Listening beyond the moment: Classic female albums, new and new(er)

Tuesday’s expanded list of influential female artists has naturally inspired ongoing reflections about significant recordings of the recent past and present. In 2017 NPR published a list of the best albums by female artists released since 1964. Inspired, I decided to craft my own list of albums with this theme though my list actually starts in the 1950s. Remixing and expanding my 2015 list of influential female artists led me add some of the more notable post-2017 ablums and to revisit the pre-2017 albums era and note a few fine albums I overlooked the first time around. Happy listening!

2017-2022: Future Classics

2018

Dirty Computer (Janelle Monae)

On this funky masterpiece Janelle Monae draws from a wellspring of soul, funk, and rock influences to author her most personal, danceable and culturally astute album yet.

2019

Cuz I Love You (Lizzo)

On her third album Lizzo stepped into the limelight thanks to an undeniable blend of musicality and personality. Bold, funny, sexy, and smart Cuz I Love You made Lizzo an icon for a new generation of aspiring musicians and listeners.

Highwomen

Four of country music’s most gifted and distinctive musicians (Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Marin Morris, Amanda Shires) combine forces on this thrilling collaboration. Smart songs, progressive feminist and queer elements, gorgeous harmonies, and inspired guests (including Sheryl Crow and Yola) make this a great modern sequel to the classic Trio albums released by Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton and Linda Ronstadt.

Jaime (Brittany Howard)

Alabama Shakes’ frontwoman Brittany Barker is a rock ‘n’ roller, a soul singer, a troubadour, and an experimenter on her brilliant solo debut.

2020

Gaslighter (The Chicks)

The 14 years between the country rock classic Taking the Long Way has only sharpened and emboldened the Chicks. Tackling divorce, politics, dating, and parenting their collaboration with co-producer Jack Antonoff is buoyant and incisive.

2021

Flor (Gretchen Parlato)

Gretchen Parlato’s remarkable Flor reminds us that jazz is about innovation not nostalgia. Parlato’s flexible and colorful vocal instrument unifies an astonishing range of songs, including R&B, Brazilian pop, classical melodies, and originals into a delectable listening experience.

Remember My Name (Mickey Guyton)

Anyone who thinks modern country is about three chords and the truth doesn’t listen very closely to the (mostly) male pablum on country radio. Eschewing formulas Guyton embraces the fullness of her experience as a black American woman creative in country music singing with a sense of anger, (“All American”), vulnerability (“What Are You Gonna Tell Her”), and joy (“Dancing in the Living Room”).

S.O.U.R (Olivia Rodrigo)

Actress-singer Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” is arguably the best singalong song since Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” Beyond this radio hit are trenchant tunes of adolescent angst including throbbing power pop and intricate ballads.

Time Traveler (Nnenna Freelon)

Nneena Freelon transforms soul and soft rock tunes, including Motown, Philly Soul, and Jim Croce, into profound vehicles of memory, joy, and reflection in honor of her late husband. Even on familiar standards she finds new emotional and musical layers.

1950-2017

1985

The Broadway Album (Barbra Streisand)

To foster a diverse list, I limited my two Streisand entries to her groundbreaking 1963 debut and her 2009 ballad masterpiece Love is the Answer on the original list. Revisiting the best albums from the mid-1980s the list is simply incomplete without acknowledging Streisand’s modernized mastery of the Broadway song form from Jerome Kern to Stephen Sondheim.

1992

Come On, Come On (Mary Chapin-Carpenter)

Post Urban Cowboy and pre-Shania, Mary Chapin-Carpenter hit a creative and commercial sweet spot for smart contemporary on her third album.  Alongside well-known hits like “Passionate Kisses” and the flirty “I Feel Lucky” is the mini-masterpiece of domesticity “He Thinks He’ll Keep Her.”

1992

Funky Divas (EnVogue)

Inspired by R&B, free style, hip-hop, classic girl group pop, and rock EnVogue applied their tight harmonies to a veritable pop feast. From the pointed rock anthem “Free Your Mind” to the sultry tease “My Lovin’ (Never Gonna Get It)” they established a blueprint every R&B girl group aspired to in the 1990s onward.

1995

CrazySexyCool (TLC)

The moment you hear the seductive opening of “Creep” or the melancholy horn lines “Waterfalls” you’re transported into the heart of the 1990s. The collective talents of TLC (T-Boz, Left Eye, and Chili) and some of the savviest writers and producers in R&B and hip-hop, including Dallas Austin, Babyface, and Sean Puffy Combs, made this one of the definitive hip-hop soul albums.

1996

Sheryl Crow (Sheryl Crow)

If her debut demonstrated her talent for great groove tunes (“All I Wanna Do”) and folk-flavored pop (“Strong Enough”), her follow-up found her centering meaty guitar riffs, impressionistic lyrics, and a more impassioned vocal style. A quarter century after its release its thoughtful songcraft and sleek production still resonate.

1997

Velvet Rope (Janet Jackson)

Control made Jackson a zeitgeist defining superstar; Rhythm Nation and janet. expanded her sonic and thematic range and influence. Velvet Rope, however, is where Jackson really stretches out experimenting with adventurous textures and venturing into new areas of lyrical expression.

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