Mark Ronson is one of the vibe-iest producers on the market today. He famously set the retro tone of Amy Winehouse's masterpiece Back to Black, and now he's doing himself the favor. On his third solo disc — credited to Mark Ronson & the Business Intl. — the 35-year-old British Brooklynite makes like a radio-station tagline: bringing you the best sounds of the '60s, '70s, '80s and today. But the strategy works: Ronson is clearly in love with soul, hip-hop, synths and throwback rock and his concoctions turn everyone from Phantom Planet's Alex Greenwald to Boy George into smooth operators.

Ronson skillfully tosses rappers onto his head-nodding grooves, recruiting Ghostface Killah (who roughs up the pumping pop of "Lose It in the End"), Spank Rock (who charms the ladies on "The Bike Song"), Theophilus London (who jumps into the skitter-step of "Hey Boy"), and Q-Tip, who boom-baps all over the disc's fantastic, catchy first single, "Bang Bang Bang." D'Angelo, sounding like a cross between André 3000 and Ol' Dirty Bastard, makes a rare appearance on soul experiment "Glass Mountain Trust." And Ronson himself steps in front of the microphone on the album's title track, where he… read more »