POP : Do You Hear What We Hear? : Prick up your antlers: Calendar’s annual recordings guide is here to help you sift through the year’s notable pop, jazz, classical, children’s and holiday music--and the best of the box sets. : Separating Best Bets From Lumps of Coal

Calendar’s pop staff surveys 40 of the nation’s most popular or critically acclaimed albums :

*** ALI FARKA TOURE WITH RY COODER, “Talking Timbuktu.” Rykodisc. The African guitarist, with sympathetic support from Cooder and other guests, crafts a folksy, almost meditative sound that sometimes hints at the African roots of the blues.

Albums are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good, recommended) and four stars (excellent). A rating of five stars is reserved for reissues or retrospectives.