RECORD STORE'S EMERALD AISLE.

Here are some Celtic music acts you may want to investigate:

Altan, "Island Angel" (Green Linnet) - Features the songs of Mairead Ni Mhaonaigh, who also plays the fiddle.

Anuna, "Invocation" (Celtic Heartbeat) - A 12-member choir singing ancient music that is as enthralling today as it must have been centuries ago.

Black 47, "Fire of Freedom" (SBK) - New York-based Irish immigrant Larry Kirwan comes up with a sweaty folk-rock blend that's sometimes too heavy-handed and political but more often - on tracks such as "Livin' in America," "Maria's Wedding" and "Funky Ceili" - thrilling.

The Chieftains, "Chieftains Four" (Shanachie). A sampler of the band's oeuvre from its early years.

Clannad, "Pastpresent" (BMG) - A greatest-hits compilation of sorts from the popular band that blends a moody yet accessible traditionalism with a pop sensibility. Singer Maire Brennan has one of the purest, most saintly voices in all of pop.

Enya, "The Celts" (Reprise) - Far from a traditionalist, Enya nevertheless uses her heavily burnished, multilayered sound to conjure a dreamy Irish world of craggy coasts and fog-shrouded hills.

Loreena McKennitt "The Visit" and "The Mask and the Mirror" (Warner Bros.) - McKennitt's reinvention of Celtic music is enhanced by her entrancing soprano voice.

Van Morrison with the Chieftains, "Irish Heartbeat" (Mercury) - Morrison's Irish soul employed wonderfully on traditional material.

Mouth Music, "Mo Di" (Rykodisc) and "Shore Life" (Rykodisc) - The traditional meets ambient dance and African sampling.

Noirin Ni Riain, "Celtic Soul," (Living Music) - This collaborator of world music legend Paul Winter explores her own Celtic and Asian Indian vision on this pristine debut.

Pogues, "Rum, Sodomy and the Lash" (Stiff) and "If I Should Fall From Grace" - Two of the more irresistible collections of Poguery.

Alan Stivell, "Journee a la Maison" (Rounder) - A good compilation of the folk-rock stylings of Brittany's Stivell, who plays the Breton Celtic harp.

The Tannahill Weavers, "The Best of the Tannahill Weavers: 1979-1989" (Green Linnet) - Selections from the band's first decade.

Various artists, "Celtic Graces: Best of Ireland" (Hemisphere); various artists, "The Celtic Heartbeat Collection" (Celtic Heartbeat); various artists, "Celtic Legacy: A Global Celtic Journey" (Narada) - Three solid collections, though "Graces" gets the nod for its breadth of artists (Davy Spillane, Bill Whelan, the Bothy Band and, of course, Clannad) and good liner notes. "Collection" is a good sampler of what has appeared on the Celtic Heartbeat label (Anuna, Frances Black and, yep, Clannad). The more easy-listening "Journey" features an Altan track, "Dulaman."

Various artists, "Lament" (Real World) - Irish music often possesses a deep, aching sadness, and this collection of lamentation - with informative liner notes - explores this element. Christy Moore's "Danny Boy" and Michael O Suilleabhain's solo piano "Plunkett" are standouts.

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