STARS TWINKLE ON TOP 40 SHOPPING LIST

There’s nothing like than a record (or a cassette or CD) as a last-minute Christmas gift. It’s easy to find, a snap to wrap and sure to please--sure to please, that is, if you know what you’re buying for whom. The prevention of musical mismatches--giving the Paul Simon LP to your spike-haired, snarling nephew, or the Beastie Boys to your seminarian cousin--is the goal of Calendar’s annual Top 40 Shopping Guide, a summary of Times reviewers’ comments on the nation’s current Top 40 albums as listed in Billboard magazine’s Dec. 20 album chart.

Shoppers who automatically go right to the top will fare a lot better (if more expensively) this year than last. The No. 1 album this week is a four-star entry, the acclaimed five-record live set by Bruce Springsteen. A year ago, Billboard’s No. 1 was a one-star wonder, the immortal sound track from “Miami Vice.”

But there are plenty of perennials on hand. Besides the Boss, current occupants who were also in the ’85 Top 40 are Freddie Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Iron Maiden, Billy Joel, Kool & the Gang and Talking Heads. On the other hand, Bon Jovi, Bruce Hornsby, Anita Baker, Cinderella, Janet Jackson, the Bangles, the Beastie Boys, Stryper, the Georgia Satellites and Glass Tiger are all newcomers to Top 40 Land.

The comments are drawn from Calendar’s original reviews, but the ratings in some cases reflect additional staff opinion. Ratings: four stars, excellent; three stars, good; two stars, ho-hum; one star, poor. 1. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN & THE E STREET BAND, “Live/1975-85,” Columbia. The five-record set captures brilliantly some of rock’s greatest live performances. It misses the sheer force of Springsteen’s stage presence and leaves out many of the things that make his concerts special, but this summary of his first decade is essential for Springsteen fans, and nearly essential for all rock fans. (Steve Pond)

2. BON JOVI, “Slippery When Wet,” Mercury. The quintet retains vestiges of its corporate metal sound while taking its shamelessly chameleonic approach to a laughable extreme. Jon Bon Jovi is trying to play up his Jersey heritage with stuff apparently intended to recall better known--and far more gifted--natives like Springsteen, Little Steven and Southside Johnny. (Duncan Strauss)

3. BOSTON, “Third Stage,” MCA. After all this time, the 1986 version of Boston sounds like the 1976 and 1978 versions. The sound can still be surprisingly persuasive, but most of the time this is grandeur in search of a catchy melody or a probing lyric or a good rock ‘n’ roll riff or something. (S.P.)

4. BRUCE HORNSBY & THE RANGE, “The Way It Is,” RCA. Sounds like what Jackson Browne might be doing if he’d never come under the sway of Bruce Springsteen or politics. The music and production could use a bit more fire at times, but all in all, an impressive debut. (Steve Hochman)

5. HUEY LEWIS & THE NEWS, “Fore!” Chrysalis. Lewis obviously doesn’t want to tamper with his formula of high-spirited, unpretentious, commercial bar-band rock. This isn’t as good as “Sports,” but there are three exceptional tracks, and Lewis’ strong voice helps give the ordinary songs a little more appeal. (Dennis Hunt)

6. PAUL SIMON, “Graceland,” Columbia. Weird and wonderful, “Graceland” neatly fuses Simon’s gentle, dispassionate pop with the modern music of South Africa. In some ways it’s the soft-rock equivalent of Talking Heads’ “Remain in Light.” African and American music may not be quite the same, but on this album, they’re close enough for rock ‘n’ roll. (Chris Willman)

7. THE POLICE, “Every Breath You Take--the Singles,” A&M.; The one new track is an interesting but inferior remake of “Don’t Stand so Close to Me.” The rest of this baker’s dozen of greatest hits all date back to 1983 or earlier, giving the compilation a musty smell. A “greatest hits” collection is not necessarily synonomous with a “best of” collection, but for the uninitiated, it’s handy enough. (C.W.)

8. CAMEO, “Word Up!” Atlanta Artists. Where fearsome funk is concerned, this ranks with George Clinton’s “R&B; Skeletons in the Closet” as one of the year’s best albums. Larry Blackmon’s brand of cerebral boogie makes him the creative cousin of Clinton--both are always inventing new ways to keep black music untainted by pop compromise. (Connie Johnson)

9. BILLY IDOL, “Whiplash Smile,” Chrysalis. Idol is full of (as Elvis Costello put it) “shy apologies and polite regrets”--although it’s hard to tell for sure, considering that it’s near-impossible to make out a ding-dang word Billy sings. The tough mix offers just the kind of moodiness and melancholy unease that the occasional intelligible snatch of lyric seems to threaten. (C.W.)

