Drake, Thank Me Later
The central theme of Drake's debut album is his newfound fame — which is an interesting choice, considering it's his debut album. But instead of extolling the celebrity lifestyle, Drake spends much of Thank Me Later grappling with his unexpected stardom. And for good reason: the rapper (real name "Aubrey Drake Graham") went from self-releasing his music on the Internet to signing a record deal with Lil Wayne faster than Lady Gaga can change meat costumes. He lives up to the hype; Thank Me Later contains more hit songs than you can shake a bottle of Cristal at. "Find Your Love" made TIME's list of best songs of the year, and "Fancy" was a close runner-up. Drake's screed against "superficial gold-digging bitches" and women who take hours to get ready is the catchiest thing this side of Kanye. Not bad for a Canadian former child actor who had never released a full album before.