If Mary J. Blige is the hip-hop generation’s Aretha, then bell-toned chanteuse Faith Evans is its Minnie Riperton/Deniece Williams. On her third and most accomplished album, Faithfully, Evans uses lush ’70s soul orchestrations for her ballads about love’s joys and hardships. Her vocals range from earthy gospel-schooled cries to breathy ethereal coos; and on the CD’s best cut, ”I Love You,” she makes yearning and heartache sound like the sweetest pain.

Grade: A-