Call Alicia Keys old-fashioned – she does begin her fifth studio album with an instrumental that flaunts her classical piano training. But she's an iconoclast, not an anachronist, spicing her flavorful midtempo songs and gusty inspirational ballads with odd chords, unexpected melodic twists, and rock and reggae flourishes. Even radio-ready tracks like "New Day," with its rugged, martial beat from Dr. Dre and husband Swizz Beatz, and the Nicki Minaj-abetted power-ballad title cut, avoid trendy production. Instead, she follows her muse, and foregrounds the tunes. The result is both her catchiest and subtlest album yet – and one of the best R&B records of 2012. 

Listen to 'Girl On Fire'

“Tonight's the Night”

The lead cut and title track from this girl group's debut album, "Tonight's the Night" was written by 19-year-old bandmember Shirley Owens, who sings lead, and producer Luther Dixon. The band from Passaic, New Jersey met in high school, first calling themselves the Pequellos. The song's frank thoughts about sexual and emotional surrender was racy for the time, but that didn't stop the Chiffons from cutting a similar version immediately after the original came out. "We were the first female group to write some of our own material," band member Beverly Lee recalls. "We did have some say-so in our writing."