“What really matters is what you like, not what you are like.”
– Nick Hornby, High Fidelity (1995)
Readers who have enjoyed our interviews from time to time know that we typically ask artists to share their five favorite albums of all time at the end of our conversations with them. No matter who the artist is, it’s always fascinating to discover which long players have impacted their personal and professional lives. A few of our interview subjects have even scoffed at the standard five-album limit, rattling off upwards of a dozen or so titles and second-guessing if they’ve made the right choices.
Today, and considering that we’re still in the midst of the year 2020, we’re excited to reveal our writers’ respective lists of their 20 all-time favorite albums. We all reserve the right to change our minds about these choices in the future, but for now, here are the indispensable albums that we can’t live without and the reasons why.
Explore Mark Chappelle’s 20 favorites below, click the “Next” button at the bottom of the page to browse the lists or return to the main index.
The Brand New Heavies | Brother Sister
Delicious Vinyl (1994)
The Brand New Heavies change vocalists every other album, but they were at their most white-hot while fronted by the charismatic N’Dea Davenport. She and the band had a synergy that was hard to match on songs like “Dream On Dreamer,” “Brother Sister,” “Keep Together,” and “Fake.” They were central figures of the acid jazz movement, and this record was the pinnacle of that sound.
Brandy | Human
Epic (2008)
This underappreciated album was chock-full of Brandy’s trademark contrapuntal melodies and tiramisu layers of intricate vocals folded over songs of love and triumph, heartache, and contrition. Sadly, internal discord at Epic Records allowed Human to fall through the cracks while a fickle fan base of R&B listeners rejected its heavily pop production. Nonetheless, songs like “Torn Down,” “Camouflage,” “Warm It Up (With Love),” and “A Capella (Something’s Missing)” are wildly enjoyable and demand repeat play.
Common | The Dreamer/The Believer
Think Common/Warner (2011)
Having been a beyond-competent lyricist for over a decade, Common nearly forms a supergroup on The Dreamer/The Believer by employing the beats of No I.D. and songcraft of James Fauntleroy and Makeba Riddick throughout. The hooks stay in your mind long after the songs have stopped. And did I mention that American poet laureate Maya Angelou dropped a verse on “The Dreamer” that can make you levitate?
Earthsuit | Kaleidoscope Superior
Sparrow (2000)
Upon first previewing the fusion of rock, reggae, and hip-hop on Kaleidoscope Superior, I couldn’t rush the CD up to the cash register fast enough. Earthsuit was a band of musicians whose divergent musical influences made for an extremely tight, 10-song album that felt like a window into another world. For a quick survey, take a listen to the psychedelic spiritual “Whitehorse” or their Regatta De Blanc-inspired “Sky Flashings.”
Janet Jackson | The Velvet Rope
Virgin (1997)
Once artists become this big, it can be a challenge to still find things to say that are important. But here, Janet used her musical moment to broach topics like self-esteem, mental health, homophobia, racial identity, and domestic violence, while still finding time for titillating explorations of fringe sexuality in between. After all this time, creative wins like “Empty,” “Free Xone,” “Got ‘Til It’s Gone,” and “Special” still hold their value, making The Velvet Rope a classic album.
Michael Jackson | HIStory Continues
Epic/MJJ (1995)
Usually when media-embattled pop stars try clapping back at the cameras and critics that decry them, you get whiny, limp songs that are anything but fun to listen to. HIStory, however, found a charged-up MJ delivering sizzling but danceable eff-yous on “Money,” “2 Bad,” “Scream,” and “Tabloid Junkie,” while not failing to offer spectacular pathos on “Smile” and “Stranger In Moscow.” Critics had mixed reactions back then, but in 2020, multiple Black Lives Matter protests employed “They Don’t Care About Us” as a rallying cry. Simply put, Angry Mike is some good Mike.
Jars of Clay | Who We Are Instead
Essential (2003)
This alternative band developed far past their grunge-adjacent smash “Flood” once they started producing their own albums. Who We Are Instead is a guitar-forward array of both melancholy meditations (“Jealous Kind,” “Lesser Things,” and their cover of America’s “Lonely People”) along with good-time revelries (“Sunny Days,” “Show You Love,” “I'm In The Way”). There’s a touch of country here and a hip-hop breakbeat there, but the introspective warmth of their tone and genuineness in their lyrics remain constant the whole way through.
Chaka Khan | Naughty
Warner Bros. (1980)
Chaka Khan’s voice has this ability to idle and then skyrocket in a way that is never boring at its lull or overwhelming at its peak. How she can pull off a rollercoaster of astounding performances like “Move Me No Mountain,” “So Naughty,” “What You Did,” and “Papillon (aka Hot Butterfly)” all on the same album boggles the mind. The average vocalist would be hard-pressed to perform one of these feats without getting lost en route. Meanwhile, Khan recorded Naughty, and then briskly moved on as if she hadn’t just created magic.
Chaka Khan | What Cha’ Gonna Do For Me
Warner Bros. (1981)
The way her voice trades its mourning back and forth between howling guitars on “Father He Said” is breathtaking. “And The Melody Lingers On (Night In Tunisia)” earned her dual citizenship to travel about the jazz world as she pleased. “I Know You, I Live You” gave everyone a good excuse to wind their hips and shake imaginary maracas, and the title track was a #1 R&B hit. The album is simply her most satisfying 42 minutes, with no tracks to be skipped at all.
