Annie Lennox - The Annie Lennox Collection (RCA)

I'm possibly not the best person to review a Best Of Annie Lennox, or at least not the most typical of Lennox fans. One of my favourite albums of all time is The Eurythmics' For The Love Of Big Brother, their aborted soundtrack to Michael Radford's 1984 feature film. But the rest of the Eurythmics catalogue leaves me indifferent – either because the hyper-exciting surreal electronica of the early 80s has since become daily regional radio fodder, or because of the whole late-80s leather jackets and rock-out period, full stop.

When Annie Lennox started out on her solo career, there was a hint of getting back to something a little more arty than Be Yourself Tonight. There was the Little Bird EP, complete with a monumental dance mix by N-Joi. And then there was the ballad of the early 90s, the strangely since-overlooked gothic anthem Love Song for a Vampire.

Both are present here (although Little Bird is the standard 7” version) alongside others you'll be familiar with (like Walking on Broken Glass, No More 'I Love You's and Why) and half a dozen tracks that you'll come to afresh (like a cover of Ash's Shining Light). It's all solo material of course, so nothing from 1984. But it's still well worth a listen, and a handful of one-track spot-buys from iTunes.

MADONNA CONFESSIONS by Guy Oseary (Powerhouse)

Not as mind-blowing as Sex but not as time-wasting as an Andrew Morton, this new addition to the Madonna library is a straightforward photo album from her recent Confessions mega-tour, as she heads out on her latest Sticky & Sweet jaunt. It’s her first official book since 1992’s legendary Sex in fact, as it’s 100% approved and was shot exclusively by her manager Guy Oseary.

These credentials, oh and he’s also the CEO of Maverick Records, gives Oseary unparalleled backstage access and opportunities for capturing intimate moments of life on the road with one of the world’s most famous artists. Does he use this wisely? He doesn’t really bother, as the bulk of this book’s 250 colour photos are of Madonna shot on stage, not off. So it’s very much a record of her costumes and image changes – which would range from glam equestrian (who’d have thought it) to Combat Rock to space-age disco revival – across the course of each nightly Confessional.

It all looks fabulous but only serves to remind that what’s really missing from the Madonna library is any in-depth - or even superficial - survey of her music. The songwriting and production, the stuff people actually get when they buy one of her CDs. As such she might forever only be covered in books like these – which celebrate the image rather than the art.

Various Artists – Amazon Holiday Sampler

A token Christmas gift from the online warehouse in the form of a five-track download-only festive album, available completely free of charge. Featured is a 1999 Digital Remaster of I Wish You A Merry Christmas by Bing Crosby, a 1991 remix of The Beach Boys doing Auld Lang Syne and – possibly most festive of all – a Peggy Lee rendition of Deck The Halls.

Wilco – I Shall Be Released

The Chicago rock band Wilco came up with a great idea during the recent presidential election. While voter apathy didn’t turn out to be an issue in the end – as it is most years – this is an idea that would work well in the UK. Quite simply, all you had to do was promise to get out and vote and, in return, the band would give you a free download. The track in question was worth voting for too, a cover of Bob Dylan’s I Shall Be Released. You can read more and find the track on About.com at guitar.about.com/b/2008/11/04/free-wilco-mp3-download.htm.

Chris Morris – On the Hour

November 24 saw Warp Records release the first volume of On The Hour, the 90s spoof radio current affairs show by Chris Morris. And The Guardian ran this excellent exclusive free download, which also just happened to feature the first ever broadcast appearance by another near-legendary figure: Alan Partridge. Hear his arrival on the airwaves at www.guardian.co.uk/culture/audio/2008/nov/14/chris-morris-alan-partridge.

Long Division With Remainders – Volume 10 EP

This is the latest release from the LDWR collective (myspace.com/longdivisionwithremainders), an experimental electronic outpost dedicated to the art of the remix. A different artist recycles and remixes a set of found sounds to create a new EP every few months and this one – a riotous session from Australian sound artist Susan Hawkins - is the tenth to appear so far. They’re all available as free downloads and, when the project is complete, will be pressed up into what’s set to be a highly collectable limited edition CD box set.