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For Speak Low, blue-eyed-soul legend Boz Scaggs had a sound in mind long before recording his interpretation of jazz standards. But the concept was blurry until he pinpointed the instrumentation: a combination of strings, horns and vibes.

Brooklyn-based electro-pop trio Chairlift may not seem familiar to you at first, but no doubt you've heard its ridiculously catchy single, "Bruises," on a colorful iPod Nano commercial. It's the perfect song for the ad: between its boy/girl duet, keyboard swells, drum machine beats and sweetly innocent lyrics, it's pretty colorful and bright itself. It's also one of the highlights of Chairlift's debut album, Does You Inspire You.

Though she's been recording music for nearly four decades, Aretha "The Queen of Soul" Franklin has just released her first-ever holiday album.

It's been a remarkable year for jazz, and narrowing down a Top 10 list for 2008 takes a bit of work. Once again, there's room for enthusiasm and optimism about the state of jazz and its ability to inspire musicians and listeners alike. Here's a look (and a listen) back at some of the year's highlights.

The music of New York City-based producer and DJ Michna (also known as DJ Egg Foo Young) could be called trombone electronic dance pop. His debut album, Magic Monday, features smooth, down-tempo electronic beats, blended with plenty of urban flair, needle-drops, and Michna's own trombone work. Michna is a skilled trombonist and makes use of the instrument throughout Magic Monday.

On her latest album, Back to the River, singer and guitarist Susan Tedeschi uses her hard blues style to tell stories of family life. Her own day-to-day existence with husband Derek Trucks (a guitarist with the Allman Brothers Band) and their two children may not be average, but Tedeschi's songs have universal appeal.

The Chicago rapper's new album, 808s and Heartbreak features him singing instead of rapping, but he's filtered his vocals through the voice processing system known as Auto-Tune, an increasingly popular trend among pop artists. The result is a melancholy, intimate and decidedly quirky effort.

Ra Ra Riot features swooning strings, pop hooks and sinuous rock rhythms in a session from WXPN. After the tragic death of drummer and songwriter John Pike in 2007, the recording process for The Rhumb Line proved to be cathartic. The album takes a positive outlook on the darker side of life.

Moving away from the wholesome-sounding Americana of his previous work, Dennen's Hope for the Hopeless is a much heavier collection marked by finger-snapping grooves. He shares new songs and talks about his non-profit work in a session from WXPN.

Metropolitan Opera violinist Patmore Lewis hopes classical music and world beats will lend a hand to spread the word about river conservation. The renowned composer has released a new CD, Rillito River Project, to draw attention to the environment through pop and innovation. Lewis talks about his solo project and how he's hoping to make an impact.