15 Best Albums Of The Decade (So Far)

3. D'Angelo And The Vanguard - Black Messiah

The surprising release of Black Messiah last year marked the long-awaited return of D'Angelo, his first new material in 14 years and arguably the best project he has ever been involved in, marking a shift away from his familiar R&B roots.

Black Messiah is another great recent album produced with an obvious reverence for past masters, soaking in funk and vintage soul and transforming it into something contemporary and invigorating. D'Angelo's falsetto vocals have never sounded so fresh, backed by tight, groovy instrumentation which is refreshingly naturalistic in its production.

With Black Messiah, D'Angelo has proven himself to be as capable a multi-instrumentalist and songwriter as any of his peers - let's hope that we don't have to wait another decade and a half to hear more material.