Coldplay create sparse, emotional soundscapes, dripping with melancholy. The London-based quartet is singer Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion. Their debut album, Parachutes, was released in late 2000 in the U.S., and they quickly became a sensation. The record went No. 1 in the U.K. charts and won Best Alternative Music Album at the 2002 Grammys. Marked by Martin's falsetto-happy vocals, songs like "Yellow" and "Shiver" employ stop/start dynamics that allow serene verses to build to a crescendo, centering on the well-trodden theme of love. Sophomore effort A Rush of Blood to the Head took home two Grammys and earned a spot on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. Hits "Clocks" and "In My Place" were wistful and romantic, labeled by some as radio-friendly Radiohead. The group's third album, XandY, became the best-selling album of 2005, and "Speed of Sound" topped the year's charts worldwide. After conquering the charts and the Grammys, Coldplay shifted their focus from chart-topping anthems to a more experimental approach for their fourth album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends (which nevertheless topped charts upon its release). With ambient maestro Brian Eno co-producing, the 2008 album was an intriguing progression for the band, featuring a mix of global influences, classical strings, heavy piano and glistening bits of dreamy electronics. - DSHUMATE more...

British soul-pop chanteuse Adele (nee Adele Laurie Blue Adkins) is a stunning young talent with a huge voice. After she recorded a few songs, a friend set up a MySpace page for her in early 2005; record execs discovered her there in their hunt for the "next Lily Allen." After signing to XL, she suffered from a terribly ill-timed case of writer's block -- that is until she fell in and out of love. A breakup opened the floodgates of emotion and creativity, resulting in her debut album 19. Inspired by great soul dames like Etta James and Billie Holiday and other singers such as Bjork, Jeff Buckley, Dusty Springfield and Jill Scott, Adele's sense of staggering, heartbreaking honesty and artistry are evidence of her superwoman resilience and everywoman experiences. - ABRUNO more...

A biracial, half-Canadian, half-American heartthrob offspring of a multi-generational musical family who first shot to fame in the early '00s playing an injured high school basketballer on TV's Degrassi: The Next Generation, the rapper born Aubrey Drake Graham is an unlikely candidate to serve as hip-hop's latest great hope. But that's what he's been shaking out as, ever since his self-released 2007 mix tape, Comeback Season, brought him to the attention of Lil Wayne, the first of several superstars he has managed to collaborate with before even releasing a debut album. The list now includes Kanye West, Mary J. Blige and others, and it shows no signs of letting up, especially given Drake's starring role in two of 2009's more inescapable summer hip-hop singles: his own "Best I Ever Had" and Young Money Entertainment's "Every Girl." As with the early Kanye, Drake's persona bridges the gap between street smarts and backpacker emo; it's clear, too, that he can sing as nimbly as he raps. Talk about a future multi-threat; he doesn't even need to cross over to acting, because he's already been there. In 2010, Drake certified his superstar status with Thank Me Later, one of the year's biggest sellers. - CEDDY more...

Lana Del Rey plays the seductress lusting after bling and bad boys. She purrs and pouts over big strings and trip-hop beats. - SBENSON more...

Talent and a dose of good luck got Barbados-born Rihanna signed to Def Jam when she was 16 years old. She was discovered by producer Evan Rogers during his island visit in 2003, and went on to impress Def Jam CEO Jay-Z so much that he grabbed her for a multi-album contract. The singer's first single, "Pon de Replay," was released in June 2005, with the full album Music of the Sun dropping a month later. But her big break came in 2006 with the release of the single "S.O.S." and the subsequent album A Girl Like Me. The single, which sampled Soft Cell's "Tainted Love," was one of the most critically acclaimed and commercially popular songs of that year. Though Rihanna had basically moved away from dancehall, she was moving toward a new aesthetic that married R&B, synth-pop and hip-hop. She continued in this direction with 2007's Good Girl Gone Bad, which featured the infectious singles "Umbrella" and "Shut Up and Drive." In early 2009, she was assaulted by then-boyfriend Chris Brown en route to a pre-Grammys party; that November, she released Rated R, a highly personal album with an unmistakable darkness. The next year, she issued her fifth album, Loud. - SCHENNAULT more...

One of hip-hop's biggest superstars, Brooklyn's Jay-Z is among the few artists who have garnered praise from underground heads and fans of the pop charts alike. His ultra-danceable tracks, complex yet casual flow, and penchant for the high life have influenced countless others (for better and for worse) while maintaining the East Coast club thug sound. Jigga (one of his many nicknames) is practically synonymous with success, releasing back to back multiplatinum albums and flashing more diamonds than Liberace. His ability to move a crowd and get them singing along is uncanny, and his popularity shows no signs of waning. If you dig iced-out street stories you can dance to, it doesn't get any better than Jay Hova. - BWINNING more...

One of Southern rap's most enduring and talented emcees, New Orleans' Lil Wayne began rapping at the tender age of 11. By the time he was 15, he'd linked up with Juvenile, Turk and B.G. and formed the immensely popular Hot Boys group on Cash Money Records. Though the emcees showed promise, many listeners focused on the post-Bounce production of Mannie Fresh, and regarded Wayne as a fresh-faced vehicle for the producer. But Wayne went solo in 1999 with Tha Block Is Hot. His raps focus on youthful rebellion, New Orleans style -- crack, girls and turf supremacy are paramount. Lights Out, released in 2000, and 2002's 500 Degreez established Wayne as a true force in a shifting hip-hop landscape. With 2004's Tha Carter and its 2005 follow-up, Tha Carter II, he made a case for himself as the South's preeminent rapper, with a supple flow, witty lyrics and ample charisma. He wrapped up the trilogy with 2008's Tha Carter III, featuring the inescapable hit "Lollipop," and continued to expand his horizons across mixtapes, the rock-leaning single "Prom Queen" and even a performance alongside Kid Rock at the Country Music Awards. Now a full-fledged pop star, he dabbled in rock music for 2010's Rebirth, while nurturing his Young Money Entertainment clique and rising stars like Drake, Nicki Minaj and Tyga. - SCHENNAULT more...

