A Girl Like Me [Digipak] by Rihanna

Pros: Very cool mix of pop sounds with a little bit of reggae flavor.
Cons: Yeah, it's fun, but it's also fairly disposable.

While the most recent crop of pop teen idols has wobbled on to adulthood, Rihanna stands as one of the latest fresh-faced young folks making their mark. And unlike folks like Britney, she seems like a completely attainable, girl-next-door type. She's ...

Pros: Rihanna's amazing voice, great ballads, all the songs are fairly enjoyable.
Cons: Generic material at times, you can tell it was rushed.

Rihanna, the sun-kissed jewel of 2005, once again has an album for the summer with a variety of dancehall jams, heartfelt ballads and breezy pop songs on her second effort A Girl Like Me. I was a little concerned considering this album just ...

Pros: Smooth, feel-good reggae-meets-R&B
Cons: Feels rushed; Rihanna’s nasal soprano at times

Rihanna was poised to be the beacon for R&B over at Def Jam’s headquarters in the summer of 2005. The only R&B act on the roster, and the counterpart to Roc-A-Fella’s (distributed through Def Jam no less) own Teairra Mari, Rihanna’s brand of R&B mixed ...

Pros: Rihanna's perky vocala, the crazy dance beats and the add island hints
Cons: reggae songs just don't work for her

I'm not someone who goes out and buys a record the day it hit shelves unless I'm a gigantic fan. I used to, but the quality of even artists and bands I'm big fans of have dropped in quality. Usually I at least like to listen to two or three singles or ...

Pros: Great ballads, good range of subject matter, great vocals.
Cons: Reggae tracks have really similar production, and blend too much to stand out.

When I first heard news of Rihanna's new single, "S.O.S.", I was confused. I was wondering why she was releasing a brand new single so soon after her debut album, "Music of the Sun" had been released. I guess it was an attempt to keep Rihanna in the ...