This week our playlist includes music by Cowboy Junkies, Sufjan Stevens, Muse, Judy Garland, Salt 'N' Pepa, Bob Schneider and more.

Poor Teddy Thompson. The New York Times calls him "one of the most gifted singer-songwriters of his generation."

If you're looking for big, mainstream music this week, you'll have to wait for Sunday's Grammy Awards telecast. This week's record releases are stubbornly independent.

The line on Teddy Thompson is that he's just too fantastic for his own good. Too gifted a writer, too compelling a singer, too handsome a man. And too insistently artistic to release a CD of songs that kids want to buy.

Richard Thompson tackles two rock cliches in one fell swoop with his current album and tour.

As a showman, Peter Wolf is right up there with Mick Jagger and James Brown. He doesn't put out a batch of unrelated songs, he makes what used to be called "albums," and they take you on a carefully sequenced adventure.

For me, the holidays are the idea time for unexpected gifts -- music that defines a moment, a season, a time in your life. Music that makes you listen, forces you to feel and think, inspires you to dance and dream.