The Christmas Gig, various artist (Target)

We've always been happy to highlight particular businesses' special Christmas albums on this site, although we tend to be a little picky in that regard, looking for something unique. Well, we are remiss in not bringing this news to you earlier: Target not only has an excellent rock 'n pop Christmas compilation available for 2010, it's free of charge. Just go to the website and download the zip file and open into iTunes or whatever your listening/ripping application is. There's even liner notes at the site, though I'd recommend archiving those if you want them. Guster kicks things off with a new tune, "Tiny Tree Christmas," Crystal Antlers pays garage-rock tribute to Christmas light displays with "10,000 Watts," Blackalicious brings the hip-hop with "Toy Jackpot," Bishop Allen gives us some clangorous alt-pop with "You'll Never Find My Christmas" and Jenny O wants to "Get Down For the Holidays," but in that gentle acoustic pop manner. Classic R'nB makes two appearances with Little Isadore's "Party Hard" and Little Jackie's "Mrs. Claus Got Nothing On Me," both guaranteed to populate the dance floor, the latter already in use in a Target ad. Blazer Force goes electro-pop with "Electronic Santa," Natalie Hemby takes a Secret Sisters approach to seeking her "Perfect Gift," and the collection closes with two Spanish-language pop-rock recordings, The Pinker Tones with "Super Mama" and Ceci Bastida with "Un Regalo Para Mi (A Present For Me)." This collection is good enough to pay for, thank goodness you don't have to. Just for giggles, here's Guster's video.