It's impossible not to root for Jill Scott. The 'Illa- delphian R&B vet is a self-described "grande dame queen beast" in a genre of models, putting her often-messy personal struggles right up front. The Light of the Sun, Scott's first disc since splitting up with her (now-ex) drummer, recalls that relationship with jazzy, good-natured candor on "Quick." Elsewhere, Scott assays life back on the market in her trademark warm and inviting, if rarely thrilling, neo-soul style – from the old-school hip-hop jam "Shame," which excoriates a man who didn't want her, to the jazz poem "Womanifesto," an ode to her "strong legs that stroll off the 33 bus" and desire for "the rhythm of my space." Scott proves it's a nice place to spend time.

Listen to "Hear My Call":

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“Help Me”

Joni Mitchell wrote and recorded this song for her album Court and Spark, but she had to switch from her regular band to make the song sound exactly the way she wanted. "I had attempted to play my music with rock & roll players," she told Rolling Stone. "They’d laugh, 'Awww, isn't that cute? She's trying to teach us how to play.'" Mitchell switched to a jazz band, Tom Scott’s L.A. Express, and scored the biggest hit of her career in the process.