1. Ozomatli - "Don't Mess With the Dragon"
Why choose one kind of music when you can have it all -- on a single CD even? The inventive, cross-cultural spirits of Santana, War, Los Lobos and the Freestyle Fellowship mingle in Chinatown, take a side trip to New Orleans and reflect the global views spurred by the L.A. band's stints on State Department-sponsored tours of Middle East war zones.

2. Various - "Love Is the Song We Sing"
Sure, Haight-Ashbury was ground zero for the Summer of Love, but arguably the most vital Bay Area music of the second half of the '60s happened in the outer areas of the region. So while compiler Alec Palao includes the obvious (Jefferson Airplane, Santana, Grateful Dead, etc.) here, the value of this latest in the "Nuggets" series is in what he reveals from behind garage doors in San Jose, the East Bay and yeah, in the city itself - the edgy and, at times, inventive rock that balances out the love vibes with some good ol' rock aggression. The real treasures contained in this lavish package -- really a detailed book with a four-CD soundtrack -- are the one-hit wonders (Count Five) and even the no-hit wonders (Frumious Bandersnatch, anyone?).

3. Lavender Diamond - "Imagine Our Love"
Becky Stark is hard to figure out. She seems like such a true naif that you think it has to be an act. But by all accounts and observations, this is the real Becky - sweet, optimistic, someone not of this time. You could almost imagine her as a second grade teacher in the JFK years leading her little charges in choruses of "Michael Row the Boat Ashore." Not that there's any lack of sophistication in the music on her group's debut album. Songs unfold, sketching earnest pleas for love and hope, echoes of Appalachia reverberating in big-city bohemia. The trick is that there's no trace of irony. Even the slightest betrayal would make the whole thing crumble. It's art without artifice, an all-too-rare phenomenon.

4. Peter Case - "Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John"
Case published a book recounting his experiences as a San Francisco street musician before he became a punk-era rocker with the Plimsouls, and this album affirms the troubadour spirit that has been at his core all along. A few friends (Richard Thompson among them) grace the set, but mostly it's just Case, his guitar and his seemingly bottomless reservoir of tradition-based melodies and character-filled tales.

5. The Bird and the Bee - "The Bird and the Bee"
This is modern romance from singer Inara George (daughter of late Little Feat founder Lowell George) and musical partner Greg Kurstin that goes from hurtin' ("I Am a Broken Heart") to certain ("F-in' Boyfriend"), with echoes of Bacharach-David and Brian Wilson in quirky semi-electro-pop settings. And there likely was not a more joyous song released in 2007 than their giddy "Again and Again."

6. Kitka - "The Rusalka Cycle"
Working with Ukranian composer Mariana Sadovska, the Bay Area women's ensemble brings to life the Rusalki - spirits of dead women who live in nature - with stunningly performed pieces rooted in ancient Eastern European folk traditions and rural America. The album was drawn from an extended stage production, but even without the visuals, the haunting harmonies are both evocative and unforgettable.

7. Dntel - "Dumb Luck"
Jimmy Tamborello, the musical half of the Postal Service duo with Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard, goes solo - if you can call this series of collaborations with artists including Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis, singer Mia Doi Todd, Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Gibbard himself a "solo" album. But it's Tamborello's sonic innovations and imagination that tie it all together. His clever and distinct manipulation of sound is always at the service of the songs, even at their most out-there, true-to-pop values.

8. Mickey Hart/Zakir Hussain - "Global Drum Project"
Joining percussive forces off and on for decades, Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead and Indian master Zakir Hussain really do go global on their latest project by bringing in Nigerian talking drummer Sikuru Adepoju and Puerto Rican conguero Giovanni. The CD also features guest appearances by percussionist Taufiq Qureshi (Hussain's brother), sitar player Niladri Kumar and sarangi player Dilshad Khan, as well as a vocal bit from Nigerian-born percussionist Babatunde Olatunji, recorded shortly before his death four years ago. All of that is put in electronic settings - equal parts groove and atmosphere - without losing the original power. As Hart has said, "The music is joy."

9. Sterling Harrison - "South of the Snooty Fox"
The embodiment of R&B professionalism, Harrison hit the road back in the '50s in search of that illusive breakthrough hit. Touring with all the greats and recording for Motown and Atlantic, Harrison bumped up against fame but never actually achieved it. He eventually he landed in L.A. as a fixture of the vibrant, but largely hidden, club and bar circuit, which is where he was working when he was "discovered" by "Dharma and Greg" writer Eddie Gorodetsky and star Thomas Gibson. That led to the making of this terrific album. Sadly, its release came too late for Harrison to enjoy the acclaim -- he died from cancer in 2005.

