Music has become a trickier gift proposition in recent years, thanks to the migration of listeners to the Internet, where the picking and choosing is easy and fans can quickly accumulate everything they want. For many folks, a CD under the tree is about as useful as giving grandpa a pair of pink roller skates.

But for those giftees on your list who still want their songs the old-fashioned way, the music stores are once again packed with plenty of alluring options.

And what about that downloader on your docket? All of the major online services — iTunes, Napster, eMusic — offer convenient gift subscriptions that give your recipients the freedom to choose the music they want. Before buying, be sure to determine their brand of MP3 player and check the site for compatibility.

On to the goodies:

Greatest-hits collections are a reliable bet for both casual fans who just want the familiar stuff and diehards who need to have everything. Hot on the shelves this season are best-of compilations from country stars Faith Hill, Keith Urban and Garth Brooks, while classical-pop fans will appreciate the new collection from Andrea Bocelli, "Vivere," featuring the most popular of his crossover hits from the past decade. Also new is a hits compilation from mainstream jazz icon Diana Krall.

While Led Zeppelin fans await a definitive and comprehensive boxed set, the hard rock legends have made do with ongoing digital remastering of their best-known material. The latest such effort comes with "Mothership" ($19.98), a two-disc set that gathers newly remastered Zeppelin chestnuts.

Soul fans will find plenty to love on the two-disc "Aretha Franklin: Rare & Unreleased Recordings" ($19.98), which assembles previously unreleased material from the Queen of Soul's Atlantic Records heyday. It's a fiery, stirring compilation of rarities that rivals the greatest-hits discs of mere mortals.

If your music lover is a fan of the live experience, concert certificates are a dandy way to go, starting with Ticketmaster, which offers gift cards in assorted cash increments.