Emily King | The Switch (Deluxe Edition)
Making Music (2016)
It’s hard to follow up a bouquet of songs as sweet and intoxicating as The Seven EP, but The Switch takes that sound and expands it. “Distance” picks up where Seven left off, waxing poetic about balance in a relationship where two lovers want to miss each other again. From there, you find bouncier tracks like “Focus,” “The Switch,” and “Believer,” amidst the folksy “For Them” and “Already There,” and the efficiently cinematic climax of “Off Center.” The Switch sets a mood to revisit over and over again.
Amel Larrieux | Infinite Possibilities
550 Music/Epic (2000)
This musically elevated solo debut was a necessary evolution away from former group Groove Theory, into neo-soul and beyond. She weaved plush layers of vocals on “I N I” and “Infinite Possibilities,” frolicked in the watery bass harmonics of “Weather,” and made an enticing excursion into jazz and jungle on “Down.” In total, Infinite Possibilities thumps the cardboard top off of R&B’s box and lets Larrieux’s cool blue essence expand upward to carry the listener with it.
Amel Larrieux | Ice Cream Everyday
Blisslife (2013)
Amel Larrieux is an exceptional songwriter. “Afraid” is pure distilled elation and new relationship energy made aural. She channels the existential paranoia of being Black in America on “Danger,” and paints a picture so vivid and chimerical on “A Million Sapphires” that you might not notice it’s an obtuse description of the female orgasm. There’s so much to love on this album, it’s a shame that limited distribution kept more people from hearing it.
Crystal Lewis | Fearless
Metro 1 Music/GospoCentric/Interscope (2000)
The effortless soul of Crystal Lewis was CCM’s best kept secret for years, but someone should have snitched on her long ago. That ginormous voice emanating from her tiny frame on the Kirk Franklin-penned “I Still Believe” induces chills, while a foreboding marine murmur in “Reach Out” eventually gives way to a dramatic and radio-friendly opener. Her voice was more than the Christian market knew what to do with, but the deservedly GRAMMY-nominated Fearless did it ample justice.
Rukhsana Merrise | Child O’Today
Communion (2019)
Refreshingly bright-voiced UK singer-songwriter Rukhsana Merrise is onto something with her addictive sound, a sparkling amalgam of folk, pop, and R&B. Child O’Today bends that sound toward two-step garage on the skittering “Talk About It,” wakes up the neighborhood on afrobeat celebration “First For Once,” and channels MTV’s Daria to tell a half-stepping suitor “nevermind” on “Come My Way.” By the time a listener leans in closely to absorb quiet confessional ballads like “Light Years,” “Today,” and “Sober,” they may already be hooked.
Mutemath | Armistice
Warner (2009)
Until their dissolution, alternative rock band Mutemath were a musical hybrid of Radiohead, The Police, and Bjork, filtered through the rich and grimy cultural sieve of New Orleans. They slosh, bang, and jangle their way through “Backfire,” “Burden,” and the Twilight soundtrack standout “Spotlight,” to mention a few highlights in an exhilarating trove of dark and savory songs.
Q-Tip | The Renaissance
Universal Motown (2008)
Kamaal Ibn Fareed is a wellspring of creativity in music and The Renaissance was his tour-de-force as a solo artist. The highlight of the album is “You” which weaves a hypnotic first-person account of love unraveling, while a mobius strip of piano chords twists beneath him courtesy of a then-unknown Robert Glasper.
Nicki Richards | Naked (To the World)
Atlantic (1991)
Powerhouse singer, musician, songwriter, and entrancing beauty Nicki Richards landed her deal at Atlantic Records after a grand prize win on Star Search. Her impressive debut opens with its titular Prince-sampling lead single “Naked,” at once hard-hitting, mysteriously sexy, feminist, and defiant. Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze” became an international club hit for her with the help of elegant Frankie Knuckles remixes. And her voice absolutely soars on the self-penned R&B torch song “What Happened To Us,” and an expert reading of The Isley Brothers’ “Voyage To Atlantis” that captivates from start to finish.
[Note: Naked (To the World) is not currently available via streaming services, but the official video for “Naked” is embedded below for your listening & viewing pleasure.]
Sade | Stronger Than Pride
Epic (1988)
Minimalism is Helen Folasade Adu’s superpower. The spaces between her words imbue them with an encyclopedia of importance. They also allow the band members of Sade to shine through and establish equal importance to that of their blindingly beautiful lead singer. The group established a new creative best when they released Stronger Than Pride with enduring delights like “Nothing Can Come Between Us,” “Paradise,” and “Keep Looking” lining both sides of the LP.
Sy Smith | Fast and Curious
Psyko (2012)
Indie singer Sy Smith’s voice can sit coyly and wink at you from across the room, or multiply and attack like a band of pixie pirates. It’s quite a thrill to hear the turns she takes on Fast and Curious, a journey through moody, soulful electronica. I highly recommend the futuristic funk of “Truth,” “Messages From The Stars,” and her tag-team exposition with Rahsaan Patterson on “Nights (Feel Like Getting Down).”
We Are KING | We Are KING
King Creative (2016)
Their debut EP The Story made fans of everyone from Erykah Badu to the purple one himself, Prince. The latter loved these women so much that he personally bankrolled the recording of their GRAMMY-nominated masterwork of dreamy, psychedelic soul. We Are King is paradise viewed through a sonic kaleidoscope. It’s easier to just listen to “The Greatest” and “The Right One” in headphones than to encapsulate in words the pleasures it gives.