Well, that's one way to deal with a breakup. U.K. songstress Adele Adkins actually intended to make a more upbeat sequel to her acclaimed sleeper-hit debut, 2008's 19, but fate intervened in the form of heartbreak and a nasty split from a long-term relationship. So Adele turned her tearful predicament to her advantage and channeled all that romantic trauma into her songwriting. 

The result was a soulful, soul-baring breakup album, 21, full of raw emotion that struck a nerve on both sides of the Atlantic -- hell, around the entire world -- and went on to become not just the biggest-selling album in the entire world for both 2011 and 2012, but the biggest-selling album of the 21st century to date. It established Adele as a bona fide global superstar and sent people back to record shops (well, mostly CD shops at the time) at a moment in history when online file-sharing was seriously eroding the music marketplace. And, let's be honest, 21 is also just a really good, honest, heartfelt record, recorded with minimal fuss and adornment by a host of A-list producers such as Rick Rubin, Paul Epworth and Ryan Tedder who all realized the best thing to do in the studio was take a step back and let Adele belt her lungs out. The gal can sing, and if you can somehow get through "Someone Like You" without feeling any empathy for poor 21-year-old Adele and her broken heart you should probably check your pulse. 

TRACKLISTING:

1. Rolling In The Deep
2. Rumour Has It
3. Turning Tables
4. Don't You Remember
5. Set Fire To The Rain
6. He Won't Go
7. Take It All
8. I'll Be Waiting
9. One And Only
10. Lovesong
11. Someone Like You