Followed by examining the voices that defined the ‘60s, the breakthroughs of the ‘70s, the reinventions of the ‘80s, the experiments of the ‘90s, and the digital age continue into the new millennium.
Yes, I love this, and I agree with a lot of these. I'm excited to dive into some of the pre-1960s albums you listed because that's an R&B era I don't listen to as often. Now *cracks knuckles* below are a few of my picks that would've been different,
1980 - I would've picked Stevie Wonder's Hotter Than July over Diana -- Diana feels more pop/disco than R&B.
1996 - I LOVE Urban Hang Suite, but Aaliyah's One in a Million was ahead of its time and completely changed the sound of R&B (especially how it sounds today), whereas UHS was an expansion on neo-soul (which I consider more of an era than a genre).
1999 - Meshell Ndegeocello's Bitter also feels more neo-soul than R&B and sonically, is not that dynamic, I would've selected Where I Wanna Be by Donell Jones.
2003 - I promise I'm not a Meshell Ndegeocello hater, but Ashanti's debut album, Southern Hummingbird by Tweet, and The Diary of Alicia Keys were all more memorable R&B albums from that year for me.
All the albums you listed from 2004-2015 were spot on.
2016 - I love that KING album, butttt 2016 belonged to A Seat At The Table by Solange, that album was a cultural reset that will be discussed for years to come.
2017 -- CTRL by SZA was the R&B album of that year. Some of the tracks leaned more alt/pop, but when she tapped into R&B, she really gave us that classic feeling in a way Sampha never has.
2018 - Dirty Computer is my least favorite Janelle Monae album. I think too many people slept on Isolation by Kali Uchis that year.
2019 - My personal favorite was When I Get Home by Solange, but I also think Ari Lennox's Shea Butter Baby could've been a contender here.
2020 - I LOVE Lianna La Havas, but that album did not heal me like Rose in The Dark by Cleo Sol did.
Side note: thank you for including Leave it All Behind by The Foreign Exchange because that album was incredible and doesn't get discussed enough.
I have to co-sign with many of these picks. I will say that 1999 was a battle between Meshell, Donell, Silk, Sisqó, and Destiny’s Child. I considered Alicia Keys for 2003 (plus Tweet’s album came out in 2002) and Solange for 2016. Because of the close voting process, I thought Chlöe x Halle would’ve actually beaten Lianne La Havas for 2020.
I realized after I posted this that Tweet and Ashanti came out in 2002, on the same day I think— all neck and neck with Amerie’s All I Have. I agree, Ungodly Hour was a really good pick for 2020 too!
I like some of the album considerations, and even though Aaliyah has a case because of what the album did to R&B, song for the song (not album sales or anything like that), I not only have Maxwell beat but even a couple of others ahead. OIAM got a couple of skips. 🫣
Yes, I love this, and I agree with a lot of these. I'm excited to dive into some of the pre-1960s albums you listed because that's an R&B era I don't listen to as often. Now *cracks knuckles* below are a few of my picks that would've been different,
1980 - I would've picked Stevie Wonder's Hotter Than July over Diana -- Diana feels more pop/disco than R&B.
1996 - I LOVE Urban Hang Suite, but Aaliyah's One in a Million was ahead of its time and completely changed the sound of R&B (especially how it sounds today), whereas UHS was an expansion on neo-soul (which I consider more of an era than a genre).
1999 - Meshell Ndegeocello's Bitter also feels more neo-soul than R&B and sonically, is not that dynamic, I would've selected Where I Wanna Be by Donell Jones.
2003 - I promise I'm not a Meshell Ndegeocello hater, but Ashanti's debut album, Southern Hummingbird by Tweet, and The Diary of Alicia Keys were all more memorable R&B albums from that year for me.
All the albums you listed from 2004-2015 were spot on.
2016 - I love that KING album, butttt 2016 belonged to A Seat At The Table by Solange, that album was a cultural reset that will be discussed for years to come.
2017 -- CTRL by SZA was the R&B album of that year. Some of the tracks leaned more alt/pop, but when she tapped into R&B, she really gave us that classic feeling in a way Sampha never has.
2018 - Dirty Computer is my least favorite Janelle Monae album. I think too many people slept on Isolation by Kali Uchis that year.
2019 - My personal favorite was When I Get Home by Solange, but I also think Ari Lennox's Shea Butter Baby could've been a contender here.
2020 - I LOVE Lianna La Havas, but that album did not heal me like Rose in The Dark by Cleo Sol did.
Side note: thank you for including Leave it All Behind by The Foreign Exchange because that album was incredible and doesn't get discussed enough.
I have to co-sign with many of these picks. I will say that 1999 was a battle between Meshell, Donell, Silk, Sisqó, and Destiny’s Child. I considered Alicia Keys for 2003 (plus Tweet’s album came out in 2002) and Solange for 2016. Because of the close voting process, I thought Chlöe x Halle would’ve actually beaten Lianne La Havas for 2020.
I realized after I posted this that Tweet and Ashanti came out in 2002, on the same day I think— all neck and neck with Amerie’s All I Have. I agree, Ungodly Hour was a really good pick for 2020 too!
I like some of the album considerations, and even though Aaliyah has a case because of what the album did to R&B, song for the song (not album sales or anything like that), I not only have Maxwell beat but even a couple of others ahead. OIAM got a couple of skips. 🫣
That’s fair. Her self-titled album was her best.