Holiday Gift-Giving--The Hints of ’92

How does Madonna’s musical product compare with her literary and film endeavors?. . .Which of those Seattle bands offers the best grunge for the buck? . . . Is Garth’s latest album as good as his show?. . .Which rappers are for kids and which are for adults only?. . .Are there some worthy soundtrack albums out there?

Those are the kinds of questions facing holiday shoppers. Calendar’s annual Top 40 Shopping Guide is designed to ease the burden by summarizing The Times’ reviews of 40 of the nation’s most popular and/or critically admired albums, listed alphabetically. The ratings are based on a scale of one star (poor) to four stars (excellent). The comments are from the original reviews, but the ratings sometimes reflect additional staff input.

* * 1/2 Wynonna Judd, “Wynonna,” Curb/MCA. In her first flight out of the Judds nest--a something-for-everyone collection with material of wildly uneven quality--Wynonna seems intimidated by her potential vocal power, and she restrains her expressiveness as if she’s afraid to let it soar.

* * * 1/2 R.E.M., “Automatic for the People,” Warner Bros. Delves further into rusticated chamber music. It’s like an arty version of deep mountain folk music--lonely and ancient, tapping straight into the mysteries of the human spirit with intelligence and subtle passion.