This retro album is great fun: Mix a chanteuse's vocals over an ambient lounge soundscape, with an early 60s retro sensibility. It runs from sensuously smooth jazz to funky pop grooves to an electronic ethereal vibe. Its sensual, ethereal, but not your typical electronica. I found it lushly melodic and reminiscent of Morcheeba and Zero 7.

Yell Fire! is an energetic mix of reggae infused with hip hop by Michael Franti and Spearhead. Each song deals with the human cost of war poignantly and pointedly. The music is full of angry indigination -- but it also rocks. The screed against the war adds a layer of depth. A definite late night party album, but one that may also make you pay a bit more attention to what's going on in the world.

One of the most consistently excellent CDs this year. Her stripped down approach sounds great, with an earthy beauty that rely heavily on blues and country roots. She also writes a great pop hook.

One of my favorite pop discs this year.She sounds as if shes from Mississippi and New Orleans, but she actually hails from Leeds in the U.K. Her soulful voice is warm and charming, falling somewhere between a bluesier Ricki Lee Jones and a more sublime Alicia Keys, equal parts pop, blues, soul, classic 1970s R&B.

I'm not a big country music fan, but this is one terrific album -- lots of great original songs, and I love the cover of the Traveling Wilbury's "Handle With Care." All of the songs are melodic and spare -- its Country pop, with a loose, atmospheric feel and intimate songwriting. I found Lewis' vocals haunting.

This disc is here as our movie soundtrack pick of 2006. The tight jazz combo is superb, the song selection inspired, and the freshening up of old classics work perfectly with Ms. Reeves sublime voice. Indeed, you will be hard pressed to find a bad pick amongst these 15 gems. This is the Dianne Reeves record you've waited for her entire career.

There have been plenty of major artist release but you don't need me to tell you about them. Where I try to be value added is my take on some of the more obscure music you may have missed -- the stuff that you would like if you heard it on the radio -- if radio didn’t suck.