(FORTUNE Magazine) – J-Live All of the Above Coup d'Etat Somebody notify the patent office. There are so many inventions flying around here that J-Live seems to be minting a new microgenre of hip-hop with every other track. From the chugging dub-rap of "Satisfied?" to the chiming lounge-hop of "A Charmed Life," All of the Above is a blueprint for better grooves.

Mull Historical Society Loss XL Recordings "Watching Xanadu" is the great summer single you won't hear on the radio. (Imagine the Beach Boys backed by Gary Numan in a soaring Glasgow cathedral.) Colin MacIntyre, the ringmaster of Scotland's MHS, subscribes to the wedding-cake theory of pop: He wants it big, layered, gooey, and garish.

Solomon Burke Don't Give Up on Me Fat Possum Records The facts: (1) Solomon Burke, a colossus of American soul. (2) New songs by Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, and Bob Dylan. (3) Raw, organ-soaked production that brings to mind a gospel brunch with the Almighty Himself. This is more than a comeback. This is music that could save your life.

Susana Baca Espiritu Vivo Luaka Bop People call Susana Baca the queen of Afro-Peruvian music, but that doesn't really convey what her music sounds like. It's not bland world-beat wallpaper. It's eerie stuff (recorded in New York City right after Sept. 11), with just enough off-kilter piquancy to keep her out of regular rotation at Pottery Barn.

The Psychedelic Furs Forever Now Columbia/Legacy Yeah, Richard Butler was a Breakfast Club knockoff of Johnny Rotten. But on the Furs' 1982 breakthrough, freshly reissued in all its synthed-out splendor, everything clicked into place: huuuge choruses, thwacking snares, Butler's dismissive sneer. It's topped off by "Love My Way," a contender for Best New Wave Song Ever.