Eminem crashed the mainstream in the late '90s. With super-producer Dr. Dre behind the boards, the Detroit emcee quickly became a cultural touchstone. Combining cartoonish rage, ear-tickling beats, a distinct flow and gushing rhyme skills, he drew the praise of critics and the scorn of rap-hating political interests. His second album was darker, loaded with moody singles "Stan" and "The Way I Am." Eminem's private life soon mirrored his bad-boy image, and he found himself getting divorced, sued by his mom and arrested for weapons violations. After teaming up with Elton John at the 2001 Grammy Awards (to quiet the resounding charges of homophobia), he went to work on the semi-autobiographical film 8 Mile. Eminem's third record, The Eminem Show, dropped in the summer of 2002. Encore followed in 2004. It took Eminem five years to complete a follow-up. The 30-something was busy bouncing in and out of rehab and trying to decide whether or not to rekindle a relationship with longtime girlfriend Kim. Out in 2009, Relapse was as disturbing as anything he'd released, and recast the pop culture spotlight on the bratty kid from Detroit. The next year, he released another chart-topper, Recovery. - SCHENNAULT more...

Have you ever been listening to Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and thought, "You know what would sound really freaking awesome? This song, performed in multi-part choreography by a high school glee club"? Well, friend, 2009 was your lucky year, then. Fox premiered Glee, its musical-comedy about a high school glee club full of underdogs and misfits with fabulous voices and their plucky Spanish teacher leader (played by musical theater actor Matthew Morrison). Then, the network quickly began an unconventional marketing campaign: they started releasing the cast's "Glee-ful" pop covers as singles -- and it worked. One after another, the slick, show choir versions of "Don't Stop Believin,'" Kanye West's "Gold Digger," Rihanna's "Take a Bow," Heart's "Alone" and Queen's "Somebody to Love" made their way onto the pop charts. While the camptastic aesthetic is certainly part of the appeal, most of the credit goes to the talented cast, which includes musical theater vet Lea Michele as an uber-ambitious social pariah/would-be star with killer pipes, Cory Monteith as the sweet but clueless popular jock/Journey fan and the inimitable Jane Lynch as a Machiavellian cheerleading coach. - RDEVITT more...

With her homespun charm, curly golden locks, and prodigious gift for songwriting, Taylor Swift is one of the youngest Nashville newcomers to capture a national audience in years. When she was just 16, Swift's first big single, "Tim McGraw," peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard country chart and held a spot in the top 10 for months. On the single's success, Swift joined the ranks of teenage country queens like Tanya Tucker, Marie Osmond and LeAnn Rimes, who all charted as teenagers. Unlike those young chart-toppers, Swift wrote the song herself. Born in Wyomissing, Penn., in 1989, Swift began playing guitar at 12, and moved outside of Nashville with her family as a teen, and debuted at the Bluebird Cafe famed songwriter showcase. Her self-titled debut album, issued in October 2006, spawned a handful of radio hits such as "Tim McGraw," "Our Song" and "Picture to Burn," all of which propelled Taylor Swift to triple-platinum status. Not bad for a beginner! Preceded by the hit "Love Story," Swift's sophomore effort, Fearless, was released in November 2008. - NCAVALIERI more...

One of the few megastars only needing a single name, Madonna's brand of dance pop began as the purest of bubblegum but has become increasingly sophisticated during the course of a career now in its third decade. Her influence has lessened a bit since the multimedia dynasty she lorded over in the 1980s and early '90s, partly because she's been busy raising children and partly because the focus of dance-oriented music has radically shifted in the years between Bedtime Stories (1994) and Confessions On A Dance Floor (2005). However her clubbing antennae remain finely tuned, and each subsequent release serves less as an indication of her musical development and more her ability to latch onto producer/writers of the moment. This, and her constant image-massaging to remain relevant to the dance community, allows a mother in her early forties to get away with acting like a club kitten without too much dissent, even less so with her triumphant 2005 return to form. A ruthless careerist and tougher than most of us, she does tend to show weakness with her lyrics, which at their best are simple ditties and at their worst just plain embarrassing. A catchy tune is usually there to save the day, however, and perhaps this is why she has failed to make it in the acting world -- she needs the music to shield her inability to deliver a really good line. And what music -- hit after hit, some still working a dancefloor just as effectively 20 years after initial release. Few other artists in the dance pop and electronica world show such staying power, and few receive such goodwill from their fan base, no matter which upheavals she drags them through as she hops and skips from fad to fad, laughing all the way to the bank. - NBAKER more...

LMFAO's M.O. is encoded in the Los Angeles duo's very name, and its music is made to match: loud, brash and cheerfully irreverent. Dirty South-derived hip-hop forms the core of their sound, with its booming 808 bass drums and ravey synth stabs, but if these guys are O.G., it's more like Original Goofball, gleefully tweaking convention with a cartoonish fusion of crunk and nu-electro. Members Sky Blu and Redfoo (Sky's uncle) got their start DJing a mixture of commercial hip-hop and club music, and soon were producing their own beats to play out. After soaking up the sun at the South Beach dance-music festival Winter Music Conference, they returned to L.A. and banged out "I'm in Miami Bitch," a tongue-in-cheek ode to the good life that racked up 19 million MySpace plays (and counting). In 2009, Interscope released their debut album, the self-explanatory Party Rock. - PSHERBURNE more...

Beyonce Knowles, the leader of Destiny's Child, always knew she wanted to be a star. She formed the first incarnation of Destiny's Child in 1990 -- when she was 9 years old. By 2001, the group began to dissolve. Knowles nabbed a lead role in Mike Myers' Austin Powers: Goldmember; an appearance in MTV's Carmen: A Hip Hopera cemented her reputation as a formidable entertainer. Her solo debut, Dangerously in Love, came out in 2003. The first single, "Crazy in Love," was a duet with beau Jay-Z that zoomed to the top of the charts. B'Day, her stunning 2006 sophomore turn, featured hits like "Deja Vu" and "Ring the Alarm." Later that year, Beyonce starred as Deena Jones in the Oscar-winning movie musical Dreamgirls. In 2007, Beyonce made a Latin-crossover attempt, dueting with Shakira on "Beautiful Liar" and releasing a deluxe edition of B'Day, featuring "Amor Gitano" with Mexican crooner Alejandro Fernandez and a Spanish version of the anthem "Irreplaceable." For her third studio album, I Am ... Sasha Fierce, Beyonce split herself into two personae -- the tender, traditional Beyonce and the club diva Sasha Fierce. - LRYAN more...

