You'll find works created by North Carolinians throughout the gift guide, but this sampler from our crew of reviewers highlights the good reasons for seeking homegrown presents.

Music ...

Avett Brothers, "Emotionalism" (Ramseur): Here, the Avetts' records start to catch up with their live show. This Concord trio plays acoustic music from some unidentifiable old-time universe, one where the Beatles are viewed as successors to the Carter Family.

Bowerbirds, "Hymns for the Dark Horse" (Burly Time): Spectral, mesmerizing, remarkably poised folk-rock. It takes most bands years of practice to get this good, but "Hymns" is the Bowerbirds' first album.

Carolina Chocolate Drops, "Dona Got a Ramblin' Mind" (Music Maker): Between one breakthrough and another, the Chocolate Drops are poised to become the Nickel Creek of old-time fiddle music.

Shirley Caesar, "After 40 Years ... Still Sweeping Through the City" (Shu Bel/Light Records): Recorded in July at Caesar's Mount Calvary Word of Faith Church in Raleigh, the CD marks the great gospel singer's four-decade anniversary. Not that you could do justice to a career that long on a single disc, but this one makes a pretty good best-of with "Hold My Mule," "Peter, Don't Be Afraid" and "He's Got It All in Control."

Mitch Easter, "Dynamico" (Electric Devil); Shalini, "The Surface and the Shine" (125): Greetings from Kernersville. Easter is the former Let's Active frontman, Shalini Chatterjee is his wife and together they run Fidelitorium recording studio in the small town near Winston-Salem. "Dynamico" is Easter's first album of his own in 19 years, and it's more rockin' than anything you might remember, though Easter always did have a soft spot for Led Zeppelin. "The Surface and the Shine" is also long on whomp, plus the popcraft you expect from this corner of the musical universe.

Glenn Gould, J.S. Bach's "Goldberg Variations" (Sony): Glenn Gould's 1955 mono album of Bach's Goldberg Variations put him on the musical map. More than half a century later, Raleigh-based Zenph Studios has translated the recording into a multichannel format by way of dense software and a large Yamaha Disklavier player-piano. The result allows the Canadian pianist's brilliant playing to be heard in extraordinary sound, and without the original grunts and sighs.

Little Brother, "Getback" (ABB): Making the transition from trio to duo after DJ/producer 9th Wonder's departure, Phonte Coleman and Big Pooh rise to the challenge with a tight and focused third album. "Extrahard" is the best of many standouts. Sure would sound great on the radio.

Patty Hurst Shifter, "Fugitive Glue" (Pants on Fire): You'd call this short and sweet, except it's more like short and kick-you-in-the-face. Five tracks put the rage into garage rock, bar-band-style, highlighted by a cover of Neil Young's "Mr. Soul."

Rosebuds, "Night of the Furies" (Merge): The Raleigh-based duo of Kelly Crisp and Ivan Howard had a banner year in 2007, becoming the toast of college radio and touring as far away as Russia. "Night of the Furies" is a drastic departure from the sunny jingle-jangle of their early work. It's chilly, lyrically dark new wave of the sort you might have heard segued with New Order back in the '80s. Just as danceable, too.

Scott Sawyer, "Go There" (Doll): Sometimes edgy, sometimes straightahead, Raleigh guitarist Sawyer incorporates funk, rock, blues and jazz. You can compare him to Bill Frisell and John Scofield in this respect, but Sawyer shows his own intriguing, thoughtful, groove-oriented identity throughout this mostly quartet session.

Next page >