This week we review music by Big Boi, Lefty Frizzell, Garbage, Bessie Smith, The Alabama Shakes, and more.

Here's a list of ten Christmas songs that never get old for me even during this holiday season when it can be difficult to hear anything but seasonal classics.

"I think the culture today is very, very different from what it was in the '60s, and I feel lucky that I grew up at a time when I had these very strong female role models. They were strong women, but their power was very much connected to their creativity and their voice."

Here's a loose-lipped playlist for Stan the Man, a dude with a big ego and a very mixed record who finally accomplished the impossible -- actually stealing some of the cultural spotlight away from Lady GaGa.

Last year, harper Simon independently released an excellent solo debut that established him as one of the best new singer-songwriters in the genre.

My mother told me about VegiTERRANEAN and I was immediately on board.

Six years later, the newest installment of the series passes the torch to a younger stable of artists who, along with series initiator Vicki Iovine and Timothy Shriver, shared their thoughts about the album.

It's refreshing that a young, promising group like Arctic Monkeys and its producers were smart enough to reinvent the brand before it got stale and formulaic, which this project absolutely is not.