You’re making your list and we’ve made ours: tons of ideas for presents--even for those hardest to please. : From Elton to Boyz to Celine to Dylan, It’s an Album Bull Market

Looking for gift ideas? The list of the most popular CDs is always a place to start. For a little guidance, Calendar’s pop staff surveyed 40 of the nation’s most popular or critically acclaimed albums.

*** MASTER P, “Ghetto D,” No Limit/Priority. The New Orleans rapper’s fourth album proves as fun a listening experience as it is addictive--all drug references aside. From the hard-hitting Eric B. & Rakim-influenced title track to the poignant “I Miss My Homies,” it seems as if the most profitable artist/CEO this side of Sean “Puff Daddy” Combs can do no wrong.

*** 1/2 MASE, “Harlem World,” Bad Boy/Arista. The young rapper’s debut album proves that he’s no hype. Mase is consistently mellow and confident, relying on simplicity but also displaying moments of stunning insight and poignancy.

*** 1/2 Puff Daddy & the Family, “No Way Out,” Bad Boy/Arista. In one of the strongest pop collections of the year, the record-mogul-turned-pop-star seems to be dancing for survival in the face of adversity.

*** BUSTA RHYMES, “When Disaster Strikes,” Elektra. Instead of focusing on the themes of death, depression and materialism, the inventive rhymer brings the focus back to the days when a rapper’s goal was verbal jousting and brightening a party.

*** VARIOUS ARTISTS, “Gang Related” soundtrack, Death Row. This double album could have been whittled down to one disc. It would include three 2Pac cuts, including “Life’s So Hard,” one of his best tracks since “California Love.”

*** VARIOUS ARTISTS, “Men in Black” soundtrack, Columbia. Will Smith revives his music career with two standout songs, but it’s the fruitful pairing of the Roots and D’Angelo and a fun jam between Snoop Doggy Dogg and Jermaine Dupri that cement the album’s appeal.

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