Brandy

While her sitcom debut, Thea, lasted just 19 episodes, Brandy's music side hasn't let up since her self-titled 1994 debut. What an album Brandy was, too, moving more than four million copies on the strength of four spare, beat-batting singles: "Baby," "I Wanna Be Down," "Best Friend," and "Brokenhearted." Not to be outdone just four years later was Never Say Never, Brandy's biggest album, thanks to her first #1 single (the glacial ballad "Have You Ever") and a press-baiting war-of-words with Monica ("The Boy Is Mine," as inspired by Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney's "The Girl Is Mine").

With so many smash hits crashing the '90s charts, we thought we'd use our Next Steps to show you how Brandy's reinvented herself on every album since.

Much like Janet Jackson's career-catapulting work with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Brandy's effortless collaborations with producer Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins have all but defined her back catalog. That's why it was strange to see her elegantly switch gears on Afrodisiac, bringing Timbaland into the fold along with heart-murmur breaks ("Should I Go") and club-ready beats (the title track). And, hey, if you're a diehard Darkchild fan, Brandy returned to his side on Human, delivering the deftly layered harmonies of "A Capella (Something's Missing)" and the pick-me-up melodies of "Fall."

With a bloodline that includes a respected R&B singer (father Willie Norwood) and such iconic, platinum-plated cousins as Bo Diddley and Snoop Dogg, Brandy had some serious shoes to fill as she entered show business in her early teens. Good thing she had her first taste of the spotlight at six, then, jumping onstage with Diddley and Little Richard. A decade later, she'd have artists chasing her down, eventually leading to standout singles with such A-list singers and MCs as John Legend ("Quickly"), Heavy D (the Quincy Jones-backed Michael Jackson cover "Rock With You"), Kanye West ("Bring Me Down," "Talk About Our Love"), and Queen Latifah (a classic new jack swing remix of "I Wanna Be Down"). And as our entire Brandy Essentials proves, her solo material is every bit as good.