Adele - 19

I've always thought the difference between making a movie and making music is that where the movie maker is happy if someone goes and sees their movie just once, the music maker expects the audience to listen to their music more than once. A good album should be one that you can listen to over and over again and not get bored. If you're skipping songs it means that it's not a good album. It's just an album with some good songs. Of course over time a once adored album can get a bit tired, just the fact that you've listened to a certain song hundreds of times can mean that it has lost its appeal. But the truly great ones are the ones that can go on again and again, either just in the background, in the car, at work or at a party without your love for them diminishing in the slightest.
Memo: Amy Winehouse, Adele has stolen your voice, and your band and has made a much better album. You can also actually listen to it without feeling dirty, or needing to wash your hands of it afterwards. Of course i jest, as to label her as an Amy Winehouse clone would be both misleading and very very unfair to Adele. Whilst the vocal similarities are obvious Adele has made a much smarter, much more composed, and less showy album than either of Winehouse's LP's. There's the obvious elements of Soul, Jazz and gospel that her album shares with those of Winehouse, but the folk element is where Adele shines, and puts her on more of a parallel with another of her fellow country women Duffy. And while Adele may not have the showmanship of Winehouse or the hipness of Lily Allen or the radio friendly appeal of Duffy, she has a voice that cuts through the music, becoming the sole instrument in a song. Her voice is never over engineered in the mix allowing the nuances to be heard not hidden. I'm not suggesting that this is one of those truly great albums but it is certainly one of those ones that you would happily put on repeat a few times and not get tired of it.