Essential Recordings: Something for Everyone on Your Christmas List

By far, one of the best gifts to give for- Red Hot Chilli Peppers "Blood Sugar Sex Magic"
Christmas is recorded music. It can be a tough- The Beatles "Revolver" or "Abby Road"
thing to buy for someone else as music tastes- Sting "Ten Summoners Tales"
are very subjective and you never know what- Leonard Cohen "The Future"
the receiver already owns. For this reason I enjoy- Elvis "Greatest Hits"
broadening the minds of the people on my- Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong "Best of..."
Christmas list with new music I'm pretty darnFor the Baby Boomer who missed the bus to
sure they will enjoy.Woodstock, or can't even recollect if they were
The following list of music recommendations hasthere??:
been carefully compiled from my large and- Jefferson Airplane "Surrealistic Pillow"
diverse personal collection. I know there is so- Jimmie Hendryx "The Ultimate Experience"
much more fantastic music I left out, but this list- Janice Joplin "Greatest Hits"
is a darn good start.- Creedence Clearwater Revival "Greatet Hits"
For the hard rocker who thinks classical music is- (Other Great 1960's albums include anything by
for wimps:the Beatles)
- Dvorak "Symphony #9"For the poor sod who works graveyard shift:
- Holst "The Planets"- Propellerheads Decks and Drums and Rock-n-Roll
- Beethoven Symphonies 3 "Eroica," 5, 7 and 9.- Soundtrack from "The Matrix"
Also the "Moonlight" and "Pathetique" Piano- Rush "Moving Pictures"
Sonatas- Bjork "Post"
- Rimsky-Korsakov "Scheherazade"- Led Zeppelin "III" and "Zoso"
- Prokoviev "Classical Symphony"- Infected Mushroom "Classical Mushroom"
- Schubert "Unfinished Symphony, #8"Safe bets for a "Secret Santa Gift Exchange":
For the passionate listener who only has music by- Mozart Symphony 41 "Jupiter"
dead guys with wigs:- Elton John "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"
- Queen "A Night at the Opera"- Beatles "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"
- Led Zeppelin "Physical Grafitti"- Supertramp "Breakfast in America"
- Beatles "Abby Road"- Vivaldi "Four Seasons"
- Yes "Fragile"- Michael Jackson "Thriller"
- Radiohead "OK Computer"For the violinist in the family (we all have one):
- Alanis Morissette "Jagged Little Pill"- Mark O'Connor "The New Nashville Cats"
For the high-strung boss who can take a little- Itzhak Perlman "Sarsate: Carmen Fantasy"
mellowing:- Eileen Ivers "Wild Blue"
- Bach "Brandenburg Concertos 1-6"- Leahy "Leahy" Ma, O'Connor & Meyer "Appalacia
- Simon & Garfunkle "Greatest Hits"Waltz"
- Antonio Carlos Jobim "The Man from Ipanema"- Anything featuring Jascha Heifetz, Pinchas
- Portishead "Portishead"Zukerman, Itzhak Perlman and/or Stephan
- Debussy "Le Mer"Grappelli
- Any piano works by ChopinFor the music buff who has everything:
For the tough guy who needs to get in touch- Corky Siegel "Chamber Blues"
with his feminine side:- John Scofield "Uberjam" or "Handjive"
- Heart "Dreamboat Annie"- The Baronics "Get Bach"
- Madonna "Immaculate Collection"- Soundtrack from the Motion Picture "Amelie"
- Sheryl Crow "Sheryl Crow"- Afro Celt Sound System "Volume 1: Sound
- Sarah McLaughlin "Surfacing"Magic"
- Alanis Morissette "Under Rug Swept"- Poe "Haunted"
- Ani DiFranco "Revelling/Reckoning"- Soundtrack from That 70's Show "Jammin'
- kd lang "Ingenue"Album"
For a lonely lady seeking male companionship:- Horace X "Strategy" or "Sackbutt"
- Billy Joel "The Stranger" and "52nd Street"And when all else fails...