Record Day

Time to crack open your piggy bank. Super Tuesday is here, featuring more major music releases than any day in recent memory. Last week, Alanis Morissette had the best-selling female debut of all time (469,055 copies in the U.S., 2.2 million international), but next week she may not even make the Billboard top five, thanks to new discs from Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Garth Brooks, Jewel, Method Man, the ''Prince of Egypt'' Soundtrack, Seal, and more.

Mariah's disc collects her 13 No. 1 hits; Whitney's is the singer's first studio release in eight years; Garth's is a live double-CD; Jewel's is the follow-up to her multi-platinum ''Pieces of You''; and ''The Prince of Egypt'' comes in three versions: Official Soundtrack, Inspirational, and Nashville. Hold onto your hats, chart watchers -- music industry betting favors Garth Brooks to end up the week's No. 1 seller. One reason: Wal-Mart, which is offering his double-disc set for a penny-pinching $13.98, has a goal to unload one million copies in its 2,400-odd stores alone.

Here are this week's notable new releases (with EW critics' grades):

• Garth Brooks, ''Garth Brooks: Double Live'' (EW grade: B-)
• Mariah Carey, ''#1's'' (EW grade: B-)
• Whitney Houston, ''My Love Is Your Love'' (EW grade: N.A.)
• Jewel, ''Spirit'' (EW grade: B-)
• Method Man, ''Tical 2000'' (EW Grade: A-)
• Various Artists, ''The Prince of Egypt: Soundtrack''; ''The Prince of Egypt: Inspirational''; ''The Prince of Egypt: Nashville'' (EW Grades: C; B+; B-)
• Seal, ''Human Being'' (EW Grade: B+)
• Ice Cube, ''War & Peace Vol. 1'' (EW Grade: B+)
• The Offspring, ''Americana'' (EW Grade: B+)
  Originally posted Nov 17, 1998