White Ladder

On his fourth album, David Gray did what he'd done all along: write soulful songs and sing the heck out of them. But this one turned him from a cult artist into a mainstream success, thanks to sympathetic production that put his voice upfront, an unexpectedly haunting cover of Soft Cell's synth ballad "Say Hello Wave Goodbye," and a little help from Dave Matthews. The glorious single "Babylon" proved that you could break through with just an acoustic guitar, some light percussion, and one mighty voice.