1 / 14

Justin Timberlake - Actor Justin Timberlake speaks onstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 24, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Clear Channel)

2 / 14

Xzibit, Napalm - They say rap is a young man's game, but don't tell that to Xzibit. In October the veteran rapper, who's been in the game for almost two decades now, released Napalm, his first album in six years. (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

3 / 14

LL Cool J, Mama Said Knock You Out - Fresh off disappointing fans by stocking his third album, 1989's Walking With a Panther, with love ballads and radio-ready raps, LL Cool J returned to the aggressive, boom-box-approved bars of his early days on Mama Said Knock You Out, his best-selling album ever, a year later.  (Photo: Def Jam Records)

4 / 14

Dr. Dre, Chronic 2001 - Dr. Dre's stature waned after he attached his name to a few clunkers (The Firm, the pre-Eminem Aftermath Entertainment roster) in the seven years after his classic debut, The Chronic. But he resurrected his trademark G-funk — and his recording career — with this six-time platinum opus.   (Photo: Aftermath/Interscope Records)

5 / 14

Sade, Lovers Rock - After hiding from the public eye for nearly eight years, Sade extended her career into a third decade with 2000’s stellar Lover’s Rock, fueled by updated production and her sublime-as-ever contralto. Ten years later, following another disappearance, she was reborn again with Soldier of Love.   (Photo: Epic Records)

6 / 14

Common, Be - Stumbling in the wake of his 2002 misstep Electric Circus, which found him experimenting with electronica-inspired production, Common recovered his mojo with the back-to-basics classic Be three years later, linking up with Kanye West, a fellow Chi-Towner and protégé of Com’s former collaborator No I.D. (Photo: Geffen Records)

7 / 14

Bobby Womack, The Bravest Man in the Universe - Earlier this year, soul legend Bobby Womack fought health and drug-abuse problems to release his first album in 12 years, The Bravest Man in the Universe, a left-field favorite with critics.   (Photo: XL Recordings)

8 / 14

Raekwon, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… Pt. II - After six years on the lam, Raekwon recreated the “Purple Tape” magic of his 1995 solo debut on this 2009 sequel, erasing the memory of two underwhelming efforts in between (Immobilarity, The Lex Diamond Story) and keeping the Wu brand alive. (Photo: EMI Records)

9 / 14

Mariah Carey, The Emancipation of Mimi - Mariah Carey put the embarrassment of her 2001 film Glitter (and a subsequent hospital stay for “mental exhaustion”) behind her by reuniting with Jermaine Dupri for this career-saving 2005 blockbuster. (Photo: Columbia Records)

Photo By Photo: Columbia Records

10 / 14

Nas, Stillmatic - Fueled by incoming fire from Jay-Z — most notably the masterful diss track “Takeover,” which claimed (justifiably) that Nas’ career had faltered since his 1994 debut, Illmatic — Esco answered the charge head on with this acclaimed 2001 effort, his strongest in years.(Photo: Columbia Records)

11 / 14

Tina Turner, Private Dancer - Rock-soul icon Tina Turner bounced back with 1984's quintuple-platinum Private Dancer, recovering from years out of the spotlight following her bitter divorce from abusive husband/bandmate Ike Turner. (Photo: Captitol Records)

12 / 14

Gil Scott-Heron, I'm New Here - Legendary poet and singer Gil Scott-Heron overcame drug-abuse and legal troubles to record 2012's critically acclaimed I'm New Here, his first original material in 16 years. The album spawned a remix project by Jamie XX, the buzzworthy indie producer who also sampled Scott-Heron for Drake and Rihanna's hit "Take Care." (Photo: XL Recordings)

13 / 14

Prince, Musicology - This 2004 album was Prince's first major label effort in years, and he rose to the occasion with his best — and best-selling — album since 1991's Diamonds and Pearls. (Photo: Columbia Records)

14 / 14

2Pac, All Eyez on Me - Fresh off an 11-month stay on Rikers Island for a controversial sexual assault charge, Tupac returned like a man possessed on his 1995 double-album epic All Eyez on Me, birthing a new rap superstar — and a deadly rap civil war — in the process. (Photo: Death Row Records)