HOT TRACKS LISA ROBINSON

Cable for one: Want to be really alone with your music? The most intimate aural experience yet can be had with the snazzy new Beats by Dr. Dre headphones—the comfy, pricey-but-worth-it, and great-looking headphones created by Dre, Jimmy Iovine, and Monster Cable. For those who've gotten used to earbuds or computer speakers, these headphones are a new experience in sound. They can handle super-low bass, detail, and dynamics to reproduce the mix the musicians intended while slaving away all those hours in the studio. Plus, anything seen around the neck of LeBron James is O.K. by me. (Available at Apple, Best Buy, and beatsbydre.com.)

Dre's headphones may come in handy if you don't want to annoy the neighbors while playing the newest versions of Rock Band and Guitar Hero. With the music business beset by dwindling CD sales and limited radio exposure, these two video games have helped save the music in more ways than can be counted. Combined, they grossed nearly $1 billion last year, and they've brought older music to a younger generation. This month Rock Band 2 will debut new music with the alleged premiere of "Shackler's Revenge," a track from the seemingly forever-forthcoming Axl Rose-led Guns N' Roses album, Chinese Democracy. And Rock Band 2 will expand the Rock Band song list (David Bowie, R.E.M., Radiohead, the Clash, the Ramones, and many more) when they add, among others, AC/ DC, Interpol, Duran Duran, Jane's Addiction, and, for the first time, a song from Bob Dylan, whose contribution is "Tangled Up in Blue" (good luck keeping up with that one). This fall, Guitar Hero World Tour is released, and starting October 5, during breaks on the live Rock Band tour, Panic at the Disco and Dashboard Confessional will invite gamers onstage. In addition, Guitar Hero adds to its song list (Aerosmith, Slash, Black Sabbath, Marilyn Manson, Joan Jett, Dropkick Murphys, and more) when Metallica makes available its Rick Rubinproduced Death Magnetic—the most Metallicafied album they've done in 20 years—the same day the album hits iTunes and stores.

This fall's album releases include James Taylor'sCovers, a CD of songs previously done by the Temptations, Leonard Cohen, and others. Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Volume 8 is yet another release from the vast repertoire of Bob Dylan: it's a two-disc set of unreleased tracks, rarities, demos, and live recordings (also available as a three-disc deluxe set and a four-LP vinyl package) that sees the artist again repaint his masterpieces. Kings of Leon takes a big leap forward and genuinely ups the ante with Only by the Night; noteworthy tracks are "Crawl" and "Use Somebody." Chuck D makes an outstanding guest appearance on Nelly's new Brass Knuckles.George Clinton brings back classic soul, Motown, and doo-wop on George Clinton and Some Gangsters of Love, with an all-star cast that includes Sly Stone, RZA, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Michelle Williams unexpectedly segues from gospel to dance on her new, solo Unexpected. Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard showcases a variety of musical styles on his debut, Shine Through It. Former Stax Records queen Mavis Staples releases a rare live CD, Hope at the Hideout. And current Stax artist Nikka Costa's passionate Pebble to a Pearl is a rocking triumph from the daughter of Frank Sinatra's legendary producer Don Costa.

When you've loved and lost the way Frank has, then you know what life's about.

Power to your playlist: Rage Against the Machine guitar virtuoso Tom Morello's second solo Nightwatchman disc, The Fabled City, evokes the voice of Leonard Cohen and rocks hard on such tracks as "Whatever It Takes" and "Saint Isabelle"; download both on vf.com.... Australian singer Lenka's childlike voice lends a perfect hippie sensibility to an acoustic cover of Modest Mouse's "Gravity Rides Everything" and, from her self-titled debut, "The Show," both available for download on vf.com.... Justin T., take note: Marc Broussard is the real blue-eyed, blond, Southern soul singer; he's been compared to Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, and Van Morrison, and his new album, Keep Coming Back, features the outstanding "Real Good Thing"— download on vf.com ....Check out hot band Black Kids' "Boyfriend," from Partie Traumatic; go to vf.com and add to your music now.