The $50 guide

September

Bob Dylan’s “Chronicles Volume One” (Simon & Schuster)

In the most distinguished book about a pop music figure since Charles R. Cross’ absorbing 2001 Kurt Cobain biography, “Heavier Than Heaven,” Dylan writes about various points in his life -- most notably what it felt like to be under the media’s microscope for years, and the horribly empty feeling that he was creatively spent and just riding on his reputation. This is so good that now you don’t know whether you want him to spend his time writing another album or another volume of “Chronicles.”

Autolux’s “Future Perfect” (DMX/Red Ink)

There’s also a trace of Velvet Underground mystery and a lot of the Jesus and Mary Chain sonic seduction in this L.A. band’s debut. It was produced by T Bone Burnett, who is best known as the mastermind behind “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” but whose credentials as an artist lean more to idealistic rock. The lyrics are fresh, and the outlook is convincingly sly. At one point, Carla Azar croons, “You know lately I’ve been worrying / That everything will be OK.”

Elliott Smith’s “From a Basement on the Hill” (Anti-)

There was a lonely, disarming quality to Smith’s “XO” and “Figure 8” albums on DreamWorks that made them brilliantly artful and deeply moving but also narrow. In this posthumous collection, everything is expanded as he reaches for wider themes and bolder musical touches that sometimes offer traces of his punk-rock roots.

October

Jill Scott’s “Beautifully Human” (Hidden Beach/Epic)

In the studio follow-up to her splendid 2000 debut, this Philly-based singer-songwriter reaches back to R&B;’s ‘60s and ‘70s glory days even more forcefully than Alicia Keys does. The lyrics deal mostly with the complexities of relationships (how it’s OK to be a strong yet dependent woman), but she also shines on social commentary with the sweet optimism of Curtis Mayfield and the haunted anxiousness of Marvin Gaye.

Rilo Kiley’s “More Adventurous” (Brute/Beaute)

This is a band with lots of underground credibility that is ready for mainstream acceptance. The music is immensely rich in emotional color and musical range -- it sometimes sounds as tense and smart as the Velvet Underground before quickly turning to a country-minded torch song sung by Jenny Lewis with the conviction that Patsy Cline or Tammy Wynette once showed. The thread is a clear-eyed, liberating, always tuneful, human tone.

Brian Wilson’s “Smile” (Nonesuch)

It has taken so long for the Beach Boy genius to give us his most ambitious work that critics may have a hard time deciding whether to nominate it as one of the best albums of 1967 or 2004. However old the material, the spirit is fresh and frequently thrilling as Wilson and Van Dyke Parks (who wrote most of the lyrics) salute the country’s character and roots with an orchestral sweep that feels vital, affectionate and timeless.