Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

The Piano Man has always sung about the women in his life. This collection compiles all of his most romantic hits on one CD, including the title track and “Just the Way You Are,” both written about his first wife, Elizabeth Weber, and “This Night” and “And So It Goes,” about supermodel Elle Macpherson, who he dated. Missing, sadly, is “Uptown Girl,” the infectious doo-wop classic Joel wrote initially for Macpherson and then completed with another supermodel in mind, Christie Brinkley, whom he dated and later married.

Everyone has their yuletide favorites—including the cast of Glee. The TV show’s latest soundtrack of Christmas songs features group carol-singing, duets and solo turns by Lea Michele and Amber Riley. Naya Rivera leads a soulful rendition of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” while Chris Colfer and Darren Criss team up for a playful “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” But gleeks will especially cherish the duet between Matthew Morrison and guest star kd lang, who perform a memorable “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”

Eight of the songs appeared on 2009’s My World and this year’s My World 2.0, but these stripped-down versions prove the kid can really sing and may have a longer career than his detractors claim. The reworked “Baby” has a charming innocence, especially Bieber’s rap about texting and Tweeting the object of his puppy love. The newest tracks are “Never Say Never,” on which Will Smith’s 12-year-old actor son Jaden joins him on The Karate Kid’s theme song, and “Pray,” the Bieb’s hope for peace and social justice.

Australia’s INXS, led by singer Michael Hutchence, was one of the top rock acts of the 1980s and ’90s. But after the charismatic frontman’s death in 1997, the band struggled to regain its form, recruiting Canadian singer J.D. Fortune through a reality TV show only to kick him out two years later. Now Fortune is back and INXS has recast its biggest hits with an eclectic range of guests, including Ben Harper, John Mayer and Matchbox 20’s Rob Thomas, who delivers a sinfully good, Latin-tinged version of the classic title track.

Among pop divas, few are bigger than Mariah Carey. The five-octave singer is the best-selling female artist of all time, with more than 200 million albums and singles sold worldwide. She’s the only artist to have scored a number one hit in every year of the 1990s, including such Mariah favorites as “Vision of Love,” “Emotions,” “Fantasy” and “Heartbreaker.” In fact, the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter boasts more chart-topping hits than any other solo artist in U.S. history. For all her chart domination, Carey has experienced personal and professional disappointment. In 1997, she divorced record executive Tommy Mottola, who Carey described as intimidating and controlling (she’s now happ...

One way of measuring the “Christmas creep,” the tendency of celebrations to start earlier each year, is to listen for when seasonal songs first start getting played in stores and shopping malls. It’s hard to resist those old yuletide nuggets—especially when performed by top artists—which is why CDs like Sheryl Crow’s collection are so popular. Performed in Crow’s signature mix of blues, gospel, soul and rock ’n’ roll, Home for Christmas seems certain to become a holiday favorite. Crow opens with the spiritual “Go Tell It on the Mountain” before offering a funky version of “The Christmas Song” and a string-filled “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” She then serves up traditional numbers like “O Hol...

Recorded after her debut album, Swift’s set of six Christmas songs is now getting a wider release, thanks to the young country singer’s crossover success. She covers George Michael’s modern standard “Last Christmas,” the sexy “Santa Baby” and Irving Berlin classic “White Christmas,” popularized by Bing Crosby. Best of all, she updates “Silent Night” and delivers two original songs, “Christmas When You Were Mine” and “Christmas Must Be Something More,” that showcase her prodigious songwriting talent.

Controversy has always dogged Kanye West—through no fault but his own. The celebrated hip hop artist often mouths off at inopportune times, declaring “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” on a televised benefit concert for Katrina relief and, most infamously, upstaging Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards to proclaim Beyoncé a more deserving winner. It would be easy to dismiss West as an arrogant blowhard if he wasn’t so talented. After establishing himself as a producer (Jay-Z, Mos Def), West launched himself as one of hip hop’s most gifted rappers. His debut album, The College Dropout, won three Grammy Awards. His following albums, including Late Registration and Graduation, ...

It’s been a decade since Steve Jobs, the man behind Apple and a huge Beatles fan, first tried to make Beatles music available through iTunes, the world’s largest music retailer. Now, after much legal wrangling, digital versions of songs like “Let it Be” and “Here Comes the Sun” and albums such as Abbey Road and Rubber Soul are finally available and are outselling the latest Rihanna single and Glee soundtracks. Once again, the Fab Four are the “toppermost of the poppermost,” as John Lennon once cheekily proclaimed.

Ever wonder why this Vancouver rocker’s music is known and loved through the world? The answer lies in the songs which, when stripped down to just guitar and voice (and a little piano accompaniment), are as strong and sturdy as the Canadian shield. Adams does that here, performing classics like “Summer of ’69” and “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” and lesser-known numbers such as the soulful “Right Place” and the rockabilly-styled “You’ve Been a Friend to Me” unplugged before a live audience. Busking Bryan.