The key to Maroon 5's chart domination is an unvarying torrent of broadly palatable blue-eyed soul, but the band's story is ultimately one of chameleonic transformations. Members of the group first met at a private junior high in the L.A. 'burbs in the early '90s, where they formed a group called Kara's Flowers to emulate the grungy pop that then ruled the airwaves. Although they landed a major deal while most of the group was still in high school, by the late '90s the band was dropped. Two years later, singer Adam Levine and company surfaced on the other side of an immense musical awakening, ditching the barn-big guitars and chugging riffs for a style of RnB-infused pop marked by Levine's sassy falsetto. They got some snappy duds, adopted the Maroon 5 moniker, added guitar ringer James Valentine and hit pay dirt. Their 2002 debut, Songs About Jane, started slow, but eventually infected the Top 40 with one hit after the next, making the group a staple of the FM airwaves. Jane was followed by a pair of live recordings, but a proper sophomore release didn't come until 2007's blockbusting It Won't Be Soon Before Long. - NCAVALIERI more...

Raised on a musical diet of Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, Lady Gaga brings a sense of theatrical fashion and attitude to her dance-inspired, electro-rock performances. Named after Queen's "Radio Gaga," the pop fashionista took the fast lane to success, starting at age four when she learned to play piano by ear. At 14, she began performing at open-mic nights in and around New York City's Lower East Side. After graduating from Convent of the Sacred Heart school (the elite private institution Paris Hilton attended), Gaga earned a coveted spot at the famed Tisch School of the Arts. Soon after, she started writing songs for the Pussycat Dolls, and at age 20, she was signed to Interscope Records. In 2009, she became one of pop culture's most ubiquitous figures, with the songs "Just Dance" and "Pokerface" dominating the pop charts and her public antics (Kermit dresses! A possible penis?) dominating discussions from TMZ to the blogosphere. Though Gaga's 2009 tour with Kanye West was cancelled, the fact that she was the one to call it off only confirmed her status as one of pop's reigning divas. - JSANCHEZ more...

The first-ever American Idol, Kelly Clarkson won over America with her soulful voice, bubbly personality and "small-town girl makes it big" story. Before Idol, the native Texan had made a dismal run at Hollywood, and after she hightailed it back to Burleson, her friends convinced her to audition for the competition. The show launched Clarkson, and her debut album proved that America had voted correctly. "A Moment Like This" was a colossal hit, and the album went multiplatinum, winning Clarkson her first Grammy (for "Miss Independent"). On second album Breakaway, Clarkson distanced herself from Idol's ickier aspects (From Justin to Kelly, anyone?) and went off in a new direction: adult-approved rocker chick. She then released My December in 2007. Co-written by Clarkson, the album is a more honest reflection of the A.I. heroine. In fact, RCA tycoon Clive Davis deemed it too negative and offered her $10 million to scratch some of the songs. Clarkson refused the offer and held her ground. Her next two albums, 2009's All I Ever Wanted and 2011's disco-fueled Stronger, lightened up with the pop touch that made fans fall in love with her in the first place. - RDEVITT more...

Since just about every human on the planet seems to own Legend, it's hardly necessary to describe the King of Reggae's music. Marley's style developed early under the tutelage of Lee Perry, who influenced Marley's phrasing. His voice graced early Ska, Rock Steady and Reggae recordings, but many believe that the time he spent backed by fellow Wailers Peter Tosh and Bunny Livingston was the most artistically satisfying of his career. The varied personal styles that the trio brought to recording sessions and live performances represented the culmination of Jamaican trio-style singing. Marley's soulful vocal leads were supported by Tosh's deep, almost angry diatribes, while Livingston (who later changed his name to Bunny Wailer) provided balancing high harmonies. The group added an R&B influence to slowed-down Ska, using vocal interplay similar to that of U.S. Doo-Wop and Soul acts. When backed by the Upsetters, one of Jamaica's hottest studio bands, the Wailers combined a tight vocal unit with exceptional rhythmic underpinning. That combination was responsible for Marley's first international smash Catch a Fire, as well as the brilliant, Lee Perry-produced African Herbsman. Later, Marley utilized female singers in the I-Threes when Peter and Bunny left to pursue solo careers. It took Eric Clapton's chart-topping success with "I Shot the Sheriff" to introduce Marley's music to a wide audience in the U.S., but today his sound is a bona fide international phenomenon. Biting lyrics coated in sugary-sweet melodies made Marley a genuine political force who delivered his messages in upbeat, rhythmic vehicles. His prophetic wails still ring true; his expansive music remains powerful and virtuosic. We're left wondering why we had to lose the Caribbean negus at such a young age. - JTERRY more...

Sonny Moore started out as the frontman for Epitaph-signed L.A. hardcore outfit From First to Last, but ravers know him best for the explosive, abrasive music he records as Skrillex. While he's sometimes affiliated with dubstep's wing of American upstarts, his music has little in common with the spacious, dubwise beats of London's basement raves; stuffed with careening synthesizers, industrial-strength drums and helter-skelter digital effects, it favors jagged edges over meditative bass. These 4/4 beats and cascading riffs have just as much to do with trance and electro-house, so it's no surprise that Deadmau5's Mau5trap label gave Skrillex his first big exposure. But ultimately, pigeonholing him feels beside the point; on tour and on record, Moore has a massive, growing draw among American fans of electronic dance music. While a divisive figure for genre purists, he's also a good barometer of EDM's rapidly evolving Stateside tastes. - PSHERBURNE more...

Naysayers predicted that this whole rap-rock thing would be dying a slow, silent death right about now, but it seems to be breathing just fine without needing to come up for air. Linkin Park are one of the most successful guitar-swinging, lyric-dropping scratch wizards to simultaneously glorify the big riff while bowing down at the altar of hip-hop. In the course of a single song they let their guitars run amok, push plodding rhythms and growl like angry dogs roused from sleep -- all while dexterously zipping back and forth along record grooves. Linkin Park formed in 1996, but all the pieces didn't fall into place until 2000, when Warner Brothers released Hybrid Theory, dubbed after the band's original name. Thanks to "In the End," the album was a massive hit and the second single, "Crawling," won them a Grammy for "Best Hard Rock Performance." Despite a somewhat cool reception from anyone over the age of 13, Linkin Park claimed a spot at the very top of the heap in the early 2000s nu-metal arena. They have since released an album of Hybrid Theory remixes, a studio album and a live album chronicling their extensive tours. A single called "Numb/Encore," featuring a collaboration with rapper Jay-Z, was released in 2004; the EP it was taken from, Collision Course, and single hit No. 1, and firmly reset Linkin Park's place at the top of the charts. In 2005 the band concentrated on a number of relief efforts to aid victims of the Southeast Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina. MC Mike Shinoda splintered off to work on his solo project, a hip-hop group called Fort Minor. The band released Minutes to Midnight in 2007, another chart-topper that scaled back the rapping in favor of a more straight forward arena-friendly rock sound; the live album Road to Revolution followed in 2008 and A Thousand Suns in 2010. - MMCGUIRK more...

