Digital Journal Gift Guide, Part 3: The Hottest New Music

In the final segment of our three-part gift guide series, Digital Journal suggests the most intriguing and entertaining new albums to present to anyone with a love of great music. From the Glee soundtrack to The Flaming Lips, we cover a range of styles.

The Flaming Lips, Embryonic (Warner): Call The Flaming Lips a modern-day Pink Floyd. It's a bold statement, sure, but this psychedelic outfit from Oklahoma have given us a sonically ambitious album filled with careening riffs and deep bass. Some of the tunes sound distorted, so it's not easy listening, but instead Embryonic works for anyone who wants to go on a spacey rock sabbatical. The Flaming Lips score points for their creative song titles, such as "The Sparrow Looks Up At The Machine" and "Virgo Self-Esteem Broadcast." And for they even get the Stephen Colbert stamp of approval.

BetweenLoveandLike

The lead singer of the band The Flaming Lips

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Alicia Keys, The Element of Freedom (J-Records): Talk about a songwriter who's matured since her debut. Alicia Keys is all grown up with a new album (launching Dec. 15) filled with powerful tunes spiced with her trademark vocals. Standout tracks include "Empire State of Mind Part II" (the piano fills are better than Jay-Z's grunts) and "Doesn't Mean Anything", a head-bobbing song with shades of Whitney Houston. Alicia still knows how to grab our attention with her hooks, and this album displays her range too. Miles Davis, The Music of Miles Davis (Sony): For the jazz fan, this is the definitive box set. You can't go wrong with the talented Miles Davis, who brought an experimental and funky vibe to standard jazz. This three-disc set features classics such as "Round Midnight", "Spanish Key" and "Summertime." This collection could also work as an introduction to Miles Davis, especially appropriate for the under-30 set who may have never experienced the genius of this trumpeter. Matisyahu, Light (Sony): Matisyahu earned a lot of press for being an Orthodox Jew diving yarmulke-deep in reggae and rap. But now that dichotomy has worn off, the Brooklyn-based musician wins kudos for releasing quality music, evident in Light. The catchy track "One Day" offers an inspiring chorus while "Escape" lets Matisyahu show off his rap skills. Definitely a top pick for the reggae lover in your family...or for a Jewish friend hoping for a thoughtful Chanukah present.

Glee, The Music: Volume One (Sony): Know someone slightly obsessed with the hit TV show Glee? Then the first volume of the show's top music is a considerate gift. The Glee cast do a fantastic job with their renditions of "Don't Stop Believing" and "Gold Digger." They're actually gifted singers, so this is no dive-bar cover band. The four-minute version of "Bust a Move" is especially fun -- you can picture the Glee cast doing their smile-heavy dance during the rap track (although Matthew Morrison is no Young MC). This is the final article in our three-part Digital Journal gift guide. Check out parts one and two and let us know in the comment section below what gifts you'll be buying for that special one.