Agent 00 soul, licensed to thrill

Grunge kings' best-of is sanitised yet magnificent. Includes previously unreleased track

A quarter-century of baroque-rock 45s

American and African stars combine to pay tribute to the late Fela Kuti

Shaming secret history of the war on Iraq, soundtracked by Aphex Twin, Orbital and co

Promising, optimistic debut from 21st-century Prefab Sprout

Fabulous neo-MBV guitarfest from happening Berlin electronica label

Ang Lee's soulful swordfest is out on visually refined Superbit release with wispy hair shots and flashing blades all shimmer-free. Yet Lee's masterfully melancholic movie—with Chow Yun-Fat and Michelle Yeoh as the unrequited martial arts lovers, Matrix choreographer Yuen Wo-Ping providing the aerial ballet, and high-kicking upstart Zhang Ziyi providing the feminist subtext—could work wonders in any format.

Early Ingmar Bergman investigation of the problems of young love in which a romantic summer idyll turns to pregnancy, marriage, boredom and infidelity. The director's first film with Harriet Anderson, whose defiant animal vitality was the focus of the tale, it still packs an emotional punch.

David Lynch's TV series, which first aired in the UK in the early '90s, broke the mould on so many levels, arguably paving the way for everything from Northern Exposure and Wild Palms to The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. Ostensibly a whodunnit, this deeply unconventional show explores secrets and strangeness in a rural community. And boy, do we get strangeness, from Kyle MacLachlan's relentlessly chipper FBI agent to the Log Lady and the One-Armed Man. Genius