It doesn't really matter if Michael Jackson bullied the world's media into calling him the King of Pop in the early 1990s or if they just started using that sobriquet on their own. Either way, he earned it. Whether singing "I Want You Back" as the 11-year-old frontman of the Jackson 5, breaking the MTV color line with the explosive "Billie Jean" or defending the world's downtrodden and misunderstood (himself, that is), Jackson set the standard for pop singing, songwriting, dancing and, let's face it, weirdness for the better part of a quarter century. He came of age in the Jackson 5, then moonwalked out of the family's clutches and into his own universe with three groundbreaking albums made with producer Quincy Jones. Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad blended soul, funk and rock influences into a taut dance-pop that transformed the sound of radio for the rest of the century. Singers and producers from Madonna to Timbaland are still trying to catch up. Prosecutors and paparazzi have been playing catch-up, too, with some of Jackson's questionable life choices, and since the late 1990s, he has seemingly spent more time in the tabloids than on the pop charts. On June 25th, 2009, Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50. - MKARAS more...

You can't get much more English than a name like Florence Welch. Her powerful pipes plow through familiar Brit bases -- Joss Stone's neo-soul, P.J. Harvey's eerie rock, Kate Bush's artsy pop, Goldfrapp's flirty electro-pop. But the music of Florence & the Machine is far from derivative, thanks in part to the wealth of musicians Welch has recruited to back her up. Gathering an array of artists has allowed her to delve into various genres, from the garage rock of hit debut single "Kiss with a Fist" to soulful singer-songwriter material and even upbeat dance-pop. The rich combination proved successful as her 2009 debut, Lungs, quickly rose up charts around the world, including the U.S. Billboard 200. - SBENSON more...

Country trio Lady Antebellum fuse Southern rock, roots pop and Fleetwood Mac soft rock into a harmony-rich boy-girl sound. - LRYAN more...

Since the mid-'90s, Alberta's Nickelback (singer/guitarist Chad Kroeger, bassist Mike Kroeger, guitarist Ryan Peake and Daniel Adair, replacing original drummer Brandon Kroeger) have evolved from sounding like a Pearl Jam tribute band to becoming icons of radio-friendly, post-grunge modern rock. Nickelback's popularity first gathered steam with the single "Leader of Men" off their second self-released album, 1998's The State. The song was in heavy rotation on Canadian radio, and soon American label Roadrunner signed them (and reissued The State). They then toured with Creed, and in 2001, Silver Side Up yielded subsequent hits, such as "Someday." In 2005, Nickelback returned with All the Right Reasons, featuring members of ZZ Top and Pantera, which pushed them into contemporary heavy-rock territory and made them one of the decade's biggest bands in alt-rock, thanks to hits like "Photograph" and "Savin' Me." For 2008's Dark Horse, they brought in producer Mutt Lange (Back in Black, Pyromania) to add extra punch to their arena-rock anthems and power ballads. - ESHEA more...

One of the most successful pop personalities of the '00s, Chi-town producer/emcee Kanye West may be hip-hop's most unlikely superstar. After Jay-Z's The Blueprint dropped in 2001 with West productions "Izzo (H.O.V.A.)" and "Never Change," his patented chipmunk soul (sped-up soul loops for choruses; dramatic, sweeping strings) ushered in a new era of polished hip-hop formalism. It was a nice rejoinder to the bombast of Timbaland and the Neptunes. Many doubted that West could make the transition from producer to emcee; his flow was rigid compared to his Roc-A-Fella counterparts, and his middle-class perspective was the antithesis of their crack raps. But on his 2004 debut, College Dropout, West delivered one of the most thematically complex pop albums of the decade, alternately accepting and rejecting rap's conspicuous consumerism and reconciling his middle-class upbringing with hip-hop's more nihilistic archetypes. Subsequent albums documented West's ascension from quirky underdog to king of the hip-hop world, a position he continued to hold with 2008's mystifying 808s & Heartbreak, which brandished his sensitive heart on its Auto-Tuned sleeve, and 2010's acclaimed My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. - SCHENNAULT more...

Not too many people get more than one chance at breaking in the music industry, especially in the overly competitive and unforgiving realm of country music. But after getting dropped from two different labels, Jason Aldean was picked up by Broken Bow records. And it came at quite a crucial time in his life. He and his wife had a new baby, two car payments pending and a mortgage to pay. Not that he's in it for the money, but it sure didn't hurt to be given a third chance. And as the old cliche goes, the third time was the charm. Aldean's 2005 self-titled debut album was rich in twangy, rootsy rock and his songs meshed perfectly into Nashville's return to redneck pride and all things Dukes Of Hazzard. In 2007, Aldean released his sophomore effort, Relentless. Buoyed by the radio hit "Johnny Cash," the album was certified gold in record time. In 2008, he took part in CMT on Tour with Lady Antebellum and Eric Durrance. Aldean went back into the studio later that year to start work on his third release, Wide Open, which was released in 2009. Thanks in part to singles such as "Big Green Tractor," "Crazy Town" and "The Truth," Wide Open achieved platinum status. In 2010, Aldean returned with the rocking, My Kinda Party. - ESHEA more...

Initially viewed as a younger take on the music of Dave Matthews, John Mayer's earnest and earthy pop has grown in popularity and reputation since his 1999 debut. Mayer sings mellow pop songs in an expressive tenor voice, and is an assured, harmonically astute acoustic guitarist whose jazzy phrasing fills out his songs nicely. His 2001 sophomore album Room For Squares was a pleasant, non-abrasive pop album that launched him to major label success. While maintaining his commercial appeal, he's since expanded his musical styles, proving that he's a true crossover artist that effortlessly commands the blues guitar. Mayer has collaborated with such diverse talents as Common, Herbie Hancock, Kanye West and even comedian Dave Chappelle, and receiving nods from legends like B.B. King and Eric Clapton hasn't phased the star. His 2006 release Continuum reached platinum status and brought out Mayer's socially conscious side. - CLOWDERMILK more...

