Listen Immediately: Amy Winehouse

I should have known that Amy Winehouse was worth listening to when I received two enthusiastic recommendations for her on the same day, then walked by a storefront emblazoned with posters of her on one of the few remaining record stores by my office.

My first thought was, a new female artist who is mainstream enough that she's being promoted front and center at a Kemp Mill Music while also being recommended to me by a couple serious indie music fans?

But as soon as I popped in her CD and heard the first track, I understood. This girl can sing, and not only does she sound well experienced beyond her 23 years, but she also sounds like she's living in the wrong decade. Her new album, Back to Black, is a soulful, jazzy, R&B masterpiece combining the old sounds reminiscent of Billie Holiday with the contemporary sound of someone like Lauryn Hill.

Winehouse, a native of England, has passion and attitude, and it comes through from the first note of her album. It's a bold feat to kick off an album singing, "They tried to make me go to rehab/I said no, no, no" as a defiant response to her previous management company's demands that she get help for her alcohol problems. Winehouse dropped them after that and released this record, which was the highest U.S. chart debut (#7) for any British female artist ever. She certainly proved that despite whatever personal issues she has to deal with, she has a firm grasp of her music career.

Visit MySpace for sample tracks. YouTube also has some excellent music videos. Like I said, listen immediately.