6. Raphael Saadiq

Raphael Saadiq has been one of modern pop music’s most reliably soulful voices, but he’s never really gotten his due as a solo performer, which is a shame, because at his best, he sounds like some kind of unholy combination of Stevie Wonder, Curtis Mayfield, and Prince. Growing up, Saadiq lost four of his brothers and sisters to to everything from drug addiction to car accidents, making his funky, upbeat music that much more of a triumph. 

Hardscrabble Background: 8
Ache in Vocals: 7
Perceived Grit: 6
Total Aggregated Soulfulness: 7

Listen:  “Heart Attack”

 

7. Erykah Badu

One of the most visible figures of the late ‘90s-early ‘00s “neo-soul” movement, Badu garnered as much attention for her music as for her striking looks, style, and outspoken nature. Soul music has a long history of social involvement, and Badu is steeped in the tradition: she stripped naked at the site of JFK's assassination for the video to "Window Seat" without getting any kind of permit from the city, earning herself a disorderly conduct charge.

Hardscrabble Background: 7
Ache in Vocals: 7
Perceived Grit: 8
Total Aggregated Soulfulness: 7

Listen:  “Window Seat”

 

8. Jill Scott

Like Badu, Jill Scott is one of the brightest figures of the neo-soul movement, thanks largely to her collaborations with the Roots. She’s also a talented poet and actress — lately she’s been more visible in the dramatic realm than in music — but that shouldn’t take away that Scott has some serious pipes. A song like “Gimme” has more than its fair share of hip-hop influences (in its looped bass line, canned beat, and electronic sounds), but that note at 1:34? That’s pure soul.

Hardscrabble Background: 4
Ache in Vocals: 8
Perceived Grit: 7
Total Aggregated Soulfulness: 6

Listen: “Gimme”

 

9. Mayer Hawthorne

Mayer Hawthorne is proof that being born a white man named Andrew Cohen isn’t the barrier to soulfulness many would think it is. With a high tenor that’s neither in-your-face nor overly grating (think Smokey Robinson, not Barry Gibb), Hawthorne’s records could fool even the most die-hard Motown fan into thinking they were listening to some vintage b-sides in a blindfolded listening test. Granted, the difference between Seal covering classic soul songs and Hawthorne writing songs that sound exactly like classic soul songs is arguable, but Hawthorne writes his own material and played nearly every instrument on his first record, and that's plenty damn soulful.

Hardscrabble Background: 5
Ache in Vocals: 8
Perceived Grit: 5
Total Aggregated Soulfulness: 6

Listen:  “The Walk”

 

10. The Alabama Shakes

Have we (and everybody else) written enough about the Alabama Shakes? Yes. Has their throwback rock n’ soul serendipitously come along at a time when most people are sick of tarted-up synth pop and overly-precious synth indie? Yes. Is seeing them live the equivalent of a religious experience? Yes. Have you listened to them yet? Ye — no? What the hell is wrong with you? 

Hardscrabble Background: 6
Ache in Vocals: 9
Perceived Grit: 8
Total Aggregated Soulfulness: 8

Listen:  “You Ain’t Alone”