# The 9 Best Neo-Soul Tracks of All Time Nineties soul rebuilt by musicians raised on hip-hop. Live bands playing deliberately behind the beat, seventies chord voicings, and an insistence on album-length statements at the height of the singles era. - **Origin:** Philadelphia and New York City, 1995 - **Tempo:** 70–100 BPM - **Also known as:** neo soul, nu soul, soulquarians - **Tracks:** 9 - **Updated:** 2026-08-29 - **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/neo-soul/ ## Curators on Neo-Soul - [The Waxonia Desk](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-desk/): 5 picks. Five records from the two years around Voodoo, when a group of musicians in one New York studio argued a genre into existence — plus the sampled bar that the drumming on all of them is answering. ## The list ### 1. [D'Angelo](https://waxonia.com/artist/dangelo/) — [Brown Sugar](https://waxonia.com/track/dangelo--brown-sugar/) *1995 · EMI* The record that announced the whole project: a Rhodes, a hip-hop drum feel and a vocal arrangement borrowed from Marvin Gaye. Nothing on radio in 1995 sounded this unhurried. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/D'Angelo%20Brown%20Sugar) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=H_WzjiTzZBA) ### 2. [D'Angelo](https://waxonia.com/artist/dangelo/) — [Untitled (How Does It Feel)](https://waxonia.com/track/dangelo--untitled-how-does-it-feel/) *2000 · Virgin* Seven minutes that dismantle the idea of a single. The band play so far behind the beat that the track feels like it might stop, and the video obscured how extraordinary the arrangement is. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Soulquarians Room](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-soulquarians-room/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/D'Angelo%20Untitled%20(How%20Does%20It%20Feel)) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=SxVNOnPyvIU) ### 3. [Erykah Badu](https://waxonia.com/artist/erykah-badu/) — [On & On](https://waxonia.com/track/erykah-badu--on-and-on/) *1997 · Kedar* A jazz vocal delivered over a beat that would not be out of place on a Tribe record. Badu arrived fully formed, and the phrasing on this is still being copied. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Erykah%20Badu%20On%20%26%20On) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=-CPCs7vVz6s) ### 4. [Lauryn Hill](https://waxonia.com/artist/lauryn-hill/) — [Ex-Factor](https://waxonia.com/track/lauryn-hill--ex-factor/) *1998 · Ruffhouse* A Wu-Tang sample, a gospel structure and a lyric with no interest in protecting anyone's dignity, least of all its author's. The most-covered song of the era, and nobody has improved on it. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Soulquarians Room](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-soulquarians-room/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Lauryn%20Hill%20Ex-Factor) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=cE-bnWqLqxE) ### 5. [The Roots featuring Erykah Badu](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-roots-featuring-erykah-badu/) — [You Got Me](https://waxonia.com/track/the-roots-featuring-erykah-badu--you-got-me/) *1999 · MCA* A live band proving a rap record needs no samples to swing, then handing the last ninety seconds to a drum-and-bass breakdown. Questlove's finest recorded argument. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Roots%20featuring%20Erykah%20Badu%20You%20Got%20Me) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=MJCHeEQV454) ### 6. [Maxwell](https://waxonia.com/artist/maxwell/) — [Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)](https://waxonia.com/track/maxwell--ascension-dont-ever-wonder/) *1996 · Columbia* The most straightforwardly beautiful record in the genre, and the one that proved this was a movement rather than one man in Virginia. Sade's restraint, updated without being diluted. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Maxwell%20Ascension%20(Don't%20Ever%20Wonder)) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=D7rm9t5S4uE) ### 7. [Slum Village](https://waxonia.com/artist/slum-village/) — [Guess Who](https://waxonia.com/track/slum-village--guess-who/) *2000 · Barak* J Dilla programming drums that are audibly, deliberately out of time and grooving harder for it. The production technique underneath half of this list, laid bare on one track. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Soulquarians Room](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-soulquarians-room/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Slum%20Village%20Guess%20Who) · [Search YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/search?q=Slum%20Village%20Guess%20Who) ### 8. [Common](https://waxonia.com/artist/common/) — [The Light](https://waxonia.com/track/common--the-light/) *2000 · MCA* Dilla again, a Bobby Caldwell loop, and a love letter that never once condescends. The clearest evidence that the Soulquarians' method worked for rappers as well as singers. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Soulquarians Room](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-soulquarians-room/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Common%20The%20Light) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=OjHX7jf-znA) ### 9. [Solange](https://waxonia.com/artist/solange/) — [Cranes in the Sky](https://waxonia.com/track/solange--cranes-in-the-sky/) *2016 · Saint* Twenty years on, the same values — patience, live strings, a refusal to raise the voice — applied to an entirely modern record. Proof the genre became a grammar rather than a period. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Solange%20Cranes%20in%20the%20Sky) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=S0qrinhNnOM) --- Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.