There's No Place Like America Today is well worth a listen!!

oh i'll look into that! is that the one that has billy jack? because billy jack is just so damn good.

I suggest both of these:

Ray Charles at Newport (1958)
Ray Charles in Person (1960)

it is that one!

I'll probably get In Person because I've actually heard of that one. I have been planning to get Modern Sounds though, so that'll probably come before either of those.

Just purchased Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music on iTunes. What's great is I also got Modern Sounds vol. 2 along with it for no extra cost! I wasn't even aware that volume two existed, but I'm still excited.

I just listened to two live Ray Charles albums(Thanks once more, dmille) Live at Newport and In Person. Both were great, Newport probably appearing to be greater after the first listens. I was pleasently surprised to hear that they were able to keep a few instumentals interesting. Oh, and I finished Modern Sounds today and that was also very good.

I know there aren't a lot of big R. Kelly supporters who frequent this thread, but he is an R&B artist so I figured this was the most appropriate place. I just did a cover of my favorite song of his, "Bump n' Grind," and I was hoping y'all would listen! Any feedback would be appreciated, because I'm trying to branch out from laptop beats like erryone else does and make some music with actual instruments. So I recorded some guitar and flute parts. The final guitar solo is a little bit messy, but I actually preferred it that way and kept it like that. Curious to see if others either agree with me or think it detracts from the song.

Anyway, here it is:


and here's the original for comparison, if you haven't heard it. Although I'm sure anyone who was around in the 90s will recognize it after the first six words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83j4ICes2i4

R Kelly is one of those artists I've never delved into at all (loving Ignition doesn't count). What albums of his should I get, batman?

IMO get either 12 Play or, for a best of, The R. In R&B

Love letter, my fave r kelly record.

For you, Georgi, I would recommend either 12 Play or Love Letter (the latter being my favorite, good call Dreamcoil).

12 Play is probably his most classic album. It really shows his influence on modern R&B, and you can tell that this album specifically was a huge influence on The-Dream.

Love Letter is my favorite album of his, but it's not really essential R Kelly, because it's kind of him stepping away from craziness. In the mid 00s he was known for being a crazy person more than a musician, and the songs he was putting out were hilarious (though really good) songs like "Sexasaurus" and "Echo" (the latter is about fucking a girl until she yodels). On Love Letter, R was going back to the sound he's best at, which is smooth, quiet storm stuff with groovy beats that are easy to step to. And the lyrics aren't quite so freaky. It's just a really solid album that shows what a talented multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer he is. No bizarre humor to hide his true skills.

Here are my two favorite songs from Love Letter
Just Can't Get Enough
Just Like That

and just for the hell of it, here's one from 2004's "Happy People" that I like a lot.
Weatherman

I want to thank whoever nudged me to listen to Jackie Wilson(I think it was Negative Creep). I relistened to my compilatation and it made me shit myself in ways it hadn't the first time. I really think he is the most dynamic vocalist I've heard.

Hey batman, really liked your cover of Bump and Grind! The messy guitar solo works fine here - it's a song about bumpin' and grindin' after all. Downloading 12 Play and Love Letter fo sho.

thanks Georgi! Hope you enjoy those two albums.