Taj Mahal

Mahal's at his best on the country blues numbers -- and his children's albums are no different. But the addition of songs from the Caribbean ("Brown Girl in the Ring") and Gambia ("Quavi, Quavi") give this an ethnographic edge, marred only by an ill-considered drum machine that rears its ugly digital head now and then. Take the good and fast-forward over the bad, and give your kids an education in the blues that they'll genuinely enjoy.