This is the second Goodie Mob album that I don't quite see the acclaim for. While it improves in the back-end, there are too many beats that don't hit home despite some potent content. 'Beautiful Skin' and 'They Don't Dance No Mo'' are a couple of examples. 'I Refuse Limitation' is one of the strongest tracks but with a touch more in the production, it could be a 5/5 song. Best Tracks: Black Ice, I Refuse Limitation, Still Standing

What's not to like about this album? It's just good east coast/boom bap/hardcore hip hop and like Neek's solo album, 'Exotic's Raw', (that is also partly produced by Large Professor) is underheard. There are about half a dozen excellent tracks featured, with the rest being quite solid. As I write this with December 2011 upon us, I'm not sure if I've played a 2011 album as much as I played this when I got it. Well worth checking out. Best Tracks: Still on the Hustle, Guess Who, Street Rebel, Hip Hop, Head Spin

Dido was a late discovery of mine. I of course remember her huge singles from when they dropped but I had never checked out a whole project until late 2017. I love her first couple, with 'Life for Rent' earning a near-perfect 4.5/5 and from there I checked out her later albums and since then I had been anticipating new music. The singles didn't leave me feeling optimistic though. After the first listen or two it is fair to say that I was underwhelmed. I think the first song we heard from this and the first song on the album is the strongest track but nothing touches her best work. It has grown on me and I've found some tunes to add to a best of Dido playlist but as I said, nothing comes close to her best on her other projects and there are too many average songs. I think 'Safe Trip Home' is her weakest album but even that has songs like 'Grafton Street' and 'Northern Skies' that hold up well. About a 3/5 for now. Best Tracks: Hurricanes, You Don't Need a God, Take You Home, Friends

I've been adding albums to this site, and as I got to Next, it shocked me that I hadn't previously listened to this. It's been a while since I've listened to Next's other albums, but based on what I remember, this is their best album. 'Wifey' is the well-known classic from this, and one of their best songs with 'Too Close', but there a number of other worthwhile R&B songs with the rest never dipping too low in quality. The weakest moments are the bookends - the Beanie Sigel featured 'What U Want', which doesn't develop into anything, and the dancehall influenced 'Oh No No'. The sexual innuendo at times on songs such as 'Splash and 'Cybersex' would make R. Kelly proud. A cohesive R&B project led by the underrated Naughty By Nature producer KayGee. Best Tracks: Wifey, Beauty Queen, My Everything, Call on Me, Let's Make a Movie, Splash

This is probably R. Kelly's most hip hop influenced album. Kells raps on the opening track, then the following three are all quite hip hop influenced, and you've got about half a dozen more of them. While there are songs that work, Kells doesn't generally do the hip-hop/R&B as well as the slow jamz. It is also an R. Kelly album which I'm not very passionate about. There isn't a five out of five-star song here, which I would say every one of his other albums has to keep you going back. Of the slow jamz, I enjoy the ridiculously metaphorical 'Sex Planet' and 'Leave Your Name', but nothing is on the level of his previous or future work. The Virginia Tech Tribute track, 'Rise Up', is another favourite as I'm a sucker for these type of uplifting tracks from Kells - It's much like many of the tracks that made up the 'U Saved Me' disc. Everything is solid-good, hence the reasonable rating, but I'd say that almost every other R. Kelly album has received more air time from me. 3.5-3 / 5 Best Tracks: Double Up, Leave Your Name, I'm a Flirt Remix, Sex Planet, Rise Up