text: Country music needs more guys like David Nail, the ones who just love songs. Nail has several gems on his second album, including one he wrote with two members of Lady Antebellum and another he rescued from an old Keith Urban album. He sings about them on Songs for Sale, with its harmonies from Lee Ann Womack, and on the title track, a road-tripping relation to Marc Cohn's Walking in Memphis. Radio's been slow to accept single Let It Rain, but that's not even the best track here. What is? Listen and let your dreams run wild. — Brian Mansfield
  
  >Download:The Sound of a Million Dreams, Half Mile Hill, Let It Rain
  
  Gym Class Heroes, The Papercut Chronicles II* * * HIP-HOP/POP
  
  A look at what's worth adding to your playlist, plus more sound recommendations.
  
  "You can keep a level head and have fun, too," GCH frontman Travie McCoy says early on in this sequel to his group's second album (the one that introduced the Supertramp-swiping Cupid's Chokehold). Travie and his band sound as if they're having a blast, too, as they bounce back and forth among metallic guitar riffs, hip-hop verses and sweetly melodic pop-rock choruses. Maroon 5's Adam Levine (Stereo Hearts), isn't the only guest here: There are also collaborations with OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder and Danish singer Oh Land. — Mansfield
  
  Betty Wright and The Roots, Betty Wright: The Movie* * * R&B
  
  To slightly paraphrase the funky, frisky track Tonight Again, "Light up a candle, Betty Wright's got business to handle'' - and this time she's no mere cleanup woman. After a decade away from recording, during which she mentored and produced for others, the '70s soul siren is creating her own hot mess again, backed by The Roots and with help from Lil Wayne, Joss Stone and, most notably (on Baby Come Back), Tower of Power's Lenny Williams. Some songs hark back to the slow-jams era, others incorporate contemporary sounds; in both cases, the tougher and feistier she is, the better. — Jerry Shriver
  
  >Download:Tonight Again, Grapes on a Vine, Whisper in the Wind, Baby Come Back
  
  Howie D., Back to Me* * ½ POP
  
  With his solo debut, 38-year-old Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough proves that sometimes a teen idol can age gracefully by simply not trying too hard to grow up. Back to Me is youthful in spirit but not sophomoric, mixing buoyant dance-pop with adult-contemporary-friendly ballads and midtempo numbers — in other words, nothing that far afield of Backstreet fare. If there are no revelations here, there's also nothing Dorough need be embarrassed about. — Elysa Gardner
summary: Other notable releases include albums from Betty Wright, backed by The Roots, and a solo effort from Backstreet Boy Howie D.