20 for 2000 1/2

By ROBERT HILBURN

July 1, 2000 12 AM PT

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TIMES POP MUSIC CRITIC

The pendulum is starting to swing back in mainstream pop music--and it’s about time.

The quality level was so pitiful last year that, in protest, we did away with the customary Top 10 singles list and did a Bottom 10--dominated by such earsores as Cher’s “Believe” and 98 Degrees’ “The Hardest Thing.”

There are still plenty of woeful singles on the market in an era where radio is dominated by novelties and/or generic pop exercises. But there were also enough singles or album tracks with passion and style during the last six months for us to celebrate with a Top 20 list.

The midyear list of singles and/or album tracks is led by Eminem, the best-selling Detroit rapper whose position on the pop landscape is so complex that Entertainment Weekly gave his latest album one score for artistry (A-) and one for moral responsibility (D). The slap is for X-rated tales of rage and rebellion that are sometimes laced with homophobic and misogynistic elements.

But Eminem delivered the artistry without the sometimes offensive baggage in “Stan,” the standout track from “The Marshall Mathers LP.”

1. Eminem’s “Stan” (Aftermath/Interscope). This chilling, R-rated track, which carries the jolt of cinema drama, is about a crazed fan who takes as literal all the foul, self-destructive things that crept into Eminem’s songs on last year’s album, “The Slim Shady LP.” The fan sends the rapper a series of letters telling how they are so much alike. At the end, Eminem tries to set the fan straight in a letter of his own. He says the fan ought to treat his girlfriend better and think about getting some counseling. Sadly, the letter arrives too late.

2. Steve Earle’s “Over Yonder (Jonathan’s Song)” (E-Squared/Artemis). In 1996’s gripping “Ellis Unit One,” Earle wrote about capital punishment through the eyes of a death row guard. In a moving companion piece from his new “Transcendental Blues” album, the alt-country singer-songwriter takes the point of view of the condemned man.

3. D’Angelo’s “Devil’s Pie” (Virgin). Soul music’s new king teams up with Gang Starr’s DJ Premier for a look at sin and salvation that has the ambition and command of something Marvin Gaye or Curtis Mayfield might have done if they had been raised on hip-hop.

4. Shelby Lynne’s “Lookin’ Up” (Island). In the most evocative track from her absorbing “I Am Shelby Lynne” album, the Nashville refugee sings about being so wounded by a relationship that she’s left “lookin’ up for the next thing to bring me down.” It’s a moody mix of soul and country that combines the best of Dusty Springfield and Kris Kristofferson.

5. Bob Dylan’s “Things Have Changed” (Columbia/Sony Music Soundtrax). In a song written for the film “Wonder Boys,” the master singer-songwriter looks back on life’s twists and turns with a world-weariness that was ideal for the film. Dylan sings, “A worried man with a worried mind / No one in front of me and nothing behind . . . / I used to care, but things have changed.”

6. Macy Gray’s “I Try” (Epic). Gray’s influences on this hit single range from Al Green on the soulful side to Prince on the funk side, and this smoldering hit single is in the elegant Green tradition.

7. Toni Braxton’s “He Wasn’t Man Enough” (LaFace). This winning single, co-written and produced by Rodney Jerkins, will remind you of the romantic tension of TLC’s “No Scrubs.” But Braxton’s husky, aggressive vocal infuses the tale of sexual politics with her own identity.

8. Mary Mary’s “Shackles (Praise You)” (Columbia). Think of this L.A. duo’s hit as mirror-ball gospel, a mix of disco and salvation that captures the spirit of both styles. On the CD single, go straight to “Maurice’s Radio Mix.”

9. Lucy Pearl’s “Don’t Mess With My Man” (Pookie/Beyond Music). The R&B; super-trio captures the fury and fire of romantic entanglements. Dawn Robinson’s vocal and Raphael Saadiq’s guitar licks are so striking that they seem to be dueling for your attention.

10. Jurassic 5’s “Lausd” (Interscope). This cornerstone in L.A.’s positive rap movement looks at temptations in the music business and in Hollywood life, coming up with the hip-hop equivalent of “Hotel California.”

11. BT’s “Never Gonna Come Back Down” (Nettwerk). Brian Transeau becomes the dance world’s auteur of the moment, and this frenzied number approximates a life spinning out of control.

12. Paul Van Dyk’s “Tell Me Why (The Riddle)” featuring Saint Etienne (Mute). This is the second of four selections from the dance world, a sign that dance music, for all the stigma of not living up to the next-big-thing predictions in the late ‘90s, continues to be a rich strain in pop. Working with England’s melodic-minded Saint Etienne, the German dance music whiz produces the kind of dreamy textures once associated with Yaz.

13. Afro Celt Sound System’s “Release” (Real World). Dance music with a world music twist--a slow-building but eventually full-bodied soundscape graced by a Sinead O’Connor vocal.

14. Elliott Smith’s “Stupidity Tries” (DreamWorks). The tuneful songwriter shows why he is a master at articulating romantic insecurities.

15. Rage Against the Machine’s “Sleep Now in the Fire” (Epic). An assault on injustice (not a new Rage theme) that benefits from a melodic broadening of the band’s signature aggressive rock sound.

16. Groove Armada’s “I See You Baby (Fatboy Slim Mix)” (Jive Electro). This fun-minded English duo’s single is a dance floor extravaganza that is pure delight.

17. Sting’s “Desert Rose” (A&M;). Pop’s man of all seasons cheapened the song by using it in a TV commercial, but the tale of mystical longing still deserves a nod. The hit single features a guest appearance by Algerian singer Cheb Mami.

18. Aaliyah’s “Try Again” (Blackground). Braxton would have brought more vocal presence to this smash from the “Romeo Must Die” soundtrack, but Aaliyah does express the youthful optimism of co-writer-producer Timbaland’s gently taunting ode to romantic resilience.

19. George Strait and Alan Jackson’s “Murder on Music Row” (MCA). You can understand why country radio stations resisted this all-star duet. Its target is country radio’s role in filtering the soulful tradition out of the style.

20. Marc Anthony’s “You Sang to Me” (Columbia). All that talk about “the new Frank Sinatra” is a bit over the top, but after hearing his gorgeous vocal on this hit single, it is much easier to see how someone can even think it.

Hiburn’s Midyear Top 20 Singles

1. “Stan” Eminem

2. “Over Yonder (Jonathan’s Song) Steve Earle

3. “Devil’s Pie” D’Angelo

4. “Lookin’ Up” Shelby Lynne

5. “Things Have Changed” Bob Dylan

6. “I Try” Macy Gray

7. “He Wasn’t Man Enough” Toni Braxton

8. “Shackles” Mary Mary

9. “Don’t Mess With My Man” Lucy Pearl

10. “Lausd” Jurassic 5

The remaining singles No. 11 through 20, can be found on F8