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1. "The Office: Season Three" (DVD)

For all of Michael Scott's foibles, for all of the unintentional psychic suffering he inflicts on his employees, the Dunder Mifflin crew usually rallies around him, especially when the forces of the outside world press in. No matter how idiotic Michael acts, his employees pull him back from the precipice of, well, realizing that he's a doofus. -- Andrew Gilstrap

2. The 1900s (Artist of the Week)

The Chicago band has created an album of songs that are not only top-shelf, but also timeless. By not following hipster-indie trends, the 1900s have crafted an album of indefinite shelf life, one that can be popped into a CD player during a roadtrip, a lonely night in an apartment, or just about anywhere else. -- Evan Sawdey

3. "The Best American Comics 2007" (book)

Contemporary comics anthologies like the Chris Ware-edited volume offer a tempting number of opportunities to make sweeping statements about the nascence of the medium and the prospect of the graphic novel ascending as the new art form of the 21st century. More than any other comics anthology compiled thus far, it feels like a genuine effort to craft a truly comprehensive picture of comics as they are today, with a gentle nudging towards the various directions they could possibly go. -- Brian Bethel

4. "1776: The Illustrated Edition," by David McCullough (Simon & Schuster) (book)

It's one thing to simply read President Washington's words as related through an intermediary, and quite another to hold in your hands a faithful recreation of his original letter -- this experience significantly personalizes the history. McCullough bucks textbook compression of history, amplifying the legacy of towering historical figures by focusing on their uncertainties and doubts in a time when it seemed like the fledgling independence movement would be snuffed out in its cradle. -- Michael Patrick Brady

5. Various Artists: "Jazz Icons: Series 2" (DVD)

The second series of "Jazz Icons" DVDs contains many watershed moments in the history of America's great art form. This eight-disc series collects seminal performances from some of the most influential artists in jazz history. Throughout these sets, there's a constant dialogue between the impermanence that comes as a consequence of improvisation, and a permanence built on the confident vision of these giants of modern jazz. -- Chris McCann

6. "Ugly Betty - The Complete First Season" (DVD)

"Ugly Betty" deserves all the accolades it gets and more. While the fish-out-of-water concept behind the show is nothing new, it's the sheer style in which the show has been done that makes it work so well. It's is part comedy, part drama, part soap opera, and even part mystery. Every twist of the knife and twist of plot brings about new surprises. -- Lana Cooper

7. Vashti Bunyan: "Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind" (CD)

Vashti Bunyan never regarded herself as a folk singer, and this release provides clear evidence for her case. This remarkably consistent two-disc set collects her early singles and demos, rare home recordings, and her first-ever recording session. The undeniable purity of Bunyan's voice and her use of imagery hewn from nature have led to the folk tag, and also to some people overlooking the darkness in her material. -- D.M. Edwards

8. Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Ray Price: "Last of the Breed" (DVD)

You cannot fully confirm whether guys like Nelson, Haggard, and Price are the last of their breed until you put them up next to, say, Shania Twain. Whereas Twain is sometimes more aerobics instructor than country singer, these three graying men are the true, diehard troubadours. This concert DVD will surely bless your little heart if you happen to be the last of another breed: the traditional country music fan. -- Dan MacIntosh

9. Black Dice: "Load Blown" (CD)

Over the course of their 10-year tenure Black Dice have been changing and suddenly, they're not a noise band any more -- they're a dance act. "Load Blown," the Brooklyn group's eighth full-length, jitters to the kind of propulsive elation you get from intelligent electronica, while staying true to their already well described industrialism/noise roots. -- Dan Raper

10. "Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class, Politics, and the Battle for Our Energy Future on Nantucket Sound," by Wendy Williams, Robert Whitcomb (Public Affairs) (book)

Journalists Williams and Whitcomb pull back the curtain on U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, who, despite bearing a surname synonymous with liberalism and environmental ideals, has been quietly obstructing a proposed wind farm off the coast of Cape Cod that could provide the energy-starved region with oodles of renewable energy. The Senator sums up his opposition to the massive wind farm project proposed three miles out from Nantucket Sound, a wealthy coastal area of Massachusetts: "Don't you realize, that's where I sail?" -– J. Lee

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