01
S
SZA — CTRL
The 2017 album that defined Gen Z's relationship with R&B — raw, confessional, and intimate in a way no major-label R&B album had been. 'The Weekend' and 'Drew Barrymore' are generational songs.
▲ Steady·Score +19
R&B Music
Best R&B and Soul Artists and Albums of All Time
R&B and soul music has produced some of the most emotionally powerful recordings in music history. These legendary artists and essential albums define the genre from Motown's golden era to contemporary neo-soul.
Pick your favorites · Every vote moves the ranking · Results update live
02
P
Prince — Purple Rain
The 1984 soundtrack album sold 25 million copies and produced seven hit singles — showcasing Prince's supernatural ability to fuse funk, rock, gospel, and soul into something entirely his own.
▲ Steady·Score +17
03
B
Beyoncé — Lemonade
A visual album of extraordinary ambition combining Southern Gothic imagery with R&B, country, and hip-hop. A landmark statement on Black womanhood, infidelity, and healing that redefined modern R&B.
▲ Steady·Score +11
04
D
D'Angelo — Voodoo
The 2000 album that created neo-soul as a genre — live instrumentation, Prince-influenced sexuality, and jazz harmony fused into a rich, cohesive masterwork that still sounds futuristic.
▲ Steady·Score +11
05
F
Frank Ocean — Channel Orange
The 2012 debut that cemented Frank Ocean as the most artistically ambitious voice in contemporary R&B — an elliptical, literary exploration of unrequited love, adolescence, and identity.
▲ Steady·Score +11
06
T
The Weeknd — After Hours
The 2020 album that fused dark synth-pop with R&B maximalism — Blinding Lights became one of the bestselling singles of all time, and the album defined the 2020s pop-R&B sound.
▲ Steady·Score +10
07
M
Marvin Gaye — What's Going On
The 1971 masterpiece that elevated soul to social commentary — a meditation on Vietnam, poverty, and environmental destruction. Often ranked the greatest album ever recorded in multiple polls.
▲ Steady·Score +8
08
A
Amy Winehouse — Back to Black
The 2006 British soul masterpiece influenced by 1960s Motown and Phil Spector produced the most authentic contemporary soul album of the 21st century, winning 5 Grammy Awards.
▲ Steady·Score +7
09
M
Michael Jackson — Off the Wall
Produced by Quincy Jones, the 1979 album announced Michael Jackson's arrival as a solo superstar — a perfectly constructed disco-soul album that remains his most sophisticated musical achievement.
▲ Steady·Score +7
10
S
Stevie Wonder — Songs in the Key of Life
The 1976 double album is widely considered the greatest soul album ever recorded — an overflowing cornucopia of joy, spirituality, social consciousness, and musical mastery across 21 tracks.
▲ Steady·Score +3
11
E
Erykah Badu — Baduizm
The 1997 debut that launched neo-soul as a cultural movement — Badu's eccentric, jazz-inflected debut remains one of R&B's most distinctive and influential recordings of the post-Prince era.
▲ Steady·Score +3
12
A
Aretha Franklin — I Never Loved a Man
The Queen of Soul's 1967 debut Atlantic album announced one of the greatest voices in American music history. 'Respect' and 'Do Right Woman' defined feminist soul and became anthems of civil rights.
▲ Steady·Score +2
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“SZA — CTRL”
Currently ranked #1. Where will it be in 7 days?