When you begin life impersonating musical royalty, becoming king of the charts one day yourself is only logical. OK, so most Elvis and Michael Jackson impersonators don't rise to the heights that Bruno Mars has. Then again, most of them probably don't have this singer/songwriter/producer's well-rounded talent or tenacity. Born Peter Hernandez in Waikiki, Hawaii, to a musical family (dad's a bandleader, mom's a singer), Mars moved to L.A. after high school to try his luck at a recording career. A fruitless tenure at Motown almost sent him packing back to Hawaii before songwriter Philip Lawrence talked him into writing and producing for others. As the Smeezingtons, the duo (along with Ari Levine) created massive hits like Flo Rida's "Right Round," Brandy's "Long Distance," Travie McCoy's "Billionaire" and B.o.B.'s "Nothin' on You" -- the final two of which featured Mars on guest vocals and finally began to garner some attention for his singing chops. Atlantic snapped up the pop whiz kid, releasing his hit single "Just the Way You Are" in July 2010, followed by Mars' debut full-length. - RDEVITT more...

The California Gurl first generated a heaping helping of online buzz in 2007 with "Ur So Gay," in which she accuses a disappointing boyfriend who "doesn't even like boys" of being, well, take a guess. Then, in 2008, she shot up the charts with the Sapphic sweet-talker "I Kissed a Girl." Kind of a surprising turn of events for the daughter of two pastors who wasn't allowed to listen to secular music as a kid and got her start in Christian music, releasing a 2001 album under then name Katy Hudson. Or maybe not -- if you believe the old saw about preacher's daughters and once you learn that Perry says her life changed when she discovered Queen as a teenager. By 2004, she'd worked with Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette) and the Matrix (Avril Lavigne), been signed to Columbia and been hailed by the likes of Blender as the Next Big Thing! But nothing really clicked until she released her debut, One of the Boys, on Capitol in 2008, followed by 2010's Teenage Dream. - RDEVITT more...

In an Ohio city renowned for its manufacturing of rubber and tires, it's fitting that one of Akron's greatest rock exports is a duo that plays bluesy bites of garage rock oozing with loads of blue-collar rawness. The Black Keys include singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, two college drop-outs who mowed lawns for a living before turning their love for Mississippi blues and noise rock into a lucrative music career. After Auerbach's band didn't show for a recording session in Carney's basement studio in 2001, the two began recording a demo of their own, which would lead to the release of debut album The Big Come Up. Almost instantly, the Keys were inundated with comparisons to the White Stripes, but their leaning toward traditional blues and Hendrix-ish psychedelia resulted in a less pop-oriented following. They went on to release Thickfreakness in 2003, Rubber Factory the following year and Magic Potion in 2006. Opting to finally ditch the basement for a professional studio in 2008, the two completed Attack & Release, a more polished yet experimentally enhanced album with the help of producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse. - SBENSON more...

Nicki Minaj captivated the music world before she even released an official album, landing magazine covers as well as collaborations with Usher, Mariah Carey, Ludacris and others. Such is the life of a protege of Lil Wayne, one of the biggest artists in popular music. But Minaj isn't a New Orleans rapper; she actually hails from Jamaica, Queens, and got her start on the Rotten Apple mixtape circuit. Lil Wayne discovered her and brought her into his ever-growing Young Money collective. She quickly stood out with a hypersexual, bi-curious persona, fantastic rhyme schemes and outlandish costumes that toyed with a "Barbie world" image. The 2009 group album We Are Young Money (and its accompanying hits like "BedRock") as well as spotlight-stealing guest verses for Ludacris ("My Chick Bad") and Usher ("Lil Freak") brought her national exposure. As the hype and controversy (including a "beef" with prototypical gangster mistress Lil' Kim) reached a fever pitch, Minaj released her first hit single, "Your Love." At the end of 2010 she released her debut album, Pink Friday. It quickly went platinum and launched hits including "Right Thru Me" and "Moment 4 Life." - MREEVES more...

With his handsome looks and slick, Michael Jackson-inspired dance moves, Chris Brown became one of the biggest R&B stars of the 2000s. He seemed very close to achieving pop mega-stardom -- until an ill-timed domestic abuse scandal nearly destroyed his career. Born in Virginia, Brown honed his rapping and singing skills as an adolescent. After his family moved to New York, a label bidding war ensued. Released on Jive Records in 2005, "Run It!" became the 16-year-old Brown's first No. 1 hit. His subsequent self-titled debut included two more Top 10 hits. He solidified his stardom with 2007's platinum Exclusive, which featured "Kiss Kiss," "With You" and "Forever." That same year, Brown got to show off his excellent krumping skills on Stomp the Yard, and he landed a role in This Christmas. But his high-profile romance with fellow "pop&B" star Rihanna ended in disaster when he assaulted her on the evening before the 2009 Grammy Awards. Lingering negative public opinion ensured that his third album, 2009's Graffiti, would be a flop. In 2010, Brown made an impressive comeback with "Deuces," and defying all odds, 2011's F.A.M.E. became his first No. 1 album. - MREEVES more...

