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Number 21 on the Billboard top 100 this week: India Arie, with her first CD, Acoustic Soul. She has drawn impressive comparisons to Roberta Flack, Tracy Chapman and Bill Withers. Reviewer Sarah Bardeen says that Arie deserves the success. India Arie's Acoustic Soul is on Motown Records.

Siobhan Armstrong is one of today's top Irish harpers. From the BBC Studios in Dublin, she plays a pair of tunes by the most famous of all Irish harpers, Turlough Carolan: "Carolan's Favorite Jig" and "Farewell to Music."

The year 2005 saw World Music grow in two directions: by exploring its most basic roots, and by exploring new areas, through technology and collaboration. Marco Werman give us a glimpse of his top picks of the year.

Farai Chideya talks with music writers Tom Terrell and Christina Roden about "Legends of African Music" — a collection of some of the continent's top artists featured in this month's Global Rhythm magazine.

Tom Terrell has a review of a new boxed set of reggae music that spans 1960-1975. The four CDs include music from top artists such as The Wailers and Jimmy Cliff, and lesser-known singers from reggae's early beginnings.

Liane Hansen speaks with jazz composer and bandleader Carla Bley. Perhaps best know for her big- and VERY big-bands, she's pared down to a mid-sized group of eight top-notch players for her new cd, 4X4. (WATT records 012 159 547-2).

The Dixie Chicks are one of the top selling country artists of all time. Will Hermes, a senior contributing writer for Spin magazine, says their first CD in three years,Home, has a less commercial sound than their other offerings, but still may be one of the best pop CDs of the year.

Tom Manoff has a review of the CD Reflections of Spain, featuring Spanish music for guitar, played by David Russell. Manoff thinks Russell — who is Scottish, not Spanish — plays with a natural elegance, and is passionate but never over the top.

Fleetwood Mac's 1977 song "Dreams" is sitting at No. 14 on a top rock chart because of its newfound popularity in Twitter memes.

The Contest entries these Tiny Desk alums share include artists with impressive musicality, direction, breath control and more.