More than any other Soul performer (or such Jazz-Blues belters as Dinah Washington), Aretha Franklin brought impassioned Gospel singing to American popular music. Never as subdued as the subtler Sam Cooke, Franklin belts out profane R&B songs with enough sacred lung power to send the sound waves all the way up to the heavens. Franklin doesn’t go over the top, though, always staying in the realm of good taste and sensitive delivery. As she proved during her greatest period, the late ‘60 Atlantic Recordings, Franklin blows the roof off your house with so much class that you don’t want her to stop until she has reduced your love shack to a pile of splinters. Who else could outdo Otis Redding and turn “Respect” into an eternal anthem of racial and sexual pride that even middle-class white men embrace? Franklin’s voice has weathered the decades very well but her arrangements and material are often beneath her. You can’t go wrong with any of her recent Gospel recordings and 1998’s A Rose is Still A Rose embraced hip-hop production with great success. Aretha Franklin remains a vital part of the modern music scene.
- Nick Dedina

By the time he was upon the threshold of puberty, Usher already had a record deal and a gold album. By the time he graduated from high school, he’d established himself as one of the most visible artists in R&B. Armed with a soulful voice and impressive songwriting skills, Usher’s songs vary from floor-rattling dance tracks to between-the-sheets ballads. Between 1994 and 2004, he released six albums, appeared in several films, earned multiple platinum plaques, and collaborated with a wide variety of top-shelf artists. Though he was already a well-established famous singer (and occasional actor), 2004 was the year he really blew up worldwide, thanks to the infectious, chart-topping single “Yeah” produced by Lil Jon. The song, and his album Confessions, netted him three Grammy Awards and propelled him to the upper tier of music superstardom.
- Kali Holloway

R&B with shuffling, sputtering beats and sassy vocals. Pink is audacious enough to sing sweetly and sexily even as she tells you to hit the road (jack), without a hint of remorse or pity in her voice. Club worthy anthems help you dance your way right out the door while she tosses your luggage to the curb. Be careful that you don’t slip on the slick-as-oil studio production.
- Kali Holloway

Got a date tonight? Need that special sound to get him/her in the mood/sack? Brian McKnight’s smooth love-man Soul will loosen up even the most frigidly unresponsive partner. Densely produced hip-hop backing walks the line between P.M. Dawn-style rap and quivering Quiet Storm. Couple that with McKnight’s calmly passionate delivery and you’ve got crossover-prone Neo-Soul that inhabits the same space on the dial as Puff Daddy’s blockbuster records but relies less on Classic Rock piracy and gangsta posing. McKnight is personally involved in the creation of his music, from the writing and performance to the nuts and bolts of its production. The result is uncommon, painstakingly crafted Contemporary R&B that’s more than just make-out music — it’s creative, innovative artistic expression.
- Mike McGuirk