Music for the season: Spin some, give some

Cash a little tight this Christmas? Join the club. Still, you want to give that special someone something, right? Music is still a great cheap and thoughtful gift.  Here are some of the best albums of the year. If you know that someone likes a certain kind of music, it would be hard to go wrong with these.

Alternative

Guns n’ roses
“Chinese Democracy”
Their return is nearly a gift in itself, right?

Snow Patrol
“A Hundred Million Suns”
Their most marketable and enjoyable album has a few curveballs. 

R.E.M.
“Accelerate”
Best album in a while sticks to smart formula.

Portishead
“Third”
Trip-hop group returns in fine form.

Beck
“Modern Guilt”
Partnership with Danger Mouse produces gloomy stylistic feat.

Hip hop

Kanye West
“808s & Heartbreak”
Heavy on Auto Tune; light on rap.

Lil Wayne
“Tha Carter III”
First record to go platinum in a week in three years, so it must be good. 

Q-Tip
“The Renaissance”
Veteran hip-hop star makes soulful and memorable album.

Nas
Untitled
His opus about race and America.

The Roots
“Rising Down”
Heavy, political and slightly paranoid.

Pop

Madonna
“Hard Candy”
Supremely danceable; produced by the Neptunes and Timbaland.

Britney Spears
“Circus”
Follow-up to last year’s great “Blackout” – the album, that is.

Leona Lewis
“Spirit”
Is she the next Mariah? You decide.

The Jonas Brothers
“A Little Bit Longer”
Surprisingly strong rock from teen heartthrobs.

Katy Perry
“One of the Boys”
The “I Kissed a Girl” girl has more hits.

R&B

Erykah Badu
“New Amerykah 4th World War”
Blaxploitation, dub and electronic soul sounds like Bjork went R&B.

Al Green
“Lay it Down”
Tender, classic Al sounds like the old days.

ESTELLE
“Shine”
U.K. phenom raps and sings on delightful U.S. debut.

Raphael Saadiq
“The Way I See It”
Retro-fitted soul mimics Stax and Philly sound.

Jazmine Sullivan
“Fearless”
Great debut; strong songs include “Bust Your Windows.” 

Country

Sugarland
“Love on the Inside”
Slick album features strong songwriting ruminating about love.

Taylor Swift
“Fearless”
Youthful pop-country from the genre’s new “it” teen.

Dolly Parton
“Backwoods Barbie”
Peppy country-pop from Dolly; her first true country album in years.

Brad Paisley
“Play”
Mostly instrumental and a little experimental, with country roots.

Toby Keith
“That Don’t Make Me a Bad Guy”
Light on the honky tonk, heavy on macho blues.

Gospel

Tye Tribbett
“Stand Out”
Standout album recorded in Virginia Beach crosses genres, resulting in adventurous excellence.

Mary Mary
“The Sound”
Crossover queens push neo-gospel sound forward.

Niyoki
“Rest”
Budding star blends gospel and urban on second disc.

Dorinda Clark Cole
“Take It Back”
Old- and new-school gospel done right by a genre pro. 

Rock

Santogold
“Santogold”
Dub, indie and electro rock make splendid mix.

The Killers
“Day & Age”
Balance of their New Wave pop debut and the Springsteen-heavy follow-up.

Coldplay
“Viva La Vida … ”
Arena rock; their best in a while.

TV on the Radio
“Dear Science”
Lauded, more accessible than ever.

Kings of Leon
“Only By the Night”
Southern rock Rolling Stones tone down the rambunctiousness – just a little.

Jazz

Lizz Wright
“Orchard”
Blues, folk and soul from underrated jazz crooner.

Earl Klugh
“The Spice of Life”
Full orchestra, jazz, funk, pop and soul along with Klugh’s solo guitar.

Wayman Tinsdale
“Rebound”
Bassist unites contemporary jazz and vocalists on comeback disc.

Cassandra Wilson
“Loverly”
Exciting renditions of American standards.

Kenny G
“Rhythm & Romance”
Latin-flavored jazz album from the household name.

Malcolm Venable, (757) 446-2662, malcolm.venable@pilotonline.com