If LaMontagne sounds congested on his third album, there's a reason: A head cold descended on the übersensitive troubadour as he was about to lay down vocals. "I'll always hear that my voice isn't as good as it could have been," he says of the album, whose wintry, orchestrated ballads recall Nick Drake. The disc also reveals an unexpected sense of humor in "Meg White," an ode to the female Stripe. "I can only hope," he says, "that she doesn't think it's ridiculous."

Click here to listen to "You Are The Best Thing" in full

Check out all of the albums in the 2008 Fall Music Preview