You want to give the gift of joy. And of art. And of dance, compilation, and innovation.

Well, that’s a tall order for a sweater to tackle. But a nice boxed set, double LP, or rare reissue has no problem getting the job done. Skip the sweater in favor of some joyful, arty, dance-y, introspective, grand music.

“Emotion,” Carly Rae Jepsen

May this 10th anniversary edition be a reminder that “Emotion” is the best pop album of the past ten years! Yes, that’s right, there hasn’t been a better pure pop, sugar rush, dance-through-tears, banger-after-banger-after-banger LP since “Emotion.” Albums that combine a score of different songwriters and producers never work. This one did because Jepsen went through hundreds of tracks to find a dozen aces — tracks from super-producers Jack Antonoff and Max Martin didn’t make the cut. How good are the tunes? Jepsen slips the word “really” 67 times into “I Really Like You” and it’s not enough.

Blue Note hard bop classics

Blue Note seems to be singlehandedly keeping mid-century jazz reissues thriving (thank you, producer and Blue Note head Don Was). New editions of two landmark hard bop albums — Sonny Clark’s “Sonny’s Crib” and Grant Green’s “Solid” — keep the tradition rolling. “Sonny’s Crib” from 1957 shows the pianist and sidemen John Coltrane, Donald Byrd, Curtis Fuller, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor opening the hard pop age (and the quintessential Blue Note sound) across a furious set of standards and originals. “Solid” captures the guitarist in 1964 on a set that equally defines the adventurous, complex-but-melodic vibe of jazz when Blue Note ruled the genre.

“Separation Sunday,” The Hold Steady

If you’re looking for an American Clash, or a modern Replacements, or a band that sounds like Dylan during his Christian phase writing with Bruce Springsteen in the ’70s and recording with Cheap Trick, “Separation Sunday” is your new favorite album. If “Separation Sunday” is your old favorite album, the double LP 20th anniversary edition of the album is your new favorite album. The nine demos, b-sides and the first-ever physical release of the 2005 Virgin Digital Sessions EP, provide a window into the Hold Steady’s process for reinventing rock ‘n’ roll by just rewinding the genre back to when it was pure, raw, beautiful, and ugly.

“Songs from the Big Chair,” Tears for Fears

This album documents Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith expanding the new wave from pop phenomenon to grand artistic statement. Now the 40th anniversary editions of the landmark 1985 album remind the modern age of the debt it owes to the duo. The hits were massive and immaculate — “Shout,” “Head Over Heels,” “Everybody Wants to Rule the World.” But taking in the album as a whole (and exploring the many first-time-on-vinyl alternative versions of the songs), show just how bold it is. A track such as “The Working Hour” could have gone on Pink Floyd’s “A Momentary Lapse of Reason.” The dark wave electronic thump of “Broken” predicts Nine Inch Nails. “Mother’s Talk” reminds that Tears for Fears were every bit the contemporaries of New Order.

“ENZyclopedia Volumes One & Two,” Split Enz

Before the melodic pop, there was the weirdness. The diverse, delicious weirdness. Before bandleader Tim Finn brought little brother (and melodic ace) Neil into Split Enz, the New Zealand group experimented relentlessly — lots of prog, circus music, art wave, and more. Those first few years get the love they deserve on this three LP package. All the ambition of debut “Mental Notes,” re-do “Second Thoughts,” and the early, non-album singles is captured here: the Beatles-meets-jazz-fusion of “So Long For Now,” the beer-hall-ditty-done-by-Genesis of “Late Last Night,” both early versions of the dreamy, haunting, Celtic-inspired “Titus.”

(Photo courtesy Chrysalis Records)