Justin Timberlake

JT is no Al Green (or even D'Angelo), but his vocal performance on Futuresex is panting and seductive. But more than just the usual collection of hyper-sexualized pop songs, this is a gorgeous, unified album and producer Timbaland deserves much of the credit. His rhythms-on-'roids backdrops are crunchy and addictive, but they're also nuanced enough so that each track has a hidden treasure -- a rattling tabla here, a twisting violin quote there and sudden outbursts of glitch synths throughout. If this indeed is the future of pop, then it's cause for celebration.