10. Cuban Cowboys - "Cuban Candles"
Jorge Alberto Navarro and band present a song cycle of his family story, from his parents' immigration through his own reconciliation of his dual heritage as a Cuban-American. Memories of his father's struggles broken dreams and mounting responsibilities give way to his own identity crises before he learns to drop the masks and just be himself. The music runs from vibrant ska-punk-surf to comforting Cuban roots -- which is exactly what Navarro achieves for himself.

2. Plays Monk - "Plays Monk"
The band's name is its mission statement, and no ensemble brings as much intelligence and brio to the music of modern jazz's transcendent composer Thelonious Monk as clarinetist Ben Goldberg, bassist Devin Hoff and drummer Scott Amendola. Focusing on lesser-known compositions, the trio mines the quirky humor, pathos and beatific joy that pervades Monk's music, while reveling in his terpsichorean rhythms.

3. Alan Pasqua - "Anti-Social Club"
Though in recent years he's devoted himself to harmonically adventurous acoustic settings, Pasqua first made a name for himself in Tony Williams' crunching fusion band, Lifetime. He returns to his keyboard roots with a vengeance on this CD, a bracing blend of rock and jazz. The music constantly shifts from the kinetic to the serene as Pasqua seems to distill the contrasting directions explored by Miles Davis in the late '60s and early '70s. He's joined by a wild menagerie of California jazz talent, including LA guitar hero Nels Cline, Yellowjackets bassist Jimmy Haslip, Bay Area drum star Scott Amendola and rising trumpet star Ambrose Akinmusire.

4. Joshua Redman - "Back East"
Using Sonny Rollins' classic 1957 album "Way Out West" as a point of departure, Redman delivers his most satisfying recording yet. The piano-less settings pair him with three different but equally dynamic bass-and-drum tandems, and Redman responds with blue-flame intensity, exploring a well-balanced program of standards and original material.

5. Luciana Souza - "The New Bossa Nova"
Born into an esteemed musical family in Rio de Janeiro, Souza made her reputation with a series of gorgeous albums setting poetry to music and exploring Brazilian standards. She works similar alchemy on a program of tunes by the likes of Joni Mitchell, Sting, Randy Newman and Elliott Smith, all interpreted through a lilting bossa nova sensibility.

6. Myra Melford and Marty Ehrlich - "Spark!"
Powerhouse Berkeley-based pianist Melford and New York reed master Marty Ehrlich come together intermittently to form one of jazz's most exhilarating duos. Their second album captures the volatile alchemy of their partnership as they flow between thematic improvisation and spontaneous creation, making music that's as likely to chant, murmur and croon as to stomp and scream.

7. Dayna Stephens - "The Timeless Now"
Though Stephens is spending most of his time in the New York area now, 29-year-old tenor saxophonist is a Berkeley High grad who maintains strong ties to the Bay Area. His debut album is a tremendously impressive session featuring his captivating original tunes and a superlative cast including pianist Taylor Eigsti, drummer Eric Harland and guitarist John Scofield. Boasting a big, wide, breathy tone, Stephens builds his solos out of gleaming melodic fragments that always seem to coalesce into beautifully constructed stories.

8. Bobby Hutcherson - "For Sentimental Reasons"
Backed by the dependably inspired pianist Renee Rosnes, bassist Dwayne Burno and veteran drummer Al Foster, vibraphone master Bobby Hutcherson interprets a program of well-trod American songbook standards (besides ringers by his late compatriot Harold Land and Benny Golson). While the tunes are familiar, Hutcherson luxuriates in each melody, letting his shimmering notes float in the air. He delivers the songs with such emotional commitment that the experience is pure pleasure.

9. Jackie Ryan - "You and the Night and the Music"
With her plush, soul-tinged contralto, the Marin-based vocalist Jackie Ryan possesses one of the most glorious voices in jazz, and she's never sounded better than on this session. The highlights include an irresistibly swinging "You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To" and a striking version of "You Are There" featuring harpist Carol Robbins. The brawny, but tender tenor saxophonist Red Holloway provides the instrumental fireworks, matching Ryan's simmering heat with insinuating asides.