10 Esssential New Jack Swing Era Albums

I LOVE the New Jack Swing Era!! It was a great era that produced some of the best R&B in history. It is also the music of my tween/early teenage years and most if not all of my memories of that time are tied to this era and these albums. I consider the New Jack Era from 1987-1991. Take a trip back with me...................

1. This album for me is the essential New Jack Swing album. Released in 1987, this album really established the "sound" of the era. Was he a great singer...not at all.. but his songs are timeless. Keith Sweat is beyond earnest in his singing and I like that. Standouts on the album: ALL OF THEM. Just press play.

Best Song: Make it Last Forever, In the Rain, Right and A Wrong Way


2. There is not much to say about this album except that it's great. I used to "let my tape rock til my tape popped"(tm- Biggie Smalls). Aaron Hall carried this album vocally and Teddy is genius on the production(not sure what Damian's role was). Aaron is truly underrated. While there were 1 or 2 tracks that I skipped, this was a great album. "I Like" is THE track on this album. Other notables include "Piece of My Love", "Goodbye Love" and "Teddy's Jam".


3. Bobby shocked the world in 1988 with this album. Bobby proved with this album that he was a force to reckoned with and gave the proverbial middle finger to New Edition. I am not a Bobby fan but I give props to this album and his becoming a superstar. With great production and writing. Don't Be Cruel is a a must have. The album title is THE standout track. Other notables: "Roni" and "Rock Witcha". My Prerogative will the most popular but I thought it was the WORST track on the album


4. In middle school I played "Off On Your Own" constantly. This was another great New Jack album. His remake of Killing Me Softly was a quiet storm staple. The stand out track on the album was "Nite and Day". Although Al B. Sure's career survived into the early 90's he never quite got back to the basics that made this album great.






5. THE BEST R&B GROUP OF THE 80's and 90's. NE Heartbreak marked the return of New Edition in 1988. This is their best album EVER!!. "Can You Stand the Rain" was the standout on this classic album. Ronnie, Johnny, Ricky, Mike, and Ralph proved they could do it without Bobby and they proved that they were no longer sugar sweet and pop. This album is full of great tracks. "If it Isn't Love", "NE Heartbreak", "Youre Not My Kind of Girl", and "Crucial". Johnny Gill also joined the group with this album and he really help to mature the NE sound. Great production


6. This album contains my favorite song of ALL TIME. "Spread my Wings". I actually went through 3 copies of Attitude. While the album was good I stayed primarily on 3 tracks. Spread My Wings, I Will Always Love You, and All I Do Is Think Of You. TROOP was half doo-wop, half new jack and the result was stunning. This was a major improvement over their first self titled album. "I'm not Soupped was another standout track




7. When NE took a hiatus in the early 1990, who would have thought that these three would have the most success. Bell Biv Devoe came up with a new sound that was drastically different from anything NE had done. It was "hip hop smooth out on an R&B tip with a pop feel appeal to it". Everybody and their mama was singing "Poison". I wanted to be a dancer in their video something terrible..lol... Other Standouts were Do Me, I Thought it Was Me, and When Will I See You Smile Again(if you haven't heard the live version you need to)



8. While they released their debut in 1988 and that debut spawned several hits.. it wasn't until 1990 that they made their biggest impact. Tony Toni Tone's Revival was a great album. While their biggest hit off this album was "Feels Good" it was "It Never Rains in Southern California" that sealed the deal with me. Raphael Saadiq vocally soared on this track and props to Dwayne Wiggins for singing "Whatever You Want". Other notables on this album: "The Blues" and "All The Way"



9. Born to Sing is accurately titled for these 4 beautiful ladies. EnVogue set the blueprint for ANY and EVERY girl group that followed them. Sadly, no one has measured up since. I fell in LOVE with Terri Ellis. Anyways harmonies(check), looks(check), great music(check). Hold On was the most popular from this album but one listen to "Part of Me" and you should be an EnVogue fan for life.



10. That's right. Keith is the King of New Jack Swing and he deserves 2 spots on the Top 10. This album picked right up where Make it Last Forever left off. Make U Sweat (the ish), the title track (and the REMIX...oh my goodness), Merry Go Round. No sophmore jinx for the Sweatman.




Honorable Mentions
Hi-Five- Hi Five
Boyz II Men- Cooleyhighharmony
Troop- Troop
Guy- The Future
Tony Toni Tone- Who?