It's hard to think of another artist who cares so little for or about pop music yet who has changed it, and influenced its practitioners, so profoundly as Leonard Cohen. One of the most original, compelling, and covered songwriters of the rock era, Leonard Cohen has slowly transitioned from a singer of elegantly spare folk dirges to a whisky-voiced smooth talker on elegantly spare electro-acoustic percolations. From the beginning, the smartly tailored Montreal native has seemed like an outsider and an elder statesman in the music world. A teenage flirtation with the beatnik jazz/folk scene led Cohen to a highly successful (but oddly forgotten) career as a countercultural poet and fiction writer. At the same time, singers started taking notice of Cohen's bohemian (but decidedly non-youth revolution) tunes and his most heralded composition, "Suzanne" was widely known before he even had a recording contract. In 1968, his striking debut album Songs of Leonard Cohen showcased "Suzanne" and nine other of his world-weary and bleak, yet highly romantic songs. The album wasn't a huge success but -- as with the Velvet Underground's debut record or Van Morrison's Astral Weeks -- a new cadre of rain-coated skeptics kept purchasing the album every year until it finally reached gold sales status. Each of the excellent collections leading up to 1975's Best of Leonard Cohen are filled with the tunesmith's circular guitar patterns and nicotine-stained tales of small hopes and shell-shocked heartbreaks. Songs such as "Bird On A Wire," "Famous Blue Raincoat" and "Chelsea Hotel" would've made his reputation for the rest of his life but Cohen was slowly moving away from his stark, "just the facts, Ma'am" studio sound. In 1977, he teamed up with the wild-eyed production guru Phil Spector for Death of a Ladies Man, an uneasy listening concept album about the sexual revolution turning into a war of the sexes. It bombed yet somehow only gets more disturbing and more realized as the years pass. Cohen slowed down after this, taking big breaks between projects, then oddly began embracing synthesizers and Greek chorus-style backing vocalists on 1985's lovely Various Positions. As fresh and different as this album was, 1988's more outré I'm Your Man turned out to be a career rebirth and reintroduced the artist to the public. From here on out, Cohen no longer lived in the trenches, choosing to alternate his song guises between being an older, but wiser fool for love and an Old Testament God who forgoes fury and punishment for dispensations of charity and understanding. Cohen greeted the 1990s with a new fan base, the stunning actress Rebecca De Mornay on his arm, and a lingering bout of depression. In a plot twist that sounds like something out of a Leonard Cohen tune, the songwriter left the good life, spent most of the decade in hard labor at a Buddhist monastery and then came down from the mountain because he still craved female companionship. Cohen's Ten New Songs (2001) greeted the new millennium with typical understatement. The album lets anyone who cares to listen know that all the epic follies and romantic glories of the past century would be repeated in the new one. - NDEDINA more...

Like G. Love, Jack Johnson plays groovy acoustic funk. The difference is that where G. Love relies on hip-hop, Johnson's points of reference are a bit more eclectic, incorporating lite jazz and classic singer-songwriter motifs (including interesting vocal experiments a la Joni Mitchell and Tim Buckley). It's all held together by earthy rock backing and topped off with a voice that at times sounds enough like Mose Allison to convince listeners that Johnson really has the goods. Before embarking on a musical career, Johnson was a successful professional surfer. His popularity simmered with his first few albums, but with 2005's In Between Dreams Johnson's stock exploded, crossing over from the jam-rock crowd into the mainstream pop market. The record yielded hits in "Sitting, Waiting, Wishing" and "Better Together." Johnson's comfortable voice and sweet melodies translated naturally to children's songs with his 2006 release Sing-a-Longs & Lullabies for the Film Curious George. In 2008 he released a new studio album, Sleep Through the Static, and in 2009 he confirmed his live reputation with En Concert. - MMCGUIRK more...

Early Pink Floyd recordings make space travel superfluous so long as we have keyboards here on Earth. Back when enigmatic lyricist and acid-eater extraordinaire Syd Barrett skippered the ship, the Floyd sounded something like Monty Python with instruments -- quirky, trippy and weird. Barrett made Bedlam seem a reasonable price to pay for such gems as "Bike," "Lucifer Sam," and the Space Rock tour-de-force "Astronomy Domine." Upon Barrett's departure, the only marginally less maniacal Roger Waters took on singing and songwriting duties. The band dug even deeper into labyrinthine song structures, but nothing prior had prepared the world for 1973s Dark Side of the Moon. The concept album par excellence, Moon utilizes a narrative lyric structure and musical leitmotifs to give the album a sense of coherence. These compositional strategies culminated in '79s harrowing magnum opus, The Wall, an unflinching look at England's soul -- its educational system, its flirtations with fascism, the conservatism leading up to Thatcher. After Waters' defection, the remaining members came down with a crippling case of the blands but decided to stick it out, releasing a series of flashy (note '95's Pulse), nostalgic commodities that basically sounded like David Gilmour solo efforts (even if they continued to sell like genuine Pink Floyd productions). In July 2005, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright and Roger Waters reformed for the Live 8 charity concert. Sadly, in July 2006, Syd Barrett died at the age of 60, from complications of diabetes. - CDRISCOLL more...

Repping for the oft-neglected city of Miami, Cuban-American rapper Pitbull hit the scene in the summer of 2004, finding big success with his Lil Jon collabo single "Culo." With a potent mix of crunked-out production, sex-fiend lyrics and Hispanic pride, his debut LP M.I.A.M.I. (Money Is A Major Issue) catapulted the young emcee into rap stardom, especially in the South and among Latinos. With releases like El Mariel and The Boatlift, he has continued making songs with insightful social commentary while proving his ability to move the masses with his club anthems. - BWINNING more...

You could be forgiven for thinking that David Guetta is famous simply for being famous: that's the message, however ironic, of "F*** Me I'm Famous," the name of both his long-running Ibiza residency and his first mix CD. But the French DJ and producer has earned his acclaim, repurposing soulful deep house with a shiny French touch and adding radio-ready vocals for a package that's pure pop panache.

Guetta's career as a producer began in 1992, when he released "Up and Away" with the Chicago vocalist Robert Owens, but it wasn't until seven years later that he returned with "Just a Little More Love," a catchy tribal-house cut. The following year, his debut album proved that its title cut was no fluke: full of hooks and vocals, the record augmented charging house beats with touches of gospel and electro and even a jubilant remix of David Bowie's "Heroes." In 2004 Guetta returned with Guetta Blaster, featuring club hits like Depeche Mode-flavored "The World Is Mine" and "Love Don't Let Me Go Walking Away," his smash collaboration with U.K. festival favorites the Egg; it also includes a rare downtempo remix from Paul Oakenfold. In 2009 he set his eyes firmly on the pop charts with One Love, featuring guest vocals from Ne-Yo, Kid Cudi and Will.I.Am.

Although he made an initial splash with his flamboyant stage getups, it's Elton John's effortless way with simple, yet memorable melodies that have won him his ongoing popularity. With lyricist Bernie Taupin, the British pianist crafted a string of hits in the 1970s: zoologically-themed numbers such as "Crocodile Rock" and "Honky Cat" showed off his rock 'n' roll side, while "Rocket Man" and "Bennie and the Jets" proved he could slow things down just as effectively. A range of personal and artistic problems began to take their toll around 1976, but he reclaimed a place on the charts in the 1980s with songs like "I'm Still Standing" and "Sad Songs (Say So Much)." His work during this era generally ranked a notch below the earlier glory days, but he continues to make his presence felt, filling concert halls, contributing to soundtracks and issuing a massively-selling rewrite of the perennial torch ballad "Candle in the Wind" on the occasion of Princess Diana's death in 1997. That same year, John was knighted Sir Elton John. In 1999, he collaborated on an adaptation of Verdi's opera Aida. With the coming of the 2000s, John became as much a humanitarian as a pop figure, raising millions for various charities and forming the Elton John AIDS Foundation. In 2005, he married longtime boyfriend David Furnish. - MMCGUIRK more...

