13 Great Pop Albums That Were Overlooked & Underrated In Their Time: From Gina G To Little Boots

Kelis, Flesh Tone (2010)

I won’t spend too much time ranting about how underrated Kelis’ fifth album is — much like Kelis herself. You know. From “Intro” to “22nd Century” to “4th Of July (Fireworks)” to “Scream” to “Brave,” every song is an innovative killer, and French house trip Flesh Tone should have been the one to finally put Kelis on the map. Sigh. — ROBBIE DAW

Emma Bunton, Free Me (2004)

S Club 7 isn’t the only troupe that supplied us with devastatingly overlooked solo efforts: The legendary ladies of Spice have all provided us with at least one incredible solo song or two. Perhaps the most overlooked? Baby Spice — err, Emma Bunton. Following her debut solo effort A Girl Like Me, the honey-voiced pop diva returned in 2004 with an impeccable follow-up called Free Me, a collection of breezy ’60’s pop-leaning jams and romantic Latin-tinged odes. It was a bold shift in sound, full of quirky-yet-cute cuts like her cover of Marcos Valle‘s “Crickets Sing For Anamaria” and “Amazing,” her lush duet with Luis Fonsi. True, the album did yield 3 Top 10 records — the mesmerizing “Free Me,” “Maybe” and “I’ll Be There” — but as far as US audiences are concerned, no one would ever know. — BRADLEY STERN

Dannii Minogue, Girl (1997)

How to surmise the mind-bending genius and uniform flawlessness of Dannii Minogue’s 1997 LP Girl in two sentences? It’s basically impossible, but here goes: While the diva’s 2003 opus Neon Nights is understandably considered to be her defining moment (it was certainly her most successful), there’s so much to love about the album that preceded it. Namely, it features a bunch of early Xenomania productions that surpass anything they dished out to UK girl band Girls Aloud and displays an almost demented willingness to experiment.

When it comes to highlights, lead single “All I Wanna Do” is right up there. A massive hit in Australia and the UK, the soaring anthem reintroduced Dannii as a foxy dance diva — quite a change from the R&B sound of 1993’s Get Into You. The album delivered another minor hit (“Everything I Wanted”), but the real gems are haunting goth-pop monster “Disremembrance,” the biting “So In Love With Yourself” and art-pop adventure (Sorry, Gaga — Dannii did it first) “Everything Changes Underwater.” Oh, and who could forget her cover of Harry Nilsson’s “Coconut”? It became an instant classic in gay bars across the Commonwealth! — MIKE WASS

Lindsay Lohan, A Little More Personal (Raw) (2005)

Yes, you are reading this correctly.

Lindsay Lohan’s singing career might have been short lived, but it certainly shouldn’t go unnoticed. Although her glitzy debut album Speak showed off her party-girl image, her sophomore disc spoke to the darker, more vulnerable side of this pop wild child. An ambitious project, yes, but credit should be given where credit is due: Whether it’s her notorious image that made her falter or not, Lindsey’s glorious pipes really shine through in songs like “Black Hole,” “I Live For The Day,” and of course, “Confessions Of A Broken Heart (Daughter To Father).” So, here’s to you, Li Lo. After all this time, you still got it. — RACHEL SONIS

Deuce, On The Loose! (1995)

Great Britain cranked out some fun, guilty pleasure mixed-girl-and-boy pop groups in the late ’90s (we’re looking at you, Steps, Scooch and S Club 7), but the one that preceded them all was Deuce. To look at them, they were kind of like the UK’s far cheesier answer to Ace Of Base, yet their one and only album, produced by Phil Harding and Ian Curnow, was an absolute tour de fantastic.

Deuce’s three techno-pop singles off the LP, “Call It Love,” “On The Bible” and “I Need You,” still have a timeless quality, especially given that similar ’90s dance flourishes are now found in today’s pop scene. But much like the bulk of the albums we’ve highlighted in this roundup, you’ll do yourself a great service also checking out the non-singles — especially the synth-heavy dance romps “Rumours” and “Talk To Me.”

Note: On The Loose! is a hard one to find, and your best bet is eBay. — ROBBIE DAW

What are some of your own favorite albums that were underrated and overlooked in their time? Let us know below!