In the Zone

1	Me Against the Music 3:43
2	(I Got That) Boom Boom / Ying Yang Twins 4:51
3	Showdown 3:17
4	Breathe on Me 3:43
5	Early Mornin' 3:45
6	Toxic 3:21
7	Outrageous 3:22
8	Touch of My Hand 4:19
9	The Hook Up 3:54
10	Shadow 3:45
11	Brave New Girl 3:30
12	Everytime 3:53
13	Me Against the Music Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Remix 4:29

Barnes & Noble

On her self-titled 2001 disc, a blossoming Britney Spears proclaimed, "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman." My, my how times have changed. No longer, er, straddling the Lolita line between girl-next-door and femme fatale, here Ms. Spears lets loose like a spring break coed caught on one of those Girls Gone Wild videos. The hot-and-bothered bombshell follows up her jaw-dropping smooch with Madonna at MTV's Video Music Awards with the pulsating club-thumper "Me Against the Music," a duet with the Material Mom. The rest of the disc follows suit, as Spears moans and purrs through racy dance tracks such as the R. Kelly–produced "Outrageous," which pokes fun at Brit's paparazzi-documented lifestyle prior to her short-lived marriage, and the come-hither "Showdown." On the latter track, the southern belle coos, "I'll let you touch me if you want / I see your body rise, rise." Well, guess she's really not that innocent. Things get even more explicit on "Touch of My Hand," where Brit sings about the joys of self-love. Oops, she did it again! Although her thin, nasal vocals have never been her most valuable asset, on In the Zone Spears' delivery has noticeably matured, especially on the whispery, Kylie Minogue–reminiscent "Breathe on Me" and the ambient, Moby-produced "Early Mornin'," on which a raspy-voiced Spears sings and raps about her naughty late-night escapades ("Passed out on the couch and yawning / Just walked in and it's early mornin'). Even "Everytime," the requisite power ballad and alleged ode to her lost love Justin, sounds inspired. While In the Zone is sure to alienate many of Spears' younger fans (and rightly so), it successfully documents her growth into a young woman awakening to her sexuality and a pop star unafraid to exploit it. Tracy E. Hopkins

Rolling Stone

This time, Spears promises to follow through on her come-ons: "I'll let you touch me if you want," she husks in the clever pop-dancehall "Showdown." Jon Pareles

Vibe

1/2 This is a supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears's development as a songwriter -- she wrote seven of the 13 songs. Jason King

Blender

Stylistically, In the Zone recalls various stages of Madonna -- there's a hint of "Oh, Father" on the better of the record's two ballads, "Shadow" (cowritten and produced by Avril Lavigne hitmakers the Matrix), and a little bit of Erotica's sweaty, layered funk throughout. Mim Udovitch