Rihanna ain't no repeata, Sean Paul closes out the snowy months with the perfect summer record, and rappa ternt sanga T-Pain is romantic enough to get Mike Jones to act nice.

Rihanna "S.O.S. (Rescue Me)"
A Girl Like Me

The most surprising thing about this follow-up to last summer's "Pon De Replay" smash is that it sounds nothing like its predecessor, yet you couldn't mistake it for anyone else. Though Caribbean hues lurk in its shadows, it's the sample of Soft Cell's "Tainted Love" and the house-friendly beat that drive it on the dance floor.


Bon Jovi "Who Says You Can't Go Home"
Have a Nice Day

New Jersey's biggest band finally wakes up to what the Boss realized a long time ago -- the Garden State is harder to shake than those iced-up '80s bouffants. But ya gotta give it to 'em: The aging rockers go from livin' on a prayer to livin' with two mortgages rather effortlessly.


Sean Paul "Temperature"
The Trinity

Most dancehall vets bury their slackness beneath a blizzard of impenetrable patois. But the superstar deejay with the Hotel Management degree takes a hot beat and slows things down so that even junior can sing along. It's instantly accessible and as catchy as a nursery rhyme -- the perfect summer record, three months too early.


Cassandra Wilson "I Want to Be Loved"
Thunderbird

We all have different kinds of pillow talk, but when combined with Willie Dixon's blues lyric, Wilson's husky alto seems well equipped to get the job done. As slide guitars sway and snare drums crack, the sound of seduction floats through the air. Wilson's jazz know-how helps bolster her pop singularity -- there's no one working today who sounds like her.


Daniel Powter "Bad Day"
Daniel Powter

Your boyfriend used your credit card to subscribe to HoesRUs.com, you dropped your keys down the garbage chute, and your underwear doesn't match. If any of this sounds familiar then "Bad Day" could be your song. Yeah, the sentiment's grim, but somehow Danny's peppy way with a melody turns this ode to the melancholy into a siren of hope.


E-40 f/ Keak Da Sneak "Tell Me When to Go"
My Ghetto Report Card

This Lil' Jon production wreaks havoc on the brain, penetrating the frontal lobe before delivering a wallop to the cerebral cortex. Its production couldn't be any sparser, but the effect is as large as E-40's 6XL shirt.


Prince "3121"
3121

The pint-sized party boy may have gotten a bit more serious, but his hedonism is still intact. He's frontloaded the new album with this deeply funky ode to a love-shack kinda address where you slip on Japanese robes and sip bubbly out of a glass with chocolate handles. Souladelic horns, libido drums, and a nasty, nasty groove make all his party clichés resound anew.


Three 6 Mafia "Poppin' My Collar"
Most Known Unknown

The Oscar-winning crew made their underground rep by screaming over ominous proto-crunk beats. Their biggest hit so far flips the script by swapping craziness for classicism. The string sample could have been swiped from Kanye, and the ghostly choir adds soul. The one thing that hasn't changed? That screaming.


Natasha Bedingfield "Unwritten"
Unwritten

Britain's Kelly Clarkson is a helluva lot more soulful than her U.S. counterpart. But the sheer volume of her ballsy brand of pop is on par with "Since U Been Gone." This self-help anthem is as buoyant as a blimp with a year's supply of helium. Just when you thought it couldn't get any more uplifting, along comes a gospel choir to carry Bedingfield's mantra home.


T-Pain f/ Mike Jones "I'm N Luv (Wit a Stripper)"
Rappa Ternt Sanga

Sliding down that pole, yeah, she's doing the right thing. So of course he wants to do the night thing--that makes sense. What's odd is the overtly romantic vibe of this track. Gone is hip-hop's ruff-azzed machismo. In its place, T-Pain plops a sweet smooch and even gets Mike Jones to act nice during the cameo.