Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

To Gleeks everywhere, he’s Will Schuester, the super-positive director of McKinley High’s glee club. But Matthew Morrison, star of TV’s wildly popular Glee, is also an accomplished singer with Broadway and off-Broadway experience. Previously, Morrison has been heard singing on several best-selling Glee soundtrack albums, including his cover of John Denver’s “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” Now the singer-actor is stepping out with his self-titled debut album, featuring duets with Sting, Sir Elton John and Gwyneth Paltrow, who plays his recurring flame Holly Holliday on Glee. Morrison first honed his vocal chops in productions of Footloose, The Rocky Horror Show and Hairspray, in which he starred as...

America’s most successful adult contemporary singer is most famous for hits like “Copacabana” and “I Write the Songs.” But he’s also known for teaming up with the top artists in jazz, country and pop. Here, the smooth crooner is paired with the likes of Sarah Vaughn, Reba McEntire and Sheena Easton. Best of all is the “Mandy” singer’s warm duet with Barbra Streisand and his divine reunion with Bette Midler, his early collaborator from the 1970s, on the swinging pop standard “On a Slow Boat to China.”

With Annie Lennox’s chillingly soulful voice and Dave Stewart’s ingenious studio work, Eurythmics was the quintessential synth-pop band of the 1980s. Together, the duo scored a string of chart-topping singles, all of which are gathered on this 18-track vinyl collection. Reflecting Eurythmics’ sweet-and-sour blend of joyous sounds and dark imagery, the hits include the infectious “Right By Your Side,” the yearning “Here Comes the Rain Again” and the richly hypnotic classic “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This).”

Her breakthrough hit, back in 1967, was called “Dumb Blonde.” But there’s never been anything stupid about Dolly Parton. The fourth of 12 children born to a poor Tennessee farmer and half-Cherokee mother, she rose from her Appalachian roots to build an empire on self-penned songs like “I Will Always Love You,” a massive 1992 hit for Whitney Houston, starring roles in Hollywood movies and her Dollywood theme park. Much of Parton’s appeal is due to her humor—joking about her flamboyant fashions and voluptuous figure. “I’m not offended by dumb blonde jokes because I know that I’m not dumb,” she once said, adding quickly, “I also know I’m not blonde.” Never one to deny her reliance on elaborate ...

There was a time when Simpson was destined to join Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in pop divadom. But that was before the Texan beauty became a TV star, developed her fashion line and traded evening pumps for cowboy boots. This collection includes her pop hits “I Wanna Love You Forever” and “I Think I’m in Love with You” and a couple of playful cover songs. Best of all, it features several tracks from her 2008 country album, Do You Know, including her soaring title track duet with Dolly Parton.

Anyone who thought the “Tik Tok” singer’s time was running out had better think again. Ke$ha’s remix album—released to coincide with her popular Get $leazy tour—proves that the trash-talking dance diva knows how to keep the party going. Featuring revved-up, effects-laden versions of hits like “Your Love is My Drug” and “We R Who We R” from her Animal and Cannibal recordings, it simulates frenzied, Ke$ha-style night out at the dance club. So crank this up, apply a little blue lipstick and glitter-bomb your friends.

Jennifer Lopez is a longtime multi-tasker. At five, she was taking singing and dancing lessons. As a teenager, she started acting and got her first break on TV’s In Living Color. After dancing briefly for Janet Jackson, she landed her breakthrough part in the 1997 movie Selena. Two years later, she released her debut album, On the 6. A bona fide brand, Lopez has sold over 55 million albums, appeared in two dozen films and launched her own perfume and fashion line. These days, J.Lo is juggling other duties, including wife to singer Marc Anthony, mother to their twins and judge on American Idol. Add to that her latest album, Love?, which she describes as her most personal to date. “You can’t h...

With twins on the way with husband actor-rapper Nick Cannon, Carey’s got no time for a new studio album. Fans hungry for more of the pop diva’s sumptuous vocals can feast on this 14-song roundup. Avoiding a complete duplication of The Essential, released earlier this year, The Collection is a mix of number one hits and classic Carey numbers like “Bliss,” “Melt Away” and “Breakdown,” all taken from her mid- to late-’90s albums. Best of all, it includes the dreamy “Babydoll,” which she’ll soon be singing to her twins.

Few can match this legendary artist’s gift for storytelling. Simon’s 11th solo album features some of his best stories to date. Laced with memorable melodies and rich in African and south Indian rhythms, songs such as the gorgeous “Dazzling Blue” tell of Simon’s love of his musician-wife, Edie Brickell. Heavier numbers like “Love and Blessings” and “Love is Eternal Sacred Light” are steeped in gospel sounds and deal, fittingly, with matters of faith and the meaning of life.

The life of Alecia Moore—better known as P!nk—is worthy of a movie. Born in the Philadelphia suburbs to a Vietnam-veteran father and a nurse mother, she became a tough teen after her parents divorced, getting into drugs and delinquency. Happily, she cleaned up her act in time to launch her music career. After a brief stint in the female trio Choice, she topped the charts in 2000 with her r&b flavored solo debut, Can’t Take Me Home. But P!nk wasn’t satisfied with her musical direction. It wasn’t until the following year that she found her groove with the rock-oriented, outcast-themed Missundaztood, which sold 13 million copies and made her a star. “[It] gave me a sense of freedom and purpose,...