Watermark
Enya

HOT PICK

With 1988's Watermark, Enya changed the face of new age and Celtic crossover music. No longer merely a haven for earthy, acoustic musicians or a catchall genre for unclassifiable electronic musicians, new age was transmuted by Watermark into a commercially viable yet artistically rewarding niche that quickly moved from the back of the record store to the front bins. With her exquisite voice and melodies that seeped pleasantly into the mind,

Enya quickly found an adoring audience that didn't seem to care that they couldn't understand a word of Latin or Gaelic. One English-language track, however, "Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)," became the focal point of the CD. With its catchy repetitiveness and call to get away from it all, "Orinoco Flow" conquered radio, and a star was born.

Far from a gimmick, Enya possessed an angelic voice and a melodic sense of achingly beautiful dimensions. With Watermark, Enya successfully walked that thin line between art and commerce. In the process, she simply made some of the most endearing music ever. Ken Masters