...but my stock answer is buy anything written by Peter Guralnick.

Try "Dear Boy", the Keith Moon biography (by Tony Fletcher). I found it excellent, but then i am quite a Moon fan. Still, with all his antics you probably don't need to have heard a note of the Who to enjoy the life of the Loon.

For something less biographical, you could also try "This is Uncool" by Gary Mulholland. It's his favourite singles "since punk and disco", and he picks and writes his tunes well.

Ian McDonald - Revolution In The Head (obv)
Nick Kent - The Dark Stuff
Charles Shaar Murray - Shots From the Hip
Tim Barr - Kraftwerk: From Dusseldorf To the Future (With Love)
Jon Savage - Englands Dreaming

...but can also recommend the aforementioned Gary Mullholland "This Is Uncool" book on post-punk singles. Some exceptionally good writing in there.
Pity the follow-up tome on LPs (Fear of Music) was nowhere near as good.

don't try Bill Wyman's 'Stone Alone', unless you're a big fan of turgid, badly-written clunkers. The tone is, I've just realised, most reminiscent of 'Diary of a Nobody', which has the advantage of being a) funny, and b) intentionally flat. Typical Wyman sentence : "I met a pretty model after the show - we went back to the hotel and had a very nice time". Typical in terms of content as well as style. (Positively Lennonesque, Mr Ellen...)

Only to be recommended if you're thinking of getting in Allen Klein to run your affairs.

if you're at all interested in Jimi Hendrix, I can't speak highly enough about Charles Shaar Murray's Crosstown Traffic and its examination, not only of Jimi's life and career, but also his cultural significance. Murray's breadth of knowledge is second to none , and also (personal taste alert!) I love the way he writes. George Best to Wyman's Sunday League reject.

'Rip It Up and Start Again' by Simon Reynolds, about the post-punk years, was a terrific read.

Some time back, I read and enjoyed the Greil Marcus book about Dylan's Basement Tapes, 'Invisible Republic'. I remember thinking at the time, though, that I'd had a real mental workout after reading it, it was an uncompromisingly intellectual book. No bad thing - don't get me wrong - but it demands (and rewards) concentration, so I wouldn't gamely pick it up straight after Christmas dinner, if I were you.

If you like 'dipping into' books, have you thought about any of the reference tomes out there (especially if someone else is buying!)? For example, if you like jazz, there's the matchless 'Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings', which - trust me - will keep you entertained all year.

There are so many:

- Anything by Johnny Rogan, Clinton Heylin, Barney Hoskyns:

- Trevor Dann's book on Nick Drake;

- Mark Blake's story of Pink Floyd;

- Jimmy McDonough's biography of Neil Young;

- Sylvie Simmons biography of Serge Gainsbourg.

Some good autobiographies:

- McCartney/Miles - Many Years From Now;

- White Bicycles by Joe Boyd;

- Miles Davis;

- David Crosby - Long Time Gone;

- Art Pepper - Straight Life.

Collections of articles:

- Nick Kent - The Dark Stuff;

- CSM - Shots from the Hip;

- John Fordham - Shooting from the Hip.

That lot should keep you going until Easter!

Across The Great Divide," Barney Hoskins' sublime study of The Band
or "Waiting For The Sun" his wide-ranging history of L.A. music from the early days of R&B through to Rap.

The story of a rock and roll band on the road in the mid 70's. Laundry problems, broken suitcases, old guitars. As unglamorous a story as you could imagine.

...and then they went to Croydon

The recent book... " Roxy" by Michael Bracewell is not really about Roxy Music. Its a book about Art Schools and Richard Hamilton. I am over halfway through, and whist mildy interesting in giving a lot of background to Ferry art school days, its not giving much , if you will, ROCKOGRAPHY.

The Warren Zevon Book " I'll sleep when Im dead" is Ok, but is really just a collection of half remembered accounts of the great man, it feels as if much of his life story is missing as is any meaningful critcal overview. Although that said, I was left wondering how such a git can produce such perfect music.

Im just about to start on a John Martyn Book, which in its first few pages has revealed the shocking fact that JM was born in New Malden, possibly the most soul less place in the world. Go figure.

