Beth Orton

Four albums in 15 years is not exactly prolific when it comes to making records. But Annie Lennox has never been one to rush things, and her recorded output as a solo artist in life after the Eurythmics has been stellar. The last time she issued a recording in 2003 with Bare, a collection of deeply committed emotional songs that set a new standard for her artistically, though they were written in the turmoil following her second divorce. Perhaps the reason she hasn't had the time to record is her activism. She's involved herself in causes that range from her primary concern, raising awareness about AIDS/HIV (and she refers to this in the album's notes), to the environment and poverty. But Songs of Mass Destruction isn't a political album by any means, unless the personal is – and often it is. This is another album of love songs; dark love songs. These are breakup ballads, statuesque embers of pain and rage that have simmered down to the traces of that dull ache of emptiness that always exists in the aftermath of something profound.

Dido's debut is moulded from Sarah McLachlan's intimate soul, Sinead O'Connor's Celtic yelp, and Beth Orton's morose resolve–with all the sharp edges rounded out. This is an auspicious and highly listenable album – atmospheric, seductive, and beautifully produced and sequenced. As of 2014, the album has sold more than 22 million copies worldwide, and was the second best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK, behind James Blunt's Back to Bedlam.