Music gift guide: Cool Cash and tunes for tots

We're not going to recommend the $400 Tony Bennett box (with 73 CDs!) or the 12-LP, 4-CD Robert Johnson set for $350. Here are some more reasonably priced holiday ideas for music fans on your shopping list.

Books

"House of Cash: The Legacies of My Father, Johnny Cash" by John Carter Cash (Insight, $40) -- In this part scrapbook, part memoir, Cash's only son reflects on his dad's life in anecdotes. This deeply personal, deeply moving book is filled with priceless photos, handwritten letters and lyrics, drawings and mementos, including Cash's high school diploma.

"All Access: The Rock 'n' Roll Photography of Ken Regan" (Insight, $75) -- From Elvis and the Beatles to Run-DMC and Carole King on tour with James Taylor, Regan has captured five decades' worth of superstars. The concert shots (Woodstock, Live Aid, etc.) are first-rate, but what sets this book apart are the all-access moments, especially with the Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan. You probably won't find another book with more unguarded photos of rock royalty.

"Dead Letters: The Very Best Grateful Dead Fan Mail" by Paul Grushkin (Voyageur, $30) -- Before Ticketmaster and Craigslist, fans would pop a check in the mail for concert tickets. Dead disciples would decorate their ticket-solicitation envelopes with drawings, paintings and sayings. This book celebrates the endless creativity of Deadheads going postal. And this groovy tradition still continues.

"Liddypool: Birthplace of the Beatles" by David Bedford (Dalton Watson Fine, $39) -- This is a distinct addition to the massive Beatles library. Bedford, a Liverpool native, researched the Fab Four's hometown roots and determines that it should be the Fab 27 -- because that's how many members there were. Complete with period photos, charts and walking-tour maps, this is neither hagiography or hatchet job, but the intriguing back story of Britain's biggest band.

CDs

Sting, "25 Years" (A&M, $120) -- Even though this three-CD, one-DVD package includes no rarities or previously unreleased tracks, it is a satisfying survey of his solo career, complete with an arty hardcover book of handwritten lyrics, photos and commentary from Sting. The live DVD captures many Police songs from a 2005 concert with his solo band. If this is too pricey, there are also single- and double-disc versions.

Nirvana's "Nevermind" and U2's "Achtung Baby" deluxe editions -- The 20th anniversary of the two most definitive rock albums of the 1990s brought a repackaging bonanza that includes richly expanded two-CD sets for about $20. And for fanatics, there are box sets that we can't vouch for, except to say they look fun: $149 for Nirvana's five-disc set or $129 for U2's 10-disc.

Local charity discs

"The Minnesota Beatle Project, Vol. 3" -- The album cover with the mop-topped loon is a hoot, and so are a lot of the tracks. Highlights include Cloud Cult's "Help," Red Pens' "Helter Skelter," the 4onthefloor's "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" and Charlie Parr's "Rocky Raccoon." Benefits: Vega Productions, which has raised $60,000 for public school music programs around the state from the previous two volumes.

"Minnesota Remembers Vic Chesnutt" -- Semisonic's Dan Wilson, Trampled by Turtles' Dave Simonett, local songwriters Ben Weaver, Haley Bonar, Luke Redfield and many more honor the obliquely poetic Georgia song man with loving and often heart-wrenching versions of his songs. The ailing Chesnutt committed suicide on Christmas Day 2009. Benefits: Lifeworks, which serves the disabled, and Sweet Relief, a musicians' health care organization.

"MN Music 4 MN Kids, Vol. 1" -- A fun, sweet bundle of kid-friendly, original songs by Twin Cities music stars with children (Adam Levy, Roma di Luna, Mason Jennings, Cloud Cult) or simply with childish attitudes (Lucy Michelle, Mayda, Rogue Valley). Benefits: Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.

Cool gift cards

First Avenue -- The famed Minneapolis music venue doesn't have doors on many of its toilet stalls, but it does have gift cards. Good for tickets or club merchandise such as T-shirts, they're available at the club or First-Avenue.com.

Any independent record shop -- The Electric Fetus, Hymie's, Treehouse, Roadrunner, Cheapo and more all sell them in their stores. The hands-on shopping experience is a lot more memorable and personal than the mouse click.

eMusic.com -- Since Spotify gift cards (weirdly) aren't available, this is still the best online option for adventurous music fans.

WolfgangsVault.com -- This vast online archive of classic rock bootlegs doesn't sell cards, but you can order a premium membership for $48, which comes with downloading privileges and a $50 gift card toward a poster or T-shirt.