Under My Skin8.7

With her breakthrough 2002 debut, Let Go, Avril Lavigne tried to market herself as the bona fide alternative to tarty teen queens, Britney and Christina. Her guitar-pop hits were irresistibly bratty but the whole "Complicated" teen pose was a little hard to swallow, especially since two songwriters called the Matrix--who had at least twenty years on the Canadian singer--fed her most of the material. Having had the chance to live a little, Lavigne returns to make good on her angsty image with Under My Skin, an album rippling with delightfully dour melodies and heartfelt lyrics about loneliness ("How Does It Feel") and fractured relationships ("Don't Tell Me"). Is it clichéd? Sure. Will it scare off her necktie and t-shirt wearing fans? Possibly. But there's nothing quite as satisfying as watching a teen-pop icon actually reveal her soul. --Jaan Uhelszki

1. Take Me Away

2. Together

3. Don't Tell Me

4. He Wasn't

5. How Does It Feel

6. My Happy Ending

7. Nobody's Home

8. Forgotten

9. Who Knows

10. Fall To Pieces

11. Freak Out

12. Slipped Away

13. I Always Get What I Want

14. Nobody's Home (live acoustic)