Now that the last of the leftover stuffing we’ve been surviving on for the past week has made its way into the disposal, and the more punctilious of our neighbors have the requisite HOA-approved C9 LEDs lining their eaves, it’s time to turn toward the real meaning of the season: helping multinational corporations get into the black in Q4.
If you have a musician and/or music lover on your gift-buying list, you might, even this very minute, be overcome with decision paralysis. There’s always the worry that your recipient won’t like your gift, despite what amount of thought is or isn’t put into it — especially if you feel like you don’t necessarily know what is “cool” or are able to maintain some baseline awareness of what’s popular these days.
For example, every grandmother is probably aware of Taylor Swift. Therefore, because Swift is a musician, and your recipient likes music, it is very possible that Granny might think, “Surely anyone would want a vinyl copy of The Life of the Showgirl.” No shade at Tay (Swifties, don’t come for us), but while they might appreciate the effort, having to force the exact pitch and volume in our voice to feign enthusiasm for such a near miss of a present is a dreary prospect. I still have flashbacks to Christmas 1989. After unwrapping a Sony Walkman — a reveal that sent me into orbit — I prepared to see Appetite for Destruction or Poison’s Flesh and Blood. Instead, the accompanying cassettes turned out to be Wilson Phillips’ self-titled debut and Hangin’ Tough by New Kids on the Block. The chorus of every other sixth grader mercilessly picking on me still rings in my ears.
Whether you plan on doing your shopping via your index finger and a 4-inch touchscreen or by actually setting foot in a brick-and-mortar retail establishment, we music writers have compiled a list of gift ideas for the music lover in your life that’ll blow that child labor-crafted “I’m a Harley rider born in the ’80s who watches Game of Thrones and loves his wife” T-shirt that your boomer in-law would buy from a targeted ad on their socials (or that orange vinyl deluxe Showgirl record) right out of the water.
Gift Cards (Duh)
There are tons of local spots to pick up tuneage, including Chief Records, Doc’s Records & Vintage, CD Warehouse, Growl Records, Panther City Vinyl, Record Town, and Saint Marie Records. All offer huge selections of cassettes, CDs, and vinyl. For the musicians on your list, try to avoid the big-box retailers that have dominated the market for decades. We recommend the Tone Shop, an awesome instrument retailer with a boutique feel minus the intimidation. Some form of store credit toward one of these establishments is a great way to support local businesses while giving your person the freedom of choice.
Concert Tickets
If you ask us, listening to a great song is second only to seeing it performed live. In addition to frequenting our local rooms like The Post, The Cicada, and Tulips FTW, we occasionally like to splurge on the big national acts. You’d be a hero to many a music lover if you could help lighten that heavy financial load. Dickies Arena has some massive tours coming in 2026. Though you probably would have needed to jump on the tickets yesterday, queen of pop Lady Gaga is doing back-to-back shows at Dickies on day Sat, Feb 28, and Sun, Mar 1. Surely, even the most anti-pop, anti-mainstream-music curmudgeon would appreciate the production that goes into a Gaga concert, even if just for the spectacle. Along with Gaga, Florence + The Machine plays in May, and legendary prog-rock pioneers Rush are coming to Dickies for four shows at the end of June. Then, ’80s-excess hard-rock icons Guns N’ Roses will welcome you to the jungle of Globe Life Field in September. You might want to look into a small loan to secure your music lover’s seat.
Music Zines
They say print is dead, and while perhaps not quite yet, the ol’ Fourth Estate is certainly on life support. You could do your part to man the crash cart while offering your loved one a way to stay occupied on the john that isn’t doomscrolling. Believe it or not, magazines like Rolling Stone, Spin, and Creem are still in publication and make for good stocking stuffers. If further lining the pockets of corporate publishers isn’t necessarily your thing, a subscription to a punk zine like Razorcake or the indie-forward New Noise might be easier on a budget and on your conscience.
Music Books
When it comes to longform reading material, there’s a host of music-centric fare for the audiophile/bibliophile. Whether it’s a must-have oral history like Michael Azzeraad’s Our Band Could Be Your Life or a great rockstar memoir like Nick Cave’s beautiful musings on creativity, aspiration, and grief (with writer Seán O’Hagan), Faith, Hope, and Carnage, there’s plenty to add to your shelves.
