Unpredictable (J, 2005) by Jamie Foxx

I was actually a little disappointed with Unpredictable.  Considering Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for playing Ray Charles, I expected more sophistication.  The actual singing is good and the production is solid.  But the content is every cliche that Hip-Hop and contemporary R&B had fed into for the past fifteen years.  In a nut shell, Ludacris' guest verse on "Unpredictable" is the album's best moment.

Spirit (J, 2007) by Leona Lewis

The album has a very generic pop sound for its more upbeat, radio-friendly material.  In fact, it is very paint-by-numbers.  However, Leona's voice is amazing.  It is reminiscent of Mariah Carey at the beginning of her career- a gifted, young woman who makes pop music and adult contemporary material, then puts it all on one album.  My favorite songs are the latter.  If someone has a great voice, I'd rather concentrate on that than be distracted by a catchy beat.  "Yesterday", an album highlight for me, finds Leona singing about how no matter what life holds for love in the future, nothing can take away what was had in the past.  It's a great thought, and it definitely applied to me at the time that I first heard the record in the summer of 2008.