While Ricky Martin and the Backstreet Boys dominated radio and MTV this summer, some high-quality CDs got less attention.

Here are High Note’s picks for the best of summer ’99. Some you’ve heard, others you maybe haven’t. Either way, make sure you get ’em while there still new.

“Terror Twilight”

Pavement

When Pavement released their legendary “Slanted and Enchanted” album in 1991, they were destined to be the band that would attract a national buzz. Then Nirvana happened.

Taking pride in obscurity, the band continued making music and is one of few groups of the ’90s to successfully put out five solid albums. “Terror Twilight” is a worthy installment into the Pavement series.

Inching along at a steady pace, the album has all the essential Pavement elements: fuzzy guitars, frequent tempo changes, lazy vocals and quirky, Scrabble game-like indecipherable word jumbles.

On “You Are a Light,” lead singer Stephen Malkmus urges us to “watch out for the gypsy children in electric dresses; they’re insane.”

“Major Leagues” recalls the acoustic easygoing mentality of “Range Life,” the song that put the band in music news a few years ago when they criticized Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots.

“Terror” makes its mark as a straightforward album that will always provide a good, solid 45 minutes of musical diversion.

— Conor Bezane

“Significant Other”

Limp Bizkit

If Limp Bizkit is rap-rock’s Nirvana, then “Significant Other” is their “Nevermind.”

Fred Durst — a spokesman of some sort of generation — and team may have established themselves on their sloppy debut, but this time around, they’re establishing a genre.

“Significant Other” has all the fixins of a stellar record: hooks and grooves that flirt the ear, lyrics that mess with your mind, and choruses that make you throw your hand in the air and wave it like you just don’t care.

Forget that the record includes cameos from some of the decade’s most important figures (Scott Weiland, Jonathan Davis, Method Man); the first 15 minutes of “Significant Other” is possibly the most exciting music since we smelled like teen spirit and came as we were.

— Corey Moss

“Nothing Safe”

Alice In Chains

In preparation for the release of Alice In Chains’ boxed set “Music Bank,” the band released “Nothing Safe,” a collection of 15 songs that can be described as no less than the “Best of the Box.”

The album, uniquely enclosed in a neon orange jewel case, is composed of a vast mix of both old and new hits from the band. The album includes a previously unreleased demo of the hard-hitting “We Die Young,” as well as the current single “Get Born Again,” a song which parallels the band’s reclaiming of the air waves.

“Nothing Safe” is a strong showcase of what Alice In Chains has to offer, and only proves that the boxed set won’t come soon enough.

— Kevin Hosbond

“The Soft Bulletin”

The Flaming Lips

They’ve come a long way since “She Don’t Use Jelly.” Despite minor lineup changes, Oklahoma’s The Flaming Lips are racing for the prize on this monumental opus, which is relaxing in mood, soothing in ambiance, melancholy in tone and crisp in production.

This is the album you listen to in its entirety because its songs just can’t stand alone.

Though veering off in a new direction, “The Soft Bulletin” marks a restoration of the creative fire that made 1994’s “Transmission from the Satellite Heart” a masterpiece.

Maestro mastermind Wayne Coyne shapes the music into a celestial symphony layered with sonic subtleties that bring the album a thick, fulfilling sound. A sound unmatched by any other.

— Conor Bezane

“Fellow Workers”

Ani DiFranco & Utah Phillips

In a day when most musicians substitute vulgarity for attitude, “Fellow Workers” is a breath of fresh air. The album consists of stories and songs told and sung by Utah Phillips, backed by Ani DiFranco and her band.

Phillips gathered his stories by traveling the country as a hobo, and his songs generally focus on ordinary people fighting government and big business just to make it through. Every young socialist should be familiar with the story of Mother Jones, told by Phillips in “The Most Dangerous Woman.” Other songs like “Pie in the Sky” raise their middle finger in the face of capitalism. Viva la workers!

— Ben Godar

“SlipKnoT”

SlipKnoT

It’s finally been done. The hard-core metal scene of Iowa has caught the nation’s attention in the form of Des Moines band SlipKnoT and its self-titled debut album.

While thunderous songs like “Wait And Bleed” and “Spit It Out” are currently getting radio play, the album has other gems to offer including “(Sic),” “Eyeless,” “Tattered & Torn” and “Only One.”

SlipKnoT’s style is purely original, mixing screaming vocals and roaring guitars with samples and custom percussion. If this band can crush any other local band’s hopes with one song, just think what the whole album can do.

— Kevin Hosbond

“Bad Love”

Randy Newman

Randy Newman’s first full-length album of original rock material in more than 10 years is not a disappointment. His razor-sharp lyrics analyze everything from what Karl Marx would think of today’s world to the breakup of his own marriage.

“Every Time it Rains” and “I Miss You” are beautiful musings on his love for his ex-wife. Songs like “Shame,” and “Big Hat, No Cattle” are finely tuned character studies in the true Newman style. Anyone who only knows Newman from his soundtrack work with films like Toy Story and Pleasantville should check out this incredible album.

— Ben Godar

“Californication”

Red Hot Chili Peppers

From the top of the charts they’ll share this lonely view. Crawling out from under the bridge known as “One Hot Minute,” the Red Hot Chili Peppers have redeemed themselves and gone back to the basics with summer hit “Californication.” And they owe it all to lead guitarist John Frusciante.

After “Blood Sugar Sex Magik” and Frusciante’s departure from the Peppers, he was quickly replaced by former Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro.

Fueled by the summer anthem, “Scar Tissue,” the disc returns to the funk-driven rock that Frusciante helped create on “Blood Sugar Sex Magik.”

Although a little more mellow than previous projects, on “Californication” the Peppers do their share of rocking on more than a few tracks. The album is a true testament to the band’s musical maturity and songwriting ability.

— Sam Johnson