Music Movies
For those who never cared to learn to read or learned to care to read, the audio-visual medium also has plenty to offer. Perhaps just as surprising as magazines still in print, the Machine also still presses Blu Rays! Be advised. Documentaries like the sultry love letter to the early 2000s New York indie scene Meet Me in the Bathroom and concert films like Nirvana Live at The Paramount tend to be the safe bet over the recent rash of cringe Hollywood-ized biopics like Bohemian Rhapsody, but the freaky fake-biopic-inside-a-real-documentary Pavements about the scintillating ’90s slack-rock band of the same (singular version) name is at the top of our list.
Simply Music
Perhaps as obvious as why they haven’t released the Epstein Files is that a music lover’s favorite thing is … well … music. While colored-vinyl special anniversary editions of indie-rock classics like Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots or American Football’s genre-defining LP1 are certainly rad, we, of course, like to steer our readers toward supporting the wealth of lovely local talent. It just might help your favorite homegrown acts pay their rent. Most North Texas artists have records, CDs, cassettes, or even digital downloads available for purchase via their own websites or Bandcamp. A good idea is to check out the pages of record labels like Idol, State Fair, and Dreamy Life to view the wares of artists like Denton punk collective the Wee-Beasties and Dallas cowpunks The Vandoliers. A few of our personal favorites to highlight include singer-songwriter Cameron Smith and his band the Slings’ debut, Gold & Rust, and Denver Williams & The Gas Money’s new record, Let It Ride.
Headphone Guitar Amp
Whether your music lover is a weekend warrior having to cram for Saturday’s two-hour set or an attorney with a PRS wanting to work out their John Mayer chops between briefings and two-martini power lunches, a headphone amp is a must-have. Our top pick is the Fender Micro Mustang. For $100, the guitar hero in your life will have access to 25 amp models and 25 effects, plus access to Fender’s fully customizable Tone iOS software. Because it plugs directly into the guitar and the sound runs through headphones, it’s as much a gift for you as it is for them, because it means you won’t have to listen while they painfully try to work out the solo to “Time” for seven hours straight.
Vintage HiFi Gear
The vinyl resurgence over the last decade has not only saved the record industry. It’s also spawned another burgeoning adjacent industry, that of vintage HiFi equipment. If you suspect your intended gift recipient might use an aforementioned gift card on cassette tapes or LPs, they’ll likely need something to play them. Onetime relics collecting dust on Goodwill shelves or your mullet-sporting uncle’s storage shed, the vintage receiver or cassette player is now the audiophile equivalent of the Princess Di Beanie Baby. Receivers from the consumer HiFi peak of the 1970s like the Marantz 2215 or the Pioneer SX-680 are once again the crown jewel in any home stereo system. Despite sought after models beginning to fetch north of $1K, the boon in hipster vinyl-snob cred is worth the expense. Maybe you get lucky and that uncle still has one in his 8-by-10.
Modern HiFi Gear
Modern (also, more modestly priced) alternatives to the costly vintage pieces certainly exist. In lieu of a ’70s silverface Fostex, your hypothetical tape aficionado might appreciate a cassette player from Rewind. This French company makes new-tech/old-aesthetic cassette players (found at WeAreRewind.com). Their personal player is very Walkman-like, comes in three colors, and is updated with a rechargeable lithium ion battery — 10-12 hours of life doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s still better than having to feed the player a steady diet of AA batteries. In addition to stereo recording capability via a 3.5 mm RCA jack, its most modern feature is its 5.1 Bluetooth connection, compatible with most wireless headphones and speakers.
Vinyl Care Kit
An opportunity for the vinyl enthusiast in your life that you won’t have to sell a lung for or endure a shady Facebook Marketplace meetup with is a vinyl care kit. Usually coming with a brush, some cleaning fluid, and/or needle lubricant, these kits will help maintain their new pressing’s VG+ condition and even help revitalize the Foghat and Barbara Streisand LPs they’ve inherited from relatives. With a typical price point under $40 and a compact size, they make great stocking stuffers, too.
