Luther Vandross - Your Secret Love (1996)

In a way, it's a shame that Luther Vandross' Songs, his 1994 album of other people's hits, became the biggest hit of his career, for it obscured one of his greatest talents: songwriting. The best soul singer of the '80s is back with Your Secret Love, his first album of original, non-Christmas songs since 1993's Never Let Me Go. He hasn't lost his knack for big, emotional melodies and for scenarios that find happiness tantalizingly close, but still out of reach. --Geoffrey Himes