Record Rack / In Brief

* * * Toni Braxton, “Toni Braxton,” LaFace/Arista. Sounding like an unlikely hybrid of Phyllis Hyman, Anita Baker and Tracy Chapman, Braxton’s sultry, earthy delivery makes her a standout in today’s R&B; arena. Armed with impressive tunes on her debut album, Braxton really goes to town on the soul-infused “Another Sad Love Song.” (See profile, Page 66.)

New albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).