CRITIC'S CHOICE
Let's just put it right out there: You will be blown away by the new Neil Diamond CD. You will listen to it as if you have never heard him before. And in a way, that will be right, because this is not the same Neil Diamond who has been the ultimate Las Vegas showman in all his sequined, jumpsuited glory for as long as you can remember. This newly unearthed Diamond has boldly ditched the glitz for a stunningly stripped-down affair that, at 64, makes him the comeback kid of the year. The simply titled 12 Songs puts the focus squarely on the singer and Hall of Fame songwriter, who plays acoustic guitar on a recording for the first time in nearly four decades. Helping guide Diamond through these starkly intimate settings, with touches of country, jazz, gospel and Tin Pan Alley pop, is producer Rick Rubin, best known for his work in hip-hop and hard rock. But Rubin pulled off a similar late-career resurrection with Johnny Cash, and he gets the same emotional honesty out of Diamond. On powerful, deeply personal ballads like "Hell Yeah" ("This crazy life around me, it confuses and confounds me/ But it's all the life I've got until I die") and the hauntingly direct "Face Me," he really turns on his heartlight.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Face Me"
POP
Who We Are
Unlike TRL darlings Hilary Duff, Lindsay Lohan and Ashlee Simpson, Hope Partlow didn't arrive on the teen-pop scene riding the coat-tails of a television show, a movie career or a famous sister. The 17-year-old Tennessee native gets by on her own talent on a winning debut that shows real hope for the genre. From the gleaming guitar pop of the title track, a self-affirming anthem for the Seventeen set, to the tender country strains of the ballad "Let Me Try," the pure-voiced Partlow radiates a warm appeal. Her label, Virgin Records, is clearly a big believer in her; she got Grammy-winning producer Matt Serletic (Matchbox Twenty), then the chairman of the company, to get behind the boards for her CD, and he's rounded up a sweet set of songs that will make Hilary, Lindsay and Ashlee jealous.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "Sick Inside"
R&B
Flo'Ology
Floetry—the London duo of singer Marsha Ambrosius and spoken-word artist Natalie Stewart—seems determined to play their album titles off of their name (which rhymes with "poetry"). They dubbed their gold 2002 debut Floetic and their 2003 concert disc Floacism 'Live.' But their nomenclature and neo-soul stylings on the awkwardly named Flo'Ology—which sounds like something you'd study in physics class—lack the freshness they once had. Although they smoothly blend R&B, jazz and hip-hop on cuts like "SupaStar," there's a little too much flow between their sensual slow jams and midtempo grooves: Nothing much really stands out.
DOWNLOAD THIS: "SupaStar"
Alan Jackson
Toby Keith [Tick Mark]
Brad Paisley
Keith Urban
Postmodern cowboy Keith has cut himself out from the herd.
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Toby Keith "As Good As I Once Was" [Tick Mark]
Sugarland "Baby Girl"
Rascal Flatts "Bless the Broken Road"
Lee Ann Womack "I May Hate Myself in the Morning"
Keith exercises one of his strong points: his sense of humor.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
The 39th annual Country Music Association Awards will air live from New York City Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. Here's who we'd like to see lasso the top trophies.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Kenny Chesney Alan Jackson Toby Keith [PEOPLE's pick] Brad Paisley Keith Urban Postmodern cowboy Keith has cut himself out from the herd.
SINGLE OF THE YEAR Brad Paisley “Alcohol” Toby Keith “As Good As I Once Was” [PEOPLE's pick] Sugarland “Baby Girl” Rascal Flatts “Bless the Broken Road” Lee Ann Womack “I May Hate Myself in the Morning” Keith exercises one of his strong points: his sense of humor.
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Kenny Chesney Alan Jackson [PEOPLE's pick] Brad Paisley George Strait Keith Urban At 47, Nashville veteran Jackson is moving gracefully into old-lion status, capitalizing on his age and experience rather than denying it.
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR Sara Evans Alison Krauss Martina McBride Gretchen Wilson [PEOPLE's pick] Lee Ann Womack In a too-often overproduced world, Wilson remains an authentic breath of fresh air.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Keith Urban Be Here Rascal Flatts Feels Like Today Tim McGraw Live Like You Were Dying [PEOPLE's pick]] Lee Ann Womack There's More Where That Came From George Strait Somewhere Down in Texas McGraw's was the most vital.
Alison Krauss
Martina McBride
Gretchen Wilson [Tick Mark]
Lee Ann Womack
In a too-often overproduced world, Wilson remains an authentic breath of fresh air.
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Be Here
Feels Like Today
Live Like You Were Dying [Tick Mark]
There's More Where That Came From
Somewhere Down in Texas
McGraw's was the most vital.
RECENT RAVES
Martina McBride, Timeless McBride proves worthy of country classics by the likes of Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard.
Jamie Cullum, Catching Tales
On a swinging jazz-pop disc, this old-school piano man continues to put a new twentysomething spin on the cabaret style of the Sinatra set.
Depeche Mode, Playing the Angel
With moody gems like "Precious" and the glorious, gothy ballad "Damaged People," the latest from these synth-pop pioneers is cause for black celebration.
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
