Seal

An adult-contemporary Adonis who these days is arguably more famous for being Mr. Heidi Klum, Seal creates a genre-hopping puree of rock, dance, and funk-lite that’s dominated by his own voice, which is surprisingly soothing despite all of its ragged edges. During his string of self-titled records in the early ’90s, Seal was also known for taking his time between albums—including a four-year lapse between 2003’s Seal IV and 2007’s System—but seems to be reenergized of late, returning almost immediately with 2008’s Soul. As its title suggests, Soul is composed of covers of soul classics like “Stand By Me” and “People Get Ready.” Now that Heidi’s got Project Runway, he’s got to do something to keep himself busy, right?