Booze cruises, mac 'n' cheese and more make up this week's edition of OnMilwaukee.com Recommends.

Out of Many: 50 Years of Reggae Music (VP Records) – Hardcore fans need not investigate this triple-CD set celebrating a half-century of Jamaican independence. They'll likely already have most of this music on their iPods. But for the casual fan and the newbie, the discs offer a good overview. The first disc is, to my mind, the best, with Lord Creator's appropriate "Independent Jamaica" and a mix of '60s and '70s hits, from The Jamaicans' "Ba Ba Boom" to Culture's "Two Sevens Clash." The final track, Johnny Osbourne's "Ice Cream Love" would have fit better on disc two, which focuses on dancehall gems from the '80s and '90s. Here you'll find Barrington Levy, Eek-a-Mouse, Shabba Ranks and Yellowman. Disc three is more recent digital dancehall with tracks from Beenie Man, Gyptian, Sizza, Sean Paul and others. A small booklet includes some historical info (and photos of 45s labels, which I love) and it all comes in a fold-out digipak. – Bobby Tanzilo

Fireworks cruises on Riverwalk Boat Tours – I have been on booze cruises before, and always had a good time – they truly give double meaning to the word "sloshy." But last weekend, I went on my first fireworks booze cruise which was much later and darker (9 p.m.) than the happy hour cruises I had been on before. The Milwaukee nightscape from the water was beautiful and I have never had such an amazing view of the fireworks, particularly the ground displays. The fact the sangria and beer was free flowing and the snacks were plentiful only made the experience more fun. Riverwalk has a few fireworks cruises left this summer, along with Bloody Mary cruises, brewery pub cruises and more. Go to riverwalkboats.com for more info. – Molly Snyder

Maxie's Rack N' Mac Thursdays – A good mac 'n' cheese is hard to find, unless you're searching at Maxie's Southern Comfort. They practically wrote the book on comfort food (as our Best of Dining polls can attest). The mac is a shining example, and every Thursday Maxie's kicks it up a notch with Rack N' Mac specials, serving up rotating specialty mac 'n' cheeses in portions big enough to make at least two meals – even though you won't want to put your fork down. The special lets you add on a rack of ribs, too, but it's the mac 'n' cheese that's truly to die for. – Renee Lorenz