L.A. trio Foster the People work every catchy element in the hip-kid's handbook. Frontman Mark Foster, drummer Mark Pontius and bassist Cubbie Fink formed the band in late 2009, after Foster started earning a healthy living as a composer for TV and commercials; touches of MGMT's kitschy pop, Passion Pit's relentless synth-bounce, and Peter Bjorn and John's catchy dream pop fill their debut album, 2011's Torches. With those comparisons in place, it's no wonder the band landed a dream gig at Coachella 2011 before the album even came out, mostly thanks to the success of debut single "Pumped Up Kicks" and a self-titled EP. Not bad for a band that had been together just over a year. - SBENSON more...

Gotye is the electro-pop alias of Wouter De Backer, a member of Melbourne, Australia's The Basics. His music is a pastiche of '60s psychedelia, '70s rock and '80s pop a la Phil Collins, with plenty of smarts and passion. - PSHERBURNE more...

For a while there in the early 1990s, Tim McGraw and Garth Brooks were running neck and neck up the country music charts and it looked like Brooks was in the lead, but a slew of multi-platinum albums and undeniable good looks don't lie. Rather, they solidified McGraw as the most popular male country star of the '90s (especially with the lady fans who made him into somewhat of a heartthrob). Of course, it also helped that McGraw was a relentless touring machine, and his marriage to mega-star country diva Faith Hill didn't hurt. And baseball fans favored McGraw on account of his being the son of famous major league southpaw pitcher Tug McGraw (former player for the New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies). Tim McGraw's polished new traditional sound is rooted in old school, boot-scootin' honky-tonk and some of the catchier sides of southern rock from the '80s that, when mixed with the former, would help innovate the new traditional sound altogether. And if his early ballads sound influenced by the late, great Keith Whitley, it's because McGraw idolized him while growing up. McGraw found his own sound (and first real chart topper) with 1994's playfully twangy "Indian Outlaw," but not without some controversy surrounding the allegedly politically incorrect depiction of Native American stereotypes in the lyrics. But as they say, no press is bad press and "Indian Outlaw" crossed over to the pop charts, setting the tone for McGraw's snowballing success. In 1996, he toured his third albumAll I Want with opener Faith Hill and by the end of the jaunt, the two were hitched and fetching all kinds of Johnny and June Carter Cash comparisons. McGraw and Hill's first duet, the romantic, heart-string pulling "It's Your Love," came out in 1997 with the kind of affectionate aplomb that propelled McGraw (and Hill) to red carpeted, crossover superstardom. - ESHEA more...

Zac Brown entertained audiences for years as a solo artist, winning people over with his deft flat-picking and original songs. Eventually, Brown added band members John Hopkins (bass) and Jimmy De Martini (fiddle) to form the Zac Brown Band; the trio expanded to a five-piece when Chris Fryar (drums) and Coy Bowles (guitar/organ) joined. The quintet employs an aggressive tour philosophy (often playing upwards of 200 shows a year) and has opened for the Allman Brothers, Willie Nelson, Travis Tritt and Sugarland, among others. Their grassroots approach to music has won them legions of loyal fans throughout the South, especially in Brown's home state of Georgia. The band's self-financed debut, Home Grown, was released at the end of 2005, and the live effort Live From the Rock Bus Tour followed in 2007. The Foundation was released in 2008, producing the Southern celebratory single "Chicken Fried," which made its way to the country charts. - LRYAN more...

Hailing from Atlanta, Young Jeezy went from neighborhood businessman to nationwide rap star in just a few short years. Originally he was strictly a background player, running his own company Corporate Thugz Entertainment and doing album promotions for Cash Money Records. Soon he picked up the mic and began releasing independent mix tapes that sold like hotcakes in the ATL. This led to his inclusion in Boyz N Da Hood, a crunk-thug boy band of sorts, who released their self-titled debut on Diddy's newly-minted Bad Boy South. Shortly after that album dropped, Jeezy released his first official solo piece on Def Jam, Thug Motivation 101: Let's Get It. With the powerful major label machine behind him (not to mention enthusiastic fans ranging from hordes of teenage girls to Jay-Z), he raced up the charts thanks to hit singles like "And Then What" and "Soul Survivor." He also started a brief fashion trend with his unusual snowman T-shirts, which were banned in certain schools because of their drug dealer implications. Lyrically, he's not exactly groundbreaking, with the typical verses saturated in hustler one-upmanship, but his swagger, keen business sense and strong industry alliances made him an instant star in 2005. He followed up the platinum-certified Thug Motivation 101: Let's Get It with 2006's The Inspiration. Not wanting to mess with a winning formula, the album featured dark tales about dealing drugs. - BWINNING more...

If Kenny Chesney's new traditional tinged country style leans toward hard rocking pop, blame it on the '70s FM radio and the country rock music coming out of the radio stations in his hometown of Luttrell, TN, a small place just outside Knoxville (also Chet Atkins' hometown). Chesney wasn't one of those kids who grew up with stage parents in Stetsons. He actually stumbled into the realm of country music by accident while studying marketing at East Tennessee State University. He found a guitar under the Christmas tree and was soon playing country and bluegrass with some college buddies. He's one of those rare musicians who got to where he is without the help of any contacts, hook-ups or any Star Search copycat television shows. Chesney climbed his way to the top in the traditional grass roots fashion of constant playing, demo recording, touring and self-promotion. While Chesney's songs maintain the gritty twang of yesteryear's honky-tonk, he has clearly found a balance that suits his songs well -- the scales are tipped toward high-end radio production and polished song hooks. And he has been known to mix in a little beach-twang here and there, a-la Jimmy Buffett. - ESHEA more...

