Sometimes you gotta' play the hand you are dealt.

Which, in the case of this week's installment of the new album releases, means that it's pretty slim pickings. So much so, that my usual musical partners in crime Mark Saleski and Tom Johnson both apparently chose to take a powder — leaving me here alone to fly the mothership solo this week. So be it fellas, and enjoy the day off.

Fortunately, it is a somewhat good week for new hip hop, led by Ego Trippin', the ninth album from Snoop Dogg. The Doggfather's latest comes just in time to give the rap veteran something to sell as he heads to this year's WWE Wrestlemania pay per view extravaganza to referee "Bunnymania," a women's match featuring WWE Divas who have all posed nekkid for Playboy at one point or another. Maybe, I should talk to Snoop Dogg about switching jobs with him.

Speaking of Divas, Kelis has a compilation of her Hits out this week. Clayton Perry wrote an excellent review of this release here on the site last week, that also gives a very complete history of this under-appreciated R&B Diva (at least in this country). It's a great read, that you can check out here. Other notable hip hop releases this week include new albums from Rick Ross and Fat Joe.

American Idol judge Randy Jackson has got something called Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1 out this week. Now, while I'll admit that I'm not much of an Idol fan, I've always had kind of a soft spot for Jackson, dog! For one thing, he did do time on the bass with the non-E Street Band that Springsteen toured with in the early nineties, so he merits respect right there. I hear fellow Idol judge Paula Abdul is on a track or two as well, which gives this release that additional curiosity factor.

I wasn't aware that The Vines had been around long enough to warrant a hits collection, but nonetheless they've got The Best of the Vines in stores this week. Seattle veterans The Presidents Of The United States Of America (or POTUSA as they are called by fans) take another stab at regaining their mid-nineties form with the sure to be humorous post-grunge pop of These Are the Good Times People.

Oh. Lest I forget, there are also a couple of new volumes of the always mega-selling NOW! series, Now That's What I Call the 80s and Now, Vol. 27.

And that's pretty much all she wrote for this week.

Like I said, sometimes you just gotta' play the hand you are dealt.

Mark Saleski and Tom Johnson did not contribute picks this week. You were sorely missed, so hurry back okay guys?

Here are all of this week's new album releases courtesy of All Music Guide: