USA WEEKEND Magazine's July 21-23 cover story profiled Janet Jackson and updated readers on her singing and

Profile: Janet Jackson cover story PREVIOUS TALKIN' SHOPS -- JANET JACKSON: HER CAREER AND WORKS -- HEALTH & DIET EXPERTS -- BASEBALL VS. WRESTLING WITH MIKE PIAZZA & THE ROCK

acting careers. We asked music critic and author Ronin Ro to look at the trajectory of Jackson's music career through her very personal albums. Her music catalog traces her journey from wholesome girl next door and pop-chart puppet to self-reliant superstar who proved she wouldn't have to ride her brother Michael's sequined coattails to the top. If you want to get to know her work or complete your collection, here are the five must-own essentials.

(If you would like to purchase any of the following, simply click on the title and it will take you to its corresponding page on Amazon. com, where you can follow
the instructions for ordering.)

Control (A&M, 1986)
For her chart-topping breakthrough, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis replaced her gentle pop with pounding drums, upbeat synthesizers, jabbing horn blasts and the aggressive lyrics centered on adulthood and self-reliance. The album yielded signature hits like "What Have You Done For Me Lately," "Nasty," "When I Think of You," "Control" and "Let's Wait Awhile."

>Rhythm Nation 1814 (A&M, 1989)
Her second chart-topping album found Jackson tackling more complex social issues, such as the need for tolerance. Some songs evoke Control, but others move past it. On this album, she yells, giggles, and works out complicated relationships on high-spirited hits "Miss You Much," "Rhythm Nation," "Escapade," "Alright," "Come Back to Me," and "Love Will Never Do (Without You)" and even served up hard-hitting metal (on her fiery "Black Cat"). In her videos, she covered her mane with a baseball cap, inspiring her legion of teenybopper fans to do the same.

Janet (Virgin, 1993)
After a four-year hiatus, a playful Janet returned with revealing costumes that evoke Madonna, personal lyrics, and hit singles like "That's the Way Love Goes," "If," and "Again." Here she's beyond her brother Michael's influence (eschewing robotic breakdancing and Star Trek costumes), cavorting with male dancers in concert and in the videos and expanding her sound to include elements of R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, rock, house, and jazz.

Design of A Decade 1986-1996 (A&M, 1995)
This collection of greatest hits features two new works ("Runaway" and "Twenty Foreplay"). Her high points are all included, and her new compositions confirm that she can still hold her own against Madonna and Whitney Houston, as well as newer divas Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans, and En Vogue.

The Velvet Rope (Virgin Records, 1997)
This stunning follow-up finds Janet replacing racier themes with introspective lyrics, and delivering her most accomplished work to date. With heartfelt lyrics that evoke singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell, Janet delivers hits like "Got 'Til It's Gone" (a haunting duet with rapper Q-Tip), "Together Again" (a memorial to departed love ones), her tour de force ballad, "I Get Lonely," and her surprising cover of Rod Stewart's "Tonight's The Night."

-- Ronin Ro is the author of Have Gun Will Travel: The Spectacular Rise and Violent Death of Death Row Records (1999 Doubleday)