Looking for a soundtrack for your next adventure? Check out the selection of compilation CD’s offered by Putumayo. Long a mainstay of health food stores, cafes and book shops, these recordings with the colorful folk art covers are smartly assembled and transporting.

How to define a label that puts out "Acoustic Africa," "Brazilian Lounge" and "Turkish Groove?" Founder Dan Storper calls it "international music with tribal origins."

Fair enough. I call it the ideal way to get into an aural groove and pass away an endless flight, a long car trip or to decompress once you get where you’re going. On "Gypsy Groove," you get the beat from Slovenia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Uzbekistan. And while personal favorites like Chico Buarque and Caetano Veloso appear on "Acoustic Brazil," so do artists I know far less about, such as Glaucia Nasser. A percentage of proceeds from many of the recordings go charities, such as RUKHA, which works on behalf of street children in Brazil. And if you have kids, Putumayo has a great selection that includes "Reggae Playground," and "Asian Dreamland," CD’s that can transform a car trip from hell into a veritable Magical Mystery Tour. And believe me, I speak with some authority on that point.

Go to putumayo.com for more info.