Her decade-long career has been filled with film flops, failed romances and albums that vainly grasp for Christina's range and Britney's sex appeal (see "Irresistible," her homage to Spears' vinyl pants). But digging into her country roots for Do You Know is the most strong-footed move that Jessica Simpson — or her ever-present dad-ager, Joe — has ever made. While she begs for a booty call on the twangy single "Come on Over," she leaves the real seduction to her restrained delivery and the album's crisp melodies. (On the cover, she's posed with her arms and legs defensively folded over her crotch like police tape.) Chipper mandolins coax along the gentle "Pray Out Loud," and fingerpicked guitars make room for blasts of Hammond organ on "You're My Sunday" — an inspiring lift befitting its pause-to-reflect lyrics. "When I Loved You Like That" is a tasteful look at lost love that makes her roller jam "A Public Affair" seem like a humiliating old yearbook photo. And while a better country vocalist could have sung the hell out of the domestic-violence-themed "Remember That," Simpson's tender voice exudes the realism of a gal who's taken a few knocks in her day.

“Is It True”

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."