Lil Wayne

Destined to be a stoner classic, Tha Carter III should silence critics who think Lil Wayne can't make a cohesive album. III is pop rap to giggle to and marvel at, from "Phone Home," where Wayne gives his outer-space shtick the full treatment, to "Misunderstood," in which he disses Al Sharpton and imparts that he lives next door to a child molester. (While getting high, naturally.)

The CD has more than its share of beguiling lines ("My picture should be in the dictionary/Next to the definition of 'definition'"), but surefire hits like "Mr. Carter," "Comfortable" and "Got Money" will ensure III's place in the all-time pop-music pantheon, next to silly, epic albums like Dark Side of the Moon and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road.