping up on the Top of the Pops 93/94 replays that we’ve been watching on the BBC… I was surprised at how many songs she actually has, as I only knew a couple of the big power ballads. It felt like a good time to check out a full album and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course the ballads are on there, but there were some more uptempo pop songs as well, and Dina’s incredible voice carried the whole thing very well.

If you’re looking for good 90s guitar pop alternative then this is exactly the album for you. The genre is alternative but really it should be Dawson’s Creek. The first ten minutes or so are just so painfully Dawson’s it made me want to rewatch the show from the beginning all over again. It’s a good album, of it’s time but without sounding dated. The only weird thing is the final track where the band just suddenly go really country for no apparent reason. An odd choice to end on but otherwise a great listen.

The repeats of Top of the Pops that are showing up on BBC Four have reached the early 1990s so you can guarantee a lot of that era showing up on this album adventure. This first one is a random pick, I recognised the opening chords of Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover from Peter Kay’s Car Share, then realised I knew the song, then realised it was pretty good. The rest of the album follows the same pop sounds, with those occasional sweeping chords bursting in. I thought Sophie B might be a one-hit wonder but there are lots of albums that follow so watch this space.

Ah man, I really wanted to like this because I know M People from the more inspiring, proud, Miranda-style feel-good anthems. I know most of the main tracks, so the album started quite well, but it really disappeared into a dance album where the tracks are all many minutes of beats. Not really my thing for a full album. I don’t mind the odd dance track but it doesn’t sustain my interest this long. It doesn’t stop me wanting to listen to M People in future though, so it can’t be all bad.

The first half of this album is brilliant, the great funky songs that you would come to expect from En Vogue - an earlier version of Destiny’s Child. Although it does start with a bit of chatter about being ready for a show, which isn’t annoying but doesn’t really pay off anywhere, then diving straight into the music. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like the second half stands up to the great first half, particularly that stripped back version of Yesterday - not one of my favourite songs anyway, and this version is not the best. After that, I was almost relieved to get to the end of the album, if only so I could start the first few songs again instead.

This album popped out of nowhere - we were talking about The King of Wishful Thinking and realised these guys had a couple of albums to visit. I actually really enjoyed it, it has that crossover 80s/90s feel, and was a lot more soulful than I was expecting, although still very much rooted in the pop genre.

You know that Lennox can produce good songs and the Eurythmics have some classics, but kicking off your debut solo album with Why and Walking On Broken Glass is stamping your own mark on music for sure. They are two such epic songs, you sort of wonder if the rest of the album can live up to it, but it does.

I can’t quite remember how we hit upon this album to listen to, other than a little bit of wine and lots of fun music discussions. I wasn’t necessarily looking forward to it, only knowing of Jump - and only that because of the Friends With Benefits and Pitch Perfect references.

Loved the singles on this one but found the rest of it a bit less memorable. I know it’s a highly regarded album, and it was good to listen to but I couldn’t name another song on it now.