10. MADONNA, “True Blue,” Sire. There’s growth in the control and character of Madonna’s singing, and as co-writer and co-producer she exhibits greater confidence and musical direction. This isn’t revolutionary music, but it is imaginative, highly energized pop that recognizes the limitations and pleasures of Top 40 fare. (Robert Hilburn)

11. LIONEL RICHIE, “Dancing on the Ceiling,” Motown. Richie weaves a yearning for social responsibility and justice into statements of rejoicing and hope that could be called his Politics of Celebration. His attempts to infuse a sense of social purpose into his traditional approach bring a tension to the album that makes it his most satisfying collection. (R.H.)

12. ANITA BAKER, “Rapture,” Elektra. Baker has been winning new converts with this eight-song collection of warmly evocative mood music for grown-ups. The diminutive singer’s rich, darkly shaded vocals have made her one of the year’s best musical discoveries. (C.J.)

13. CYNDI LAUPER, “True Colors,” Portrait. Misses the heart and humor of Lauper’s debut. By-the-book tech-pop arrangements, playing and production give it a glossy, dull edge, and her vocals often lack force or conviction. Did someone drop Cyndi on her head during one of those wrestling matches? (Terry Atkinson)

14. CINDERELLA, “Night Songs,” Mercury. The sleek production job by Andy Johns is a plus. There are also some decent melodies, and top-of-the-lungs shrieker Tom Keifer puts them across as appealingly as possible. If you’re into heavy metal, Cinderella’s music will most likely grab you. (D.H.)

15. RUN-D.M.C., “Raising Hell,” Profile. These guys are so full of themselves and the intoxicating street beat that they don’t seem worried about repetition creeping in or the rap style coming up against its formal limitations. The beats are still infectious and varied, and the vocal trade-offs dazzling, even if the same old boasts wear thin and the misogyny can get too grating. (Richard Cromelin)

16. LUTHER VANDROSS, “Give Me the Reason,” Epic. The sleek assurance of the uptempo cuts easily offsets the mediocrity or redundancy of the ballads. If pop radio would give him a fair shake, Vandross could take his rightful place alongside Lionel Richie, Billy Ocean and Freddie Jackson as a pop-radio staple. (Paul Grein)

17. JANET JACKSON, “Control,” A&M.; A real risk-taker. Jackson’s approach is hard and aggressive, her stance remarkably nervy and mature. She has a snotty sort of assurance that permeates several cuts, plus the musical muscle to back it up. She’s bypassed the safe, adult-contemporary route in favor of more rugged, funk-based terrain. (C.J.)

18. THE BANGLES, “Different Light,” Columbia. The quartet’s third album is its first to escape the faint taint of nostalgia. The sound is still retrograde, but overall, it’s a more happily and wilfully ‘80s record than its predecessors. It’s the kind of unassuming delight that’s apt to collapse under the weight of too much praise and scrutiny. (C.W.)

19. TINA TURNER, “Break Every Rule,” Capitol. Each of the chart-stompers spawned by Turner’s “Private Dancer” LP is remodeled in this unfocused grab-bag. It’s hard to believe that the yowling cat who created her early records is the same ultra-cool chanteuse who saunters through “Break Every Rule.” (Kristine McKenna)

20. EDDIE MONEY, “Can’t Hold Back,” Columbia. Coming back after a three-year layoff, Money sounds tentative and lacking in self-confidence. His voice is strong and the best songs are the ones he co-wrote, but the album is padded and everything is buried under characterless production. (S.H.)

21. BILLY JOEL, “The Bridge,” Columbia. Joel’s melodies are instantly hummable and radio loves his melodramatic voice, but the melodrama wears thin when each ballad is bigger and boomier than the last, and the melodies can’t help mealy-minded songs like “Modern Woman.” (S.P.)

22. GENESIS, “Invisible Touch,” Atlantic. Could easily pass as a Phil Collins album. His thin voice and familiar MOR&B; songwriting dominate, with only occasional evidence of input from Mike Rutherford and Tony Banks. Maybe the record was made to provide material for the next season of “Miami Vice.” (S.H.)

23. IRON MAIDEN, “Somewhere in Time,” Capitol. Features enough fleet-fingered fretwork to satisfy the most animated air-guitarist. Diehard fans of the English quintet will be more than satisfied with this banging, epic metal, but the songwriting isn’t strong enough to convince the unconverted. (Jon Matsumoto)

24. DURAN DURAN, “Notorious,” Capitol. Duran’s collaboration with producer Nile Rodgers doesn’t come close to the funked-up ideal of his old group Chic, but he’s helped the band come up with its least objectionable, most listenable batch of songs. Some of them even seem to be about something--which, if you’ve followed Duran’s dubiously enigmatic lyrical canon, is quite an accomplishment. (C.W.)