..born or raised in bland places?
Look how many of our most charismatic figures emanated from the home counties.
Beck, Page, Clapton, Jagger, Richard etc.

but its a kinda personal thing, I have spent much time in New Malden, and that time would have been improved knowing that john Martyn took his first breath there. Obvioulsy he and the family buggerd off back to Scotland and he nevr walked the Streets, or drank in the fountain or the Royal Oak...but it just tickles me.

but I remember thoroughly enjoying Simon Napier Bells "Black Vinyl White Powder" which is a load of old gossip disguised as an autobiography. God knows, it's not a serious read, and Napier-Bell doesn't take, i think, anything remotely serious. He might be a bit too hung up on the links between drugs and music too, but as something to dip into before The Great Escape comes on the telly, it does the trick nicely

I really enjoyed this one. Met him and had it signed too...which was nice.

The best book I have ever read about rock and roll.

With a title like that you won't feel comfortable reading it during a late-night train trip (I know from experience)but it's a brilliant depiction of the New York Punk scene.

It has the "arc" of a novel, it begins with high hopes and idealism and ends with death and decay. One of the best non-fiction books I've ever read. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Psychotic Reactions And Carburettor Dung. I know some people can't stand him, but for me he's THE best rock writer bar none.

(to second the first reply above) Peter Guralnick's 2-volume Elvis biog. An incredible piece of research - I'm not really an Elvis fan but I found this gripping and heartbreaking.

Eye Mind by Paul Drummond. The story of the 13th Floor Elevator. Not the best-written book ever, but an utterly mind-boggling story.

Many seconded and thirded:
England's Dreaming
Rip it Up and Start Again
White Bicycles
Sweet Soul Music - possible the best non-fiction book I've ever read (plus his Elvis biogs)
Revolution in the Head

And some new suggestions
My Magpie Eyes are Hungry for the Prize - David Kavanagh. The creation records story. Genuinely fascinating read, interestingly the story loses pretty much all its steam with the arrival of Oasis.
The Last Party - John Harris. Most of the music is utterly forgettable but a great cultural history of the britpop/early Blair years.
Head On and Repossessed - Julian Cope. Brilliant fun even for a non-fan, especially Head On which covers the Teardrop Explodes years.
Dylan - Chronicles. Just great.
Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom - Nik Cohn. Obviously now very much of its time, but a gem.

Diary Of A Rock & Roll Star by Ian Hunter
Another book that's of its time - gloriously so. Amazing to read of the life that even a second-division band, as Mott-the-Hoople were at the time, could live. We'll never see those days again, for sure...

most of the above are good ones. I particularly like Stoned I and II. Some that are missing:

Boy George's Take it like a Man
Mötley Crüe's The Dirt
Hammer of the Gods
Phillip Norman's books on The Beatles and The Stones.

Energy Flash (20th anniversary edition) by Simon Reynolds. Bit too much 'ardkore though.

Marc Almond's autobiography is a stonking good read.

As above - My Magpie Eyes, the Creation Records story is utterly fantastic.

If you haven't already read Chronicles by Dylan, get that.

Not sure if it's still in print but X-Ray, Ray Davies' "faux" autobiography is terrifically entertaining.

Very, very funny and so true.

I was glad to discover that I'm not the only one who goes to a music shop to check on the section belonging to a favourite artist (normally a group that's split up) and look for a new release een though you know there's nothing coming out, or ever likely to come out. Still you look, hoping for some B-sides collection, or live CD, or something - anything - that you haven't got...

Worth reading for his bid, if memory serves, to write a song with Nik Kershaw, who comes across as a really nice guy.

In a similar comedy vein, see One Hit Wonderland by Tony Hawks, about his attempt to get a Top 10 hit with Norman Wisdom (yes, really). Funny and with some insights into the music biz.

Micky Moody's autobiography detailing his "appenticeship" in bands around Middlesbrough in the '60s is a fascinating insight into how a generation of kids took the rock and roll route out of small town Britain.

Tony Wilson's 'novelisation of the film'. He was an old bugger & acknowledges the fact on nearly every page, but he has fantastic stories to tell and tells them more readably than any biographer could.

I really enjoyed "It Crawled From The South - An R.E.M. Companion" (now out of print but available on Ebay), and if you're a Prince obsessive and can track it down "The Vault" is unsurpassable. Also "Strange Fascination", the David Bowie biography by David Buckley, is excellent.

Haven't we been here before recently?
I can still recommend I'll Sleep When I'm Dead by Crystal Zevon about her late ex Warren. Warts and all and more.

by Josh Alan Freidman .Literally the best music related book I've ever read . Find out why Leiber and Stoller didn't write a song for three years when they were at the hight of there fame . What's it like to be Ronnie Spectors boyfriend ? Here's the place to find out . What did Doc Pomus think of 'The Boss'? You wont be surprised . In all fifteen astonishing rock 'n' roll tales .

