Cyndi Lauper - Sisters Of Avalon (1996)

Nobody took Cyndi Lauper seriously at the outset, and years later there's still a tendency to dismiss her as fluff before hearing note one. That's odd, because her 1990s work is meaty and substantial, a mix of strong writing and chancy musical dice rolls. "You Don't Know" is a challenging single, "Fall into Your Dreams" is a warm-bath ballad, and film theme song "Unhook the Stars" reveals again that she can swim with the current. --Jeff Bateman