(FORTUNE Magazine) – Shuggie Otis Inspiration Information Luaka Bop Never mind that this buried treasure of slinky soul was originally released in 1974, it's hands down the best R&B album of 2001. Otis' soaring falsetto smacks of Bill Withers, only sweeter; his funky slow-jams call up Steely Dan, but greasier. Buy this CD right now...before it disappears for another 27 years.

Whiskeytown Pneumonia Lost Highway Recorded three years ago and regarded as a lost classic by the alt-country cognoscenti, Whiskeytown's third and last album finally emerges from the mothballs. Ex-Replacement Tommy Stinson lends his bratty swagger to the band's signature brand of boozy honky-tonk melancholy. A brilliantly bittersweet epitaph.

The Black Crowes Lions V2 Tarred at the beginning of their careers as stoned Stones wannabes, the Crowes sound as if they're having another identity crisis: When they're on, their cocky Southern-fried rock is pure power-chord adrenaline; when they're not, they sound like a so-so Zeppelin cover band.

The Blind Boys of Alabama Spirit of the Century RealWorld Like Robert Duvall's backwoods preacher in The Apostle, the Blind Boys--now in their eighth decade--are a gospel throwback to America's AM-brimstone past. Their haunting version of "Amazing Grace" set to the tune of "House of the Rising Sun" is like a duet between sin and redemption.

R.E.M. Reveal Warner Bros. With pop tarts and pretty boys ruling the charts, sometimes it feels like the end of the world as we know it. Sadly, the burden of being rock's saviors may have been too much for Michael Stipe & Co. There are a few moody gems here, but you have to sift through chintzy, synth-heavy throwaways to enjoy them.