Better Days is the fourth studio album by American R&B singer Joe. It was released by Jive Records on December 11, 2001 in the United States. The album reached number 32 on the US Billboard 200 and number four on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It spawned three singles, including "Lets Stay Home Tonight", which reached number 18 on the US R&B chart; "What If a Woman", which reached number 13 on the US R&B chart, and "Isn't This the World". Better Days became Joe's second album to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the Best R&B Album category, while "Let's Stay Home Tonight" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. On August 7, 2002, a japanese limited version of the album was released together with "Joe Video Collection: I Wanna Know and More Video" content, named "Better Days & The Video Collection".
AllMusic's Jason Birchmeier praised "Let's Stay Home Tonight" and "Ghetto Child" as highlights and Joe for carrying the record, but was critical of the track listing repeating various "songwriting techniques" and love story "motifs", concluding that "if you're looking for a few quality singles rather than a consistent album, you should find this to be an engaging album, even if its rushed and ultimately thin on original ideas."[1]Vibe contributor Dimitri Ehrlich gave praise to Joe's musical inventiveness in utilizing instrumentation, "lyrical wit" and telling stories from a woman's perspective, concluding with: "Better Days is mostly a one-man show, a nice surprise in an era when few artists seem brave enough to resist all-star guests."[2]
