Raleigh resident Shawn “DJ Castro” Smith is a walking musical library. On top of being one of NC’s premier spinners of vinyl, Castro also has one of widest musical palates around (Castro owns over 7,500 records and Cd’s). He is down with funk, country, rock, soul, hip hop and jazz just to name a few. Castro gives us the lowdown of what he has been grooving on.

1. Clipse - Hell Hath No Fury- Well worth the wait! Once again, the All Star lineup of the Neptunes on production and the Clipse spitting witty, grimy lyrics have us fiending for more.

2. Jamiroquai- Dynamite - One of my favorite artists who's still making solid long players filled with soulful grooves to make you move. Feels Just like It Should, a track featured on Dynamite is even used in a popular Cingular commercial. Dynamite indeed.

3. Dimitri From Paris- In The House - One of the top remixers/DJ's in the business comes forward with a double disc of disco/R&B/house tunes from the past. Top shelf anthems such as Tata Vega's Give It Up For Love and Gwen Guthrie’s Peanut Butter show why he's one of the top music selectors in the game. Play this one loud and you'll feel like Dimitri is in YOUR house.

4. Justin Timberlake- Futuresex/Lovesounds - Say what you want about Mr. Timberlake but this might be the best Pop/R&B album of all time without Michael Jackson's name on it. Solid from start to finish and with Timbaland producing 10 out of 12 songs how can you go wrong?

5. James Brown- Star Time! - This has to go down as one of the top 5 box sets ever created. 4 discs filled with some of the most slamming, back breaking beats we'll ever hear. This is pure satisfaction anyone should be able to grasp. Hip Hop wouldn't exist without The Godfather.

6. Pharrell- In My Mind- As one half of the chart topping production duo The Neptunes, Pharrell Williams knows how to create hits for other artists but can he pull off a solo album? Oh yes he can! Pharrell does an interesting blend of R&B and hip hop with great results. Don't expect his album to sound like stuff he does for other artists. He wants the music listener to hear what's going on in HIS mind.

7. Robin Thicke- The Evolution Of Robin Thicke- The second album from Alan Thicke's son. (His dad played Kirk Cameron's father on the 80's hit show Growing Pains) is a wonderful blend of ballads and up tempo tracks that's getting crazy play on urban radio. Lost Without You is the current track that's number one on the Billboard R&B single charts and the album is number one on the Billboard R&B Album Charts. With guests on the album like Faith Evans, Lil' Wayne, & Pharrell we're surely listening to the evolution of Mr. Thicke.

8. Foreign Exchange- Connected the Instrumentals - All instrumental album of the critically acclaimed Connected. Beats by Nicolay (who now resides in Wilmington) and lyrics by Phonte of Little Brother and members of the Justice League. Incredible music that that can be played in any setting. A must have for your collection.

9. Jay-Z - Kingdom Come- His return album to the rap game is actually a pretty good record. There was so much hype around this record that I think on people's first listen they were disappointed. Forget that he retired and came back. Almost every song is a hit and with the great Dr. Dre producing 3 tracks and guests like Usher, John Legend, Beyonce, & Chris Martin of Coldplay he once again shows us what he has.

10. Sade- Love Deluxe- No Ordinary Love, Kiss Of Life, Cherish The Day. Need I say more?