Another excellent album from India Arie, offered as a follow-up to her 2006 volume of Testimony. India is at her best, with deep lyrics and stunning vocals.

This list unfortunately would be incomplete without including the soundtrack to hit Hannah Montana movie. Hannah Montana has proved to be one of the most overrated phenomena of the year.

Follow-up album to Chrisette's 2007 debut. This one is a little more commercial, but without sacrificing the quality. Shows off her voice very well.

A long-awaited followup from American Idol favourite Chris Daughtry. His second album is more of a grower than his debut, but the quality is still there.

Another dark horse of the year, and generally hailed as one of the best R&B albums of the year on several messageboards. A definite improvement over her already solid debut.

This seems to be the year of the Disney channel star, as many of their young actresses have released debut albums. Selena is a good actress, but only a mediocre singer.

A fairly unprecedented return from the Backstreet Boys, although now short one member. I haven't actually listened to this yet, but I don't think anyone would have expected the Boys to last this long.

The posthumous release from Michael Jackson, featuring a collection of his biggest hits. His untimely death was certainly one of the most notable events of the year.

Yet another dark horse album, and another that has been called the best of the year. Amerie unfortunately has never received the acclaim she deserves, largely due to a lack of support from her label. This album shows her at her best.

An album that seems to have gone quite overlooked, especially given the popularity of the Kris vs. Adam finale of last year's American Idol. Kris has given a solid debut, although something of a grower.

And a third contestant from the most recent round of American Idol. Allison's debut suffers mostly from the common problem of young Idol contestants: her material becomes constrained by the interest in keeping her age-appropriate. She does the best she can with what she's given.

A much darker album, thought to be in response to her issue with Chris Brown. This album contains some of Rihanna's most interesting, and most personal material to date.

One of the biggest surprises of the year, not only in terms of talent but also for sales. Susan's debut has had consistently high sales for the past several weeks, knocking some popular frontrunners out of the number 1 slot.

The Black Eyed Peas have produced some of the most catchy (or irritating, depending on your opinion of them) singles of the year.

Who would have guessed that Jully would still be going strong after three albums? The Canadian artist also has a powerful voice and knows how to use it to her advantage. While her sophomore album was slightly stronger, she continues to put out great music.

A solid album, although it can seem a bit rushed. This does not top The Breakthrough, although Mary is strong as always. Biggest disappointment is the lack of "Stronger", easily one of Mary's best songs.

One of the most anticipated of the year, Whitney released her first album in quite a while. At times, it seems to try too hard to be contemporary, but many of the songs have Whitney truly shining.