FROM BACKSTREET TO E STREET.

Byline: Fred Shuster Music Writer

Two years ago, teens raised the Titanic. In 1999, they raised the roof - and the stakes.

Not only were the Backstreet Boys the top-selling act of this premillennial year with a sophomore album, "Millennium," that moved more than 10 million units, a new crop of teen stars came along to rake in the dollars.

Next to boy-bands like Backstreet, 'N Sync and 98 Degrees, generic teen females - including Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson - scored strong showings in the last 12 months.

Meanwhile, nearly the same thing was happening in modern rock. Faceless groups such as Lit and Blink-182 hit big and instantly evaporated, while the rap-metal genre spearheaded by Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock and Korn continued to draw fans.

If you were old-school, the biggest events of the year were the Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band reunion tour and the unexpected comeback of Santana.

Still, others appreciated the strong showing of Latin pop as Ricky Martin, Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Enrique Iglesias demonstrated crossover dreams.

But it wasn't a year like 1998, when "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill" was a clear favorite. The closest we saw to an across-the-board hit in '99 was guitarist Carlos Santana's "Supernatural," which spent three weeks at No. 1 and did better than any Santana album in nearly 30 years.

It helped that the album was fueled by "Smooth," the compelling smash single featuring Matchbox 20's convincing Rob Thomas on vocals.

Other much-heralded comebacks included the Eurythmics, TLC, Cher, Whitney Houston, Dr. Dre and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, whose first album in 25 years was almost universally ignored.

On stage, the Rolling Stones were the highest-grossing musical act of 1999, selling more than $89.2 million in tickets. Meanwhile, the first leg of the Springsteen reunion raked in more than $53 million from 44 shows. 'N Sync topped the list of newer acts, grossing $44.3 million from 107 shows.

In country, the once-mighty Garth Brooks miscalculated when he took on the fictional persona of Chris Gaines, but fans were apparently too enamored of newcomers like the Dixie Chicks and superstar acts Shania Twain and Faith Hill to take much notice.

Female hip-hop continued to dominate the charts. Girl acts such as Destiny's Child, TLC, Missy Elliott, Mary J. Blige, Foxy Brown and Hill ruled in '99, even as one-off rap acts such as Mystikal, Silkk the Shocker, C-Murder, Eminem, Fiend and others logged time at No. 1.

And Wu-Tang Clan rapper Russell Jones, better-known as either Big Baby Jesus or Ol' Dirty Bastard, started the year with a bang by exchanging shots with New York police and ended it in crack rehab.

Jazz was best represented by pianist Keith Jarrett's inspiring "The Melody at Night, With You," a single disc that resonated loudly, even as Columbia insanely issued no less than 15 albums by Wynton Marsalis in 1999.

Meanwhile, the music business itself was hit hard as a result of Seagram's $10 billion-plus acquisition of PolyGram a year earlier. Some 500 employees were furloughed; 170 of 200 people at A&M and 110 at Geffen were pink-slipped.

And an executive-suite power struggle became public when Arista president Clive Davis clashed with BMG Entertainment president/CEO Strauss Zelnick over the future of Arista.

In records, there was a spate of good albums this year, including "Cruel Moon," Buddy Miller; "Cold Hard Truth," George Jones; "Live in Texas," Lyle Lovett; "Life Is a Carnival," Wild Magnolias; "Warm Cool: The Atlantic Years," Chris Connor; "From Here to Eternity Live," the Clash; "Jim Hall & Pat Metheny," Jim Hall and Pat Metheny; "This Time," Los Lobos; "Fly," Dixie Chicks; "She Haunts My Dreams," Spain; "The Contino Sessions," Death in Vegas; "Close Your Eyes," Dot Allison; and "Tiempos," Ruben Blades.

And, as always, the Grim Reaper had a busy year, taking jazz pianist Michel Petrucciani, blues vocalist Charles Brown, "Route 66" writer Bobby Troup, jazz pianist Jaki Byard, Troubadour owner Doug Weston, rockabilly legend Buddy Knox, reggae great Augustus Pablo, reggae artist Junior Braithwaite, reggae act Mikey Wallace, treasured Los Angeles jazz pianist Horace Tapscott, pop diva Dusty Springfield, bluesman Lowell Fulson, blues guitarist "Mighty Joe" Young, blues belter Joe Williams, jazz man Red Norvo, Britpop pioneer "Screaming" Lord Sutch, Moby Grape founder Skip Spence, jazz crooner Mel Torme, reggae singer Dennis Brown, Morphine leader Mark Sandman, big-band vocalist Helen Forrest, blues belter Katie Webster, jazz guitarist Sal Salvador, jazz vibist Milt Jackson, blues singer Ella Mae Morse, folk writer-singer Hoyt Axton, jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie, Austin rock legend Doug Sahm, jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd, jazz violinist Don "Sugarcane" Harris, Band co-founder Rick Danko, fusion saxist Grover Washington Jr., reggae singer Joe Higgs, country great Hank Snow and r&b legend Curtis Mayfield.

HERE ARE MUSIC WRITER FRED SHUSTER'S BEST ALBUMS OF 1999:

1. "Play," Moby: Enticing, melodic and sensual sampladelic sounds that put a radiant human face on electronic music.

2. "Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons," Various: A terrific Emmylou Harris-produced tribute to the great country-rock pioneer featuring Beck, Lucinda Williams and many more.

3. "Broken Things," Julie Miller: The soon-to-break-big country rocker makes another doozy of a solo album.

4. "Supernatural," Santana: The most user-friendly album of the year needs no introduction.

5. "Mule Variations," Tom Waits: More murky musical excavations from this one-of-a-kind artist.

6. "Buena Vista Social Club Presents Ibrahim Ferrer," Ibrahim Ferrer: Another Ry Cooder-produced Cuban delight.

7. "Central Reservation," Beth Orton: Brit folkie Orton uses techno and pop orchestrations to create one of the year's most compelling soundscapes.

8. "The Melody at Night, With You," Keith Jarrett: He hasn't been away exactly, but this is a welcome return to the jazz charts for this dizzyingly lyrical keyboardist.

9. "Vermilion," Continental Drifters: Rootsy Americana from a treasured family-oriented band.

10. "The Three EP's," Beta Band: A terrific compilation of U.K.-issued material from this merry band of Scottish noisemakers.

HERE ARE STAFF WRITER JESSE HIESTAND'S BEST ALBUMS OF 1999:

1. "Supergrass," Supergrass.

2. "HMS Fable," Shack.

3. "Remedy," Basement Jaxx.

4. "Utopia Parkway," Fountains of Wayne.

5. "On How Life Is," Macy Gray.

6. "Beaucoup Fish," Underworld.

7. "Liquid Skin," Gomez.

8. "You My Baby & I," Alex Gopher.

9. "Temperamental," Everything But the Girl.

10. "Midnite Vultures," Beck.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) Carlos Santana is still selling with "Supernatural."

(2) "Mule Variations" chronicles the musical journey of Tom Waits.

(3) Electronica veteran Moby is making his music more human.

Box:

(1) MUSIC WRITER FRED SHUSTER'S BEST ALBUMS OF 1999 (see text)

(2) STAFF WRITER JESSE HIESTAND'S BEST ALBUMS OF 1999 (see text)