RollnSmokeRecords Presents: Best New Albums

… Requires at least three great songs to qualify for list …

1. IF TOMORROW COMES – Maino [5-18-09]. Especially “Million Bucks,” “Hi, Haters” and “All the Above.” Numerous collaborations stack up on this hip-hop album from favorite rapper who’s big in New York mix-tape circuit.

2. TELL ‘EM WHAT YOUR NAME IS! -- Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears [3-17-09]. Especially “Sugarfoot,” “Get Your Shit,” and “Gunpowder.” A big, boomin’ blues jam – you’re right there in the front row, DANCING!! -- shaking your money-maker – right there with the boys from Austin, TX, who are behind the vintage blues and old school R&B. Who’s in??

3. FONDO – Vieux Farka Toure [5-26-09] Especially “Diaraby Magni,” “Slow Jam,” “Sarama,” “Cherie La,” “FaFa.” An inspired sophomore album from young Malian protégé, brimming with enchanting, contemporary dub – all groovin’ guitar and percussion, some jams, some soulfully chanting vocals, some tracks more exotic than others.

4. WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX – Phoenix [5-26-09]. Especially “1901,” “Lisztomania” “Girlfriend” and “Fences”. French indie-rock band who recently gained pop cred a la recent SNL appearance.

5. OOH’s and AHH’s – Say Hi [3-3-09]. Especially “November was White, December Was Grey,” “Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh” and “Hallie and Henry.” An inventive alt-sound that reaches from hip plaintive to club danceable.

6. IT’S NOT ME IT’S YOU – Lily Allen [2-10-09]. Especially “The Fear,” “Not Fair,” “Who’d Have Known”). With her irresistible cockney accent and clever, often sarcastic lyrics, Lily Allen launches a captivating winner as her sophomore effort.

7. ASA – Asa [1-27-09] Especially “Jailer,” “Fire on the Mountain” and “No One Knows.” A cool load of soulful African jazz tracks from this new sensation out of Nigeria.

8. MAMA ROSA – Brian Blade [4-21-09]. Especially “Mercy Angel,” “Struggling with That,” “Her Song” and “You’ll Always Be My Baby.” Jazz musician from Louisiana – drummer, singer-songwriter and bandleader – is behind beautiful, expressive mellow tracks with soulful monster jams.

9. HOMBRE LOBO – Eels [6-2-09]. Especially “That Look You Give That Guy,” “In My Dreams” and “Fresh Blood.” Achingly true ballads from trio out of Virginia, featuring singular singer-songwriter Mark Oliver Everett.

10. SONG UP IN HER HEAD – Sarah Jarosz [6-1-09]. Especially “Song up in Her Head,” “Shankill Butchers” and “Can’t Love You Now.” 18-year old contemporary bluegrass prodigy churns out original music that’s all plucky strings and compelling vocals on her debut album. A rising star to watch!

11. ENTERTAINMENT – Fischerspooner [5-5-09]. Especially “The Best Revenge,” “Money Can’t Dance” and “In a Modern World.” You’ve got to go for an album brimming with electronica, but if you can do that, these tracks have a sensibility for strong dance beats and lyrical messages as conceived by New York electronica duo.

12. A NEW TIDE – Gomez [3-31-09]. Especially “Airstream Driver,” “Little Pieces,” “Bone Tired” and “Mix.” British guitar folk band from Northern England collects a fine array of mostly mellow, likeable tracks, one after another.

13. R.O.O.T.S. -- “Route of Overcoming the Struggle” -- Flo Rida [3-30-09]. Especially “Sugar,” “Shone,” “Right Round” and “Mind on My Money.” With a boomin’-bangion’ line-up of soon-to-be Flo Rida classics, this quintessential singles rapper from the Sunshine State packs to-the-max energetic hip-hop over danceable, synthed backbeats with monster guest appearances from Ne Yo, Wyclef, Akon, Nelly Furtado and Pleasure P., among others.

14. SUGAR SHACK – Damon Fowler [1-27-09]. Especially “Sugar Lee,” “Some Fun” and “Sugar Shack.” The kind of album that you turn on and the dance floor just fills up – and stays that way through every track -- brimming with electric blues jams.

15. TROUBADOR – K’naan [2-24-09]. Especially “ABC’S,” “If Rap Gets Jealous” and “I Come Prepared”. A new and original and multi-lingual voice in hip hop, K’naan has high street cred when it comes to street life given he’s from the slums of Somalia, but still open to teaming up with pop white boy Adam Levine and Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammet, among others like Mos Def and Damien Marley.

16. LOVE, SAVE THE EMPTY -- Erin McCarley [1-6-09]. Especially “Pony It’s OK,” “Love, Save the Empty,” “It’s Not That Easy.” A singer-songwriter and Texas-gone soCal performer with an ethereally sweet voice creates churns out acoustic adult-alt-pop tracks.

17. DEEPER THAN RAP – Rick Ross [4-21-09]. Especially “All I Really Want,” “Yacht Club” and “Magnificent.” Mixing star-power cameo duets with Rick Ross’s hard-bravado, un-melodic raps.

18. RE: GENERATIONS – Remixes of Nat King Cole [3-10-09]. Especially “Straighten Up and Fly Right (Will.I.am); “Calypso Blues” (Damian Jr. Gong Marley and Stephen Marley) and “More and More of Your Amor” (Bitter: Sweet). Innovative, sassy re-mixes of Nat King Cole classics by the likes of The Roots, The Brazilian Girls, Cee Lo among others.