Holiday gift guide 2010: Top 5 music picks

2. Bob Dylan: The Original Mono Recordings ($129.98)

Everybody's made up their mind by now whether they like Bob Dylan or loathe him, but if ever there was an aural argument for Dylan's greatness, it's made by Columbia's new CD box set "Bob Dylan: The Original Mono Recordings." His first eight (and greatest) albums are represented in their original jackets and sleeves (at one-third their original size, of course), housed in a handsome slipcase. There's a 58-page booklet with lots of rare Dylan pics, as well as history and commentary on each album, from his eponymous, precocious debut, "Bob Dylan," to his eighth – the mysterious comeback album "John Wesley Harding," featuring "All along the Watchtower." Dylan's meteoric transformation from ardent folk disciple to the writer of "Like a Rolling Stone" and "Desolation Row" still astounds. Listen to these albums in order and you'll believe.

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