WOULD that the state of world music were the state of the world. In the music, boundaries are wide open, curiosity leads to cooperation, memories are long but the lessons of history are positive ones. In the world,

well . . .

World music, that happily vague category, encompasses raw field recordings and slick non-Western pop, traditional music and countless twists on traditionalism; the term is also applied to everything from crosscultural fusions to club music with exotic samples to new-age meditation albums. No matter. The broad rubric holds a wealth of music that is now more accessible than ever before. And while major labels have largely lost interest in world music, independents have been busy, while listeners are no longer dependent on the shelf space or classification skills of local record stores.

With the Internet, CD's manufactured abroad are a few clicks away at large retailers or dedicated specialists like the Latin-music experts at descarga.com. Digital distribution brings the music even closer. World music has its own clearinghouse for downloads at calabashmusic.com, where it's easy to stock an iPod with music from Uzbekistan or Curaçao or just read up on them. Subscription services like Rhapsody and eMusic have a surprising amount of international offerings.

And the Smithsonian Institution has just gone online with the ethnographic answer to iTunes: smithsonianglobalsound.org, with museum-quality annotation and royalties paid to musicians. Information and recommendations are also available at sites like worldmusiccentral.org and afropop.org.

What follows is just a dip into the cornucopia of world-music albums released over the past year or so. These albums are the perfect antidote to xenophobia, and a reminder that creativity doesn't stop at national borders or language barriers. (Prices range from $13.49 to $18.49 for one CD, to $17.95 for a two-CD set.)

South Africa

When missionaries got to South Africa, they found local harmony-singing traditions that meshed magnificently with gospel hymns, creating a hybrid that has grown more South African over the generations. The Soweto Gospel Choir, 26 singers picked from churches around the Soweto township near Johannesburg, is both meticulously arranged and gutsy, from its hearty bass harmonies to soloists whose sharp-edged voices leap out of the choir. Its album "Voices From Heaven" (Shanachie) is geared for outsiders, with a few familiar English-language songs and an unnecessary pop finale. But most of the album uses just voices, or voices and percussion, in songs that are as dynamic as they are devout.