Few partnerships in rock 'n' roll have been as productive as the collaboration between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and of course having wunderkind Brian Jones along did nothing to hinder the Rolling Stones' popularity. From the get-go, the band played the raunchy, gritty doppelganger to the Beatles' dandified Merseybeat pop. They ventured a heavier, bluesier sound than their British Invasion counterparts, taking their cues from Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf. The band's greatest strength, besides Charlie Watts, has always been their ability to add stylistic touches drawn from their interests in Eastern music, psychedelia, country and even disco to a blues rock chassis. It's difficult to listen to the trippy Their Satanic Majesties Request, the down-and-out honky-tonk of Exile On Main Street and the clean modernist surfaces of Bridges To Babylon and believe they were recorded by the same band. Of course, in some ways they weren't; the lineup changes that have dogged the Stones account for much of their musical diversity. Jagger's famous slur and Richards' sloppy guitar elegance are the two constants in the band's many life cycles that make every Stones song instantly recognizable. - CDRISCOLL more...

Michael Buble, the Canadian retro crooner, grew up listening to such influences as Stevie Wonder, Frank Sinatra, Bobby Darin and Ella Fitzgerald. Egged on by his grandfather, Buble became a showbiz kid who loved performing and at age 17 he won the top prize in the Canadian Youth Talent Search. After releasing a number of independent albums, Buble went stateside and joined the touring company of the much-praised Broadway show Swing. After being featured as a nightclub singer in the movie Totally Blonde (2001), Buble signed to Reprise Records -- the label started by Sinatra - and released his self-titled disc in 2003. Touring and TV appearances spotlighted Buble's stage presence and his "I don't need studio trickery" talent and resulted in the album hitting the charts a number of different times. Buble's skills as a live performer were highlighted on the strong seller Come Fly With Me, which was followed by It's Time (2005), which shot to No. 1 in Canada and topped the U.S. jazz charts. - NDEDINA more...

What sets the Dave Matthews Band apart from other jam-inclined festival veterans is the solid foundation of catchy songs upon which all their instrumental explorations lie. Fans appreciate the way Matthews' songs change from one performance to another, as he always infuses the hook-packed structure of their favorite songs with fresh improvisational jams. His heartfelt singing layers unpredictable (but memorable) melodies on top of bouncy chords that seem to fit together effortlessly - sort of like rubber jigsaw puzzle pieces. Matthews also subtly incorporates some Latin rhythms and world fusion into his bouncy jam rock/pop, which gives his songs more sonic texture and extra dimension. With such elements at his disposal, Matthews and his band can confidently take risks playing live, which tends to make his performances (and bootlegs) a little more interesting than his polished and somewhat harmless studio recordings. 2003's Some Devil is Matthews' first solo outing. - ESHEA more...

By the time he entered puberty, Usher had a record deal and a gold album. By the time he graduated high school, he was one of the most visible artists in R&B. Between 1994 and 2004, he released six albums, appeared in several films and earned multiple platinum records. However, 2004 was the year he reached the upper echelons of superstardom, thanks to the chart-topping, Lil Jon-produced "Yeah!" His subsequent album, Confessions, netted him three Grammys and sold 11 million copies. In the four years that followed Confessions' release, Usher found himself embroiled in a series of widely publicized controversies surrounding his mother, who was also his manager until Usher "resigned her." In 2008, he got back in the spotlight for musical reasons with the ubiquitous summer jam "Love in This Club" from Here I Stand. After that album, Usher again found his personal life making headlines thanks to his drama-ridden divorce from Tameka Foster. This time around, he channeled his struggles into his craft, namely the edgier, introspective 2010 album Raymond vs. Raymond. - RDEVITT more...

Mumford is Marcus Mumford, and the Sons are Ben Lovett, Ted Dwane and Country Winston, and no, this is not a Dickens novel. It's a London-based band comprised of four friends with a love of things like bluegrass, folk, indie rock, frayed sweaters, pints in the afternoon, group vocals, house cats, too much coffee, gray days, antiques shops and anything else that sounds heartrending and uppity -- or at least that's the impression their debut album, Sigh No More, leaves you with. Formed in late 2007, the band made quick work of the U.K. club scene, traversing the country with its initial clutch of rickety, earnest tunes, peppering the landscape with singles and EPs. The Sons then entered the studio with Markus Dravs, producer of Bjork and Arcade Fire, and laid down the 12 tracks that make up Sign No More. Bubbling over with horns, mandolin, banjo, double bass and other instruments, the record is a fiery assortment of careening, melancholy tunes that evokes everyone from Frightened Rabbit to David Gray to Richard and Linda Thompson. Not surprisingly, the album roused critics and attracted new fans, and our sun-deprived heroes proceeded to tour the world in support of it. - GKAMPS more...

Flo Rida (born Tramar Dillard) is the quintessential singles artist. Tracks such as "Low," "Elevator" and "Right Round" have been ubiquitous in the clubs and on the radio and have topped digital sales. Still, his debut album, 2007's Mail on Sunday, was by most measures a commercial flop. Listeners see him as essentially utilitarian. They expect him to deliver the bigger-than-God club bangers, and they'll gladly fork over for a dollar for the single, but most don't want to make any long-term commitments. It's as if Flo Rida is the hip-hop equivalent of a one-night stand. For 2009's R.O.O.T.S., the Carol City emcee attempted to break out of that pattern. The result is an album that is better rounded and exhibits a greater artistic debt. - SCHENNAULT more...

One of the most idolized and imitated figures in the rap game, the legacy of Tupac Shakur is truly monumental. The Oakland emcee got his start as a dancer with Digital Underground before making his mark as a top-notch actor and hugely successful solo artist. He released his first album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, followed by starring roles in the films Juice and Poetic Justice. His second album contained the player anthem "I Get Around" and the ode to struggling sisters "Keep Your Head Up." In addition to his rising celebrity status, Tupac also saw numerous run-ins with both sides of the law. In 1994 he released Thug Life, was shot several times in NYC, and was convicted of sexual assault. Me Against The World (1995) debuted at No. 1, while Pac was sitting in jail. Bailed out by Suge Knight, his Death Row premiere All Eyez On Me -- the first hip-hop double album -- featured the hit "California Love" and easily went multiplatinum. On September 7, 1996, Tupac was shot repeatedly in Las Vegas and died six days later. Numerous theories continue to surround his murder; some blame Bad Boy, others think Suge set him up, while legions of believers think he is still alive. Many new albums and compilations have continued his career posthumously, with "Changes" getting massive airplay in 1999. Tupac's murder remains unsolved. - BWINNING more...