I love ya mom (who isn't reading this anyway, but oh well :))
Thanks to everyone who commented or will comment on any of my posts-much appreciated.

I was listening to Songs in A Minor by Alicia Keys yesterday. It's a really good album. I used to like her second album (The Diary of Alicia Keys) better, but I think that, on average, I'm leaning toward Songs now. Both are really good though-I feel that she's light years ahead of most of the R&B/Soul acts out nowadays. Just listen to songs like Troubles or Mr. Man on the first CD. Or my favorite, Diary, off of the latest disc. She goes beyond the trite "oh I love you, I'll be down for you and we can have lots of sex" sentiments of many R&B love songs. I really like the deepness and creativity of the concept of this song, that this guy she is with can open up to her as if she were his diary. Its such a novel way of expressing a close relationship, and yet it makes perfect sense. And the song itself just sounds so good-its slow and deep and layered, and the back and forth "I won't tell" between her and Tony Toni Tone' is a great emotional crescendo (I don't know if it also qualifies as a musical crescendo-you musicians might know better) to the sentiment of the song.
I should probably disclaim that I have a bit of a thing for her too (not a real crush or anything, but she is easy on the eyes, I say with vast understatement) , and so I might be a bit biased. I've often wondered if I would have liked her music as much if I had heard it before knowing who it came for. But I think I can honestly say that the music lives up to the hype. And dude, she's my age-why couldn't I have grown up in New York :)