Said I'm 'So Sick' of Bad R&B

So about two weeks ago I decided to download, legally, Ne-Yo's new album, In My Own Words. Now, anybody who knows me knows that I'm a hardcore R&B, and knows there haven't been too many truly solid R&B albums since I graduated from high school (eight years ago, I'm old as hell).

The best one: Usher's Confessions. It was a pure R&B sound that you could feel at your core. Well this album won't sell 8 million copies, but In My Own Words is one of the best pure R&B albums I've heard in the last 20 years.

It's not Neo-soul - per Musiq Soulchild's Aijuswanaseing. It's not Soul - per John Legend's Get Lifted. It's Rhythm & Blues, and you just happen to feel it in your soul because you can relate to the situations explained by Ne-Yo, who also wrote Mario's hit Let Me Love You. It's a sound that's been missing from the music scene for quite some time.

What it really is, is the songwriting. John Legend & Brian McKnight have it. So does Mariah Carey, but few else do. Ne-Yo is one the chosen, and you'll soon understand.

So Sick is the album's hook song, and it's on point. But it has more to offer, and you'll understand when you hear it. For your pleasure, I've decided to list my favorite R&B/Neosoul/Soul albums in order of listening preference and quality. ... Enjoy, and be critical ... don't trip either, some of the album not in the top 20 are out because I only allotted what I feel is the best album of the artist into the top 20, but McKnight and co. have a few albums in the top.

Ne-Yo - In My Words
Brian McKnight - Anytime
Brian McKnight - U-Turn
Justin Timberlake - Justified
R. Kelly - Happy People
Alicia Keys - Songs in A Minor
Boyz II Men - Cooleyhighharmony
Donell Jones - Where I Wanna Be
Tweet - Southern Hummingbird
Toni Braxton - Secrets
R. Kelly - Chocolate Factory
Eric Benet - Tru To Myself

20. Aaliyah - Aaliyah - Babygirl gave us her best album just before she passed on.
19. Glenn Lewis - World Outside My Window - Again, the words and stories are what makes this album.
18. Raphael Saadiq - Ray Ray - Nobody knows this album, but it's the shit.
17. Mariah Carey - The Emancipation of Mimi - Smooth start, nosedives toward the end.
16. Eric Benet - A Day In the Life - Would be higher if he wasn't the infidel. You can't make love songs and then cheat on Halle Berry, and still garner much clout. Now, if he wrote an album about cheating on Halle, it might do as well as Confessions on Billboard and in this list. Sad, I know.
15. Toni Braxton - Toni Braxton - Voice that couldn't be measured with Babyface at the pen - pure elegance.
14. Dave Hollister - Chicago '85: The Movie - You want Love Jones real soundtrack? this is it.
13. Joe - All That I Am - Gripping tale of love stories.
12. R. Kelly - 12 Play - The introduction of the sexual ballads (there were hints that he was freaky early on ... think Bump & Grind).
11. Alicia Keys - The Diary of Alicia Keys - Another great song writer.
10. Usher - Confessions - Our generations Michael? Let just hope he doesn't go Wacko like Jacko.
9. Boyz II Men - II - Best thing to come from the New Jack Swing revolution, a real quartet with an engaging sound.
8. Mary J. Blige - Share My World - the Queen of Hip Hop Soul shared her best with us long ago.
7. D'Angelo - Brown Sugar - Sly ... Wish he hadn't lost it.
6. Jill Scott - Beautifully Human: Words And Sounds, Vol. 2 - Second smoothest album on the list.
5. Musiq Soulchild - Aijuswanaseing - Love is one of the best five songs on any album on this list.
4. Maxwell - Urban Hang Suite - Smoothest album on the list.
3. Brian McKnight - I Remember You - This Man is Genius.
2. John Legend - Get Lifted - Can you believe dude was turned away by every major record label before Kanye came through?
1. Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - one of the greatest sounds of the 20th Century.