25. PRETENDERS, “Get Close,” Sire. Chrissie Hynde--easily the sexiest white female pop singer currently working the boards--is backed by a new crop of musicians, but it doesn’t matter who plays behind her. She’s Billie Holiday, Bacharach & David and the Shangri-Las all rolled up into one fantastic package, and the core of this excellent album is its five rapturously romantic love songs. (K.M.)

26. TALKING HEADS, “True Stories,” Sire. An enormously winning work featuring relaxed, good-natured and effortlessly charming songs. In a way it’s disappointing to find a band that once broke new ground settling into a comfortable niche, but it’s hard to hang on to nagging doubts in the face of a record as delightful as this. (S.P.)

27. FREDDIE JACKSON, “Just Like the First Time,” Capitol. Jackson stretches out from ballads in this impressive follow-up to his million-selling debut: The best cuts here are uptempo. But Jackson has yet to establish a clear identity. He has the quality and stylistic range to become an important singer, but he needs to avoid the sound-alike trap. (P.G.)

28. STEVE WINWOOD, “Back in the High Life,” Island. There’s an inexplicably holy quality about Winwood’s voice, and it’s perfectly matched with his current material. This is a decidedly tasteful record, but the themes--faith, confusion, a yearning for spiritual clarity--allow it to add up to more than a catalogue of pointless, polished licks. (K.M.)

29. VARIOUS ARTISTS, “Top Gun” sound track, Columbia. Is it any wonder this is the smash sound track LP of the year? Essentially a cross-marketing tool for an enormously successful movie, it contains hit singles by Berlin and Kenny Loggins, and the likes of Loverboy are also represented. Is it any wonder that it’s one of the artistic washouts of the year? (D.S.)

30. PETER CETERA, “Solitude/Solitaire,” Full Moon. Outside the context of his former group Chicago, Cetera’s vocals seem chillingly robotic. Part of the problem is that the songs lean heavily on techno/rhythm riffs that encourage a clipped, bloodless vocal style. (P.G.)

31. VARIOUS ARTISTS, “Stand By Me” sound track, Atlantic. If we are indeed forever doomed to a majority of new movies being accompanied by sound tracks full of rock songs, we can only hope that a lot of those films are period pieces--as is “Stand by Me,” the best excuse for a late-’50s/very-early-’60s oldies compilation since “Diner.” (C.W.)

32. HUMAN LEAGUE, “Crash,” A&M.; Even production wizards Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis can’t transform dross into gold. Human League represents what’s wrong with the most popular school of ‘80s British pop, where knee-jerk dance rhythms, pose and the right clothes are everything. (T.A.)

33. BEASTIE BOYS, “Licensed to Ill,” Def Jam. This summit meeting of punk, rap and heavy metal is a bratty teen-ager’s delight and a parent’s nightmare. See $25 Guide, Page 64. (R.H.)

34. ARETHA FRANKLIN, “Aretha,” Arista. The changes from last year’s “Freeway of Love” are few. It’s more focused, has more rock ‘n’ roll, and lacks anything as infectious as “Freeway of Love.” But Franklin overcomes its flaws with a voice so gritty, committed and simply soulful that the trappings hardly matter. (S.P.)

35. ROBERT PALMER, “Riptide,” Island. Producing no fewer than four major-groove singles, this was clearly the white dance album of the year. And while we wouldn’t say it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy--some of the grooves and sentiments here are, as Janet Jackson would say, not nice but nasty --we can say that it couldn’t have happened to a more patient guy. (C.W.)

36. STRYPER, “To Hell With the Devil,” Enigma. The band’s born-again stance is a departure from heavy metal’s usual themes, but the LP doesn’t pack a very potent attack. The sub-Boston tracks are awkward, and the few attempts at rocking the house to the ground result in only a few minor tremors. (J.M.)

37. KOOL & THE GANG, “Forever,” Mercury. On stage, the Gang’s maneuvers project the guts and gusto that their recent fluffy hits only hint at. “Victory,” is a full-fledged funk exercise, but then up pop ultra-wimp cuts like “Broadway” and “Special Way” and you’re back to square one. (C.J.)

38. GEORGIA SATELLITES, “Georgia Satellites,” Elektra. This quartet indeed hails from Georgia, but its sound owes a lot more to the Stones and the Faces then Guadalcanal Diary or R.E.M. The Satellites hammer out bluesy, boozy rock songs, spearheaded by a fierce twin-guitar attack. (D.S.)

39. PETER GABRIEL, “So,” Geffen. Offers more of Gabriel’s playful and colorful personae than any of his previous collections. Above all, it offers an amazing variety of tones, moods and topics and a consistently powerful level of expression. (T.A.)

40. GLASS TIGER, “Thin Red Line,” Manhattan. The newest cog in Canada’s hit-making machinery offers expansive, well-crafted fluff. Most of the material putters along a wholly commercial path, unencumbered by minor concerns like substance or originality. (D.S.)