1) Cruelly overlooked, and possibly (in my opinion) one of the greatest takes on the whole pop explosion is Can't Buy Me Love: The Beatles, Britain and America by Jonathan Gould. Suffering, perhaps, from entering an already saturated Beatles library is perhaps one of the best music books I've ever read - and I would unreservedly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in The Beatles and pop history context.

Where Gould differs from others is that he actually explains the converging social/political world events that made the Beatles' Big Bang occur along the way, and thus reveals the creation of our pop universe. Things like the media vaccuum created by the death of Kennedy, the rise to dominance of television over radio at the birth of our media-fixated age, even the effect of the Liverpool accent on a Britain that is in post-war flux, all converge to create a spark of evolution that can never be repeated. If this sounds too pretentious, fear not, the book is brilliantly written and is highly engaging; creating a landscape where The Beatles are, to an extent, merely the right band, at the right time, in the right place. Truly brilliant.

2) I read Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography of Joe Strummer by Charles Salewicz at the beginning of the year, and it darn near broke my heart; one of the best biographies I ever read. I thought I was well up on The Clash, but this book really gets to the bottom of Strummer's demons, painting a commendable picture of depression, addiction and the hidden depths of the soul - and is essentially the answer to why The Clash broke up.

3) Surprisingly, Fashion Is A Passion: The Real Story of The Clash by Pat Gilbert is surprisingly engaging. Having read Last Gang In Town, I thought the band's true story had been told, but Gilbert's take is a great addition to the shelf; paying particular attention to Paul Simonon's visuals/style contributions.

4) Cider With Roadies by Stuart Maconie, which I also got around to this year, is close to brilliant. I wasn't much of a fan of the man, having come off the worse for him following all those I Love The... appearances he made on BBC2 years back. But this book turned me around. Endearing, very well written, and at times laugh out loud entertaining, Maconie's confessions of a life in pursuit of music struck many many chords.

5) Perhaps the opposite bookend to Maconie's Cider is Robert Elm's The Way We Wore, which, whilst not being exactly a music book per se, is I reckon a music book by default, given it's take on evolving fashion in his days of youth culture. The constant changes and sheer wonder recalled of new music and trends, and turns throughout the 70s into the 80s, and eventually a run aground in the 90s, is a valuable record and helped me set some things in context in my own mind. Where Maconie is wry and funny, Elm's is more intense, but the writing is crisp, and will be a great companion for a week.

6) I reluctantly, out of a sheer desire for some escapist rock reading, picked up Satisfaction: The Keith Richards Biography from the library a few months back, thinking I would be diving into the same old same old. However, that, too, is a really good read; and it's a testament to author Sandford Christopher's style that such a familiar tale comes alive in his hands.

7) Simon Reynolds is a corking writer, and Energy Flash is a vibrant take on the Ecstacy Years, charged with some truly, perhaps some of the best, rock prose - but be warned, it does get frustratingly bogged down in sub-genres within sub-genres by the latter quarter. Like wise Rip It Up and Start Again and Bring The Noise are also mixed bags of crackling style, but with a prepencity to go dense on the detail.

8) For a light, frothy, but thoroughly enjoyable and at times hugely comedic read, check out Alex James' Bit of a Blur, which I dipped into during the summer. Think what you will about James, but he can truly write, he's got a great sense of humour, and he is under no illusions about how lucky he's been. Celebrity pap it is not, but it does play with the style of the genre.

9) On the downside, I gave up on Remake/Remodel: The Roxy Music Story by Michael Bracewell, as it was borderline impenetrable thanks its mix of art theory tome, and murky prose.

...also, Things the Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Everett of Eels fame ... and The many Lives of Tom waits by Patrick Humphries.

Things The Grandchildren Should Know is excellent, and mercifully short for those of us who have young kids and get to read about 3 books a year.

Revolution In The Head and This Is Uncool are two of my other favourites. Also loved 45 by Bill Drummond, not all music if memory serves but enough to be getting on with.

In a similar style to Cider With Roadies, I enjoyed his pal Radcliffe's Showbusiness about his time in various failed bands.

Iain Banks' Espedair Street is a great read - a fictional biography of an eccentric Scots rock star dealing with his post fame years. I can't think of any other novels about rock n roll apart from Don Delilo's Great Jones Street,which I couldn't get into (what's with the Street motif?).. any takers?