Scissor Sisters

The first Scissor Sisters album was one of the catchiest debuts of the new millennium, but also one of the best-crafted. All camp on the surface but with plenty of substance underneath, it succeeded because the group wrote fantastic songs and backed them with excellent productions, usually in the vein of their biggest pop/dance heroes, from the Bee Gees to George Michael. If the follow-up, Ta-Dah, doesn't reach as high as its predecessor, it's certainly not the fault of some spot-on arrangements by head producer Babydaddy. Soundtracking his own mythical night at Studio 54 circa 1978, Babydaddy's Discoball Jazzfest Studio in New York City pumps out tracks gloriously in debt to the Bee Gees (of course), Elton John (although not on the track he contributes piano to), the Rolling Stones' brassy late-'70s stompers, electro-disco arena rock (if there is such a thing), and some sort of '70s disco hokum that features a very talented Gina Gershon on jew's-harp.

Dancefloor wizardry is so expected of Jake Shears that it made the country, classic rock, and New Orleans homages of his self-titled debut album that much more surprising – and effective. He returns to dance music old and new on his second album, and two decades after he and the rest of Scissor Sisters turned "Comfortably Numb" into a mirrorball spectacle, Shears still finds ways to make club-oriented music that's equally catchy and innovative. He even splits Last Man Dancing's halves along those lines, beginning the album with self-contained bursts of instant-gratification disco-pop that are flashy and heartfelt at the same time.