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So far, 2009 has been the year of Taylor Swift, Beyonce and Lady Gaga. But if you're looking for music gift ideas beyond the blockbusters, Weekend Edition director Ned Wharton picks a few hidden gems.

Food and drinks aren't the only ways to impress your friends at your next holiday party. NPR's Felix Contreras has some suggestions for a new holiday soundtrack. Guest host Jacki Lyden talks to Contreras about how to get your party started and bring it to a smooth, reflective end.

Many younger artists are making a strong case to be the future of the genre — and the future looks bright. All but three musicians on Shaunna Morrison Machosky's Top 10 list are under the age of 40, and they all brush aside any notion of jazz being in a rut.

All Songs Considered's list of the 50 most important recordings of the decade continues, from Britney Spears to Amy Winehouse.

Looking back on the year in jazz, much of the focus naturally falls on young talents such as Vijay Iyer. Still, some of 2009's key records also evoked bygone jazz eras with such creativity that they might signal a new wave of New Orleans and Brazilian jazz.

It's early November, and for many in America, that means that when we go outside, we're likely to get wet. Whether we're dodging sprinkles, showers or downpours, November is part of a rainy season. Hear five songs from vocalists inspired by rain, including Gene Kelly, Patricia Barber and Mahalia Jackson.

Hall is in a league of players who've turned the tables for jazz and their respective instruments. As far as modernizing the sound and vocabulary of jazz guitar to the degree he did, longtime admirer and fellow guitarist Rez Abbasi says Hall is unmatched. Abbasi picks five songs, each of which reveals Hall's idiosyncratic technique.

From Argentine improvisations to the dark night of a Viennese songwriter, NPR Music's Tom Huizenga and host Guy Raz spin a multifarious mix of new releases.

Locomotives churning across America's vast open landscape provided plenty of fodder for jazz composers in the early 20th century. Railroads symbolized freedom, escape and opportunity for countless musicians, many of whom lived a vagabond lifestyle, always in pursuit of the next gig.

If being hopped up on baskets full of sugary springtime sweets doesn't put a spring in your step, then here are five songs to help you hop into the Easter spirit.