20 R&B Albums You Must Own

A true collector's playlist needs these game-changing LPs.

Parliament – Mothership Connection (1975) - On the trailblazing album Chocolate City, George Clinton and his funk mob put Black folks in the White House. But on this phenomenal 1975 LP, they put them in outer space, jumpstarted the P-Funk mythology and reconstructed the sound of funky R&B. Classic cuts like "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" and "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" stretched the rhythmic possibilities of rhythm and blues, taking the notion of "The One" to cartoonish heights and influencing everyone from Cameo to Prince to Dr. Dre and OutKast in its aftermath.  (Photo: Mercury Records)
Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life (1976) - The two-disc LP is not only considered Stevie Wonder's most ambitious album it is also considered his best. The 10 million-seller displayed the pop music trailblazer's mastery of genre, crafting hits with big band jazz ("Sir Duke"), socially-conscious classical ("Village Ghetto Land") and spiritually-awashed dance cuts ("As"). Not to mention, pop mega-stars from Michael Jackson to Whitney Houston to Mariah Carey cite the LP as an influence.  (Photo: Tamla)
Lauryn Hill –The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998) - At a time when Black music was expressing an overwhelming fascination with wealth, materialism and male bravado, Lauryn Hill dropped this phenomenon of an LP. Blending the sounds of R&B, neo-soul, hip hop, reggae and jazz, Miseducation unleashed hits like "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and "Everything Is Everything." Lauryn's accoustic approach to R&B and hip hop helped open the door for neo-soul stars like Alicia Keys and India.Arie.    (Photo: Columbia Records)
Live at the Apollo - After scoring several hit singles with the Famous Flames, including "Please, Please, Please" (1956), "Try Me" (1958) and "Night Train" (1962), James Brown bankrolls a live recording of his performance at the famous Apollo Theater. Convincing a reluctant Syd Nathan, head of King Records, to back a live LP, James releases his first album Live at the Apollo in 1963. The LP becomes an instant hit. (Photo: Polydor Records) Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On? (1971) - Just as deep as the master-crafted music on this 1971 LP is the well-known story behind it: Marvin Gaye, affected by stories of his brother fighting in the Vietnam War, tells Motown head Berry Gordy he wants to do a protest album. The result was this concept LP, which tackles issues from the controversial war to racial discrimination to drug abuse.  (Photo: Motown)

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Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life (1976) - The two-disc LP is not only considered Stevie Wonder's most ambitious album it is also considered his best. The 10 million-seller displayed the pop music trailblazer's mastery of genre, crafting hits with big band jazz ("Sir Duke"), socially-conscious classical ("Village Ghetto Land") and spiritually-awashed dance cuts ("As"). Not to mention, pop mega-stars from Michael Jackson to Whitney Houston to Mariah Carey cite the LP as an influence.  (Photo: Tamla)

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