A real surprise from The Weeknd – and we don't just mean that because the album was dropped on the public with no announcement beforehand! The record's also a great evolution of the sound that's gotten such wide attention in a surprisingly short span of time – a bit of a concept album, in that the set's conceived as some alternate-universe sort of radio listen, complete with spoken bits from Jim Carrey at certain points – all helped out with production work from Max Martin and Oneohtrix Point Never! Tyler The Creator makes one wonderful guest appearance, but the set's definitely guided by The Weeknd's maturing genius throughout – on titles that include "Don't Break My Heart", "How Do I Make You Love Me", "Every Angel Is Terrifying", "Take My Breath", "Gasoline", "I Heard You're Married", "Less Than Zero", and "Best Friends". LP, Vinyl record album

(Soul, Neo Soul) LP, Vinyl record album

A hell of a classic from UK singer Lewis Taylor – one of the best blue-eyed soul albums recorded in the 90s, and a record that's still years ahead of its time! In a stretch when so many others were putting out fake soul – or breathing heavily on downtempo records – Taylor found a way to really deliver something new and unique, yet also come across with the classic mellow flow of 70s work by artists like Marvin Gaye or The Isley Brothers! Taylor's vocal delivery here owes plenty to both, but the production is very crisp and individual – handled by Lewis himself, and in a spare mix of modes that's quite different than some of the more stock "beats and keys" modes that would take over underground soul in the next decade! Instead, there's this great range of subtle tones and textures that work beautifully alongside Taylor's sublime vocals – all to suit some beautifully-written tunes too. Titles include "Lucky", "Track", "Betterlove", "Right", "Spirit", "Bittersweet", and "Whoever". 2CD set is wonderful – and includes 12 more bonus cuts from singles and other projects – including "Asleep When You Come", "You Got Me Thinking", "Waves", "Trip So Heavy", "A Little Bit Tasty", "Lewis III", "Pie In The Electric Sky/If I Lay Down On You", "I Dream The Better Dream", "Bittersweet (ext)", and "Lucky" in three different mixes by Kruder & Dorfmeister! CD

10 tracks that sum up the hopes for modern funk and underground soul – circa 1995! The set was a big one back in its day, and it still provides a good picture of what the kids were digging during those difficult years for modern groove. Titles include "Hell Is Round The Corner" by Tricky, "Friendly Pressure" by Jhelisa, "Eine Kleine Hed Musick" by Coldcut, "Boundaries" by Leena Conquest & Hip Hop Finger, "Get It Together" by The Beastie Boys, "Nouveau Western" by MC Solaar, "Revenge Of The Number" by Portishead, and "Deep S**t (parts 1 & 2)" by Kruder & Dorfmeister. CD