Back when few things were cooler than a wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling collection of CDs, Boyz II Men's "II" album, for the iconic Motown label, was the rare release that appealed to millions of music listeners from the inner city to the suburbs, to teenagers to their baby boomer parents.

And for good reason.

Boyz II Men, which have a date in St. Pete today, brilliantly updated R&B in the 1990s with a New Jack Swing sensibility while never overshadowing the group's rich, smooth, timeless vocals.

Celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, the trio ranks as the best-selling R&B group of all time with 60 million albums sold, a record that will probably last forever thanks to downloads and music streams.

In case you spent the 1990s lost in a world of techno, death metal or some other soulless sonic abyss (or were too still in preschool), Boyz II Men's hits include "End of the Road," "I'll Make Love to You," "One Sweet Day," "On Bended Knee," "Water Runs Dry" and "Motownphilly."

St. Pete native Michael Lynche, who gained national fame during his fourth-place finish-run on the ninth season of "American Idol," opens.

Details: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4, The Mahaffey, 400 First St. S., St. Petersburg. Tickets: $35.50-$55.50. Information 727-892-5798 or www.themahaffey.com.

--Wade Tatangelo