Making a list? Checking it twice? Here are some guidelines to keep befuddled spouses, parents of teenagers and others on the right track.

*** 1/2 ALBITA, “Dicen Que,” Crescent Moon. The Cuban singer and her mostly female orchestra give us a masterful, no-holds-barred display of why she is arguably the most important Latin singer-songwriter so far in the ‘90s.

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Albums and other items in the Gift Guide are rated on a scale of one star (poor), two stars (fair), three stars (good) and four stars (excellent).