Artist: Adele

Title: 21

Label: Columbia

No one—in recent memory, anyway—has made heartbreak sound so good.

Adele may have only been 21 while writing songs for her aptly named sophomore project, but her soulful, honeyed voice sounds like she's been experiencing heartache for decades now. 

In fact, with every declaration of love gone wrong—very, very wrong—you can't help wanting to give her a big ol' hug because she sings with such a lingering ache in her voice. And now that her tour bus driver has officially introduced her country, blues, rockabilly and bluegrass, well, Adele's music has never sounded better or more diverse. 

Picking right up where 19 left off, the disc that earned her a New Artist of the Year Grammy and a hit single, "Chasing Pavements," 21 kicks off on another memorable note with "Rolling in the Deep," a song that showcases her distinctive voice so well. An unlikely fusion of blues, gospel and disco (yes, disco), Adele is wistfully looking back at what might've been, and she does so with style. 

In case you haven't already figured it out, reflection is the order of day in the bulk of the tracks, whether it's her collaboration with One Republic's Ryan Tedder on "Turning Tables," the jazzy introspection of "He Won't Go" or the thoroughly heartbreaking "Someone Life You," an impassioned tribute to her relationship's better days and why she bothered getting invested in the first place.

But as love has so many facets, so do breakups, and not every song on 21 is sad. While she doesn't exactly give it the full-blown Alanis treatment circa 1995 on "You Oughta Know," Adele reveals a sarcastic, even cheeky side of her personality when confronting the guy who did her harm in "Rumor Has It." 

With such a wide range of talent that ultimately spans musical genres, not to mention a relatable presence when singing about a subject that everyone has experienced at some juncture, Adele is an artist who will probably even get better with age. But at only 21, she's quite remarkable and definitely worth listening to if you haven't already.

*This Review First Published 3/2/2011