Gift ideas
Gifts for music lovers
Music lovers are easy to shop for badly and hard to shop for well. Twenty ideas, sorted by the kind of fan they are, so you can skip the ones they'll never use.
Short answer
The best gifts for music lovers match how they listen. A playlist curator wants their mix made physical, like a custom mixtape CD. A collector wants storage and care for their records. A concert-goer wants tickets and good earplugs. A musician wants lessons, strings or studio time.
Most gifts for music lovers miss because they’re about music in general: a guitar-shaped bottle opener, a poster of headphones. The ones that land are about their music. Work out which of these five fans you’re buying for, then pick from that list.
What's a good gift for a playlist curator?
Good gifts for a playlist curator are their own playlist on a custom CD, a portable CD player, good wired headphones, or a mix made for them. Curators have a playlist for every mood, and their taste is the thing to celebrate.
1. Their own playlist on a custom CD
Take their best playlist, the one they’re proudest of, and burn it to a real CD with their photo or the playlist’s artwork on the cover. It turns something that lives in an app into a physical album they made. Want to go further? Make it their year in music, from their most-played songs.
Copy their playlist link and we’ll burn it to a custom CD mixtape with a printed tracklist or your photo as the cover. They’ll never know you took it.
2. Something to play physical music on
A portable CD player or a small bookshelf stereo with a CD tray gives the mix somewhere to live, especially if their car no longer has a slot.
3. Good wired headphones
People who care about the order of a playlist usually care how it sounds. A good pair of over-ear headphones for home listening is a gift they’ll use daily.
4. A mix made for them
Return the favor: make a mix of songs you think they haven’t heard. Curators are usually the ones making mixes for everyone else. Our guide on how to make a mixtape covers the sequencing they’ll notice.
What do you get a vinyl or CD collector?
Good gifts for a vinyl or CD collector are a record or CD from the artist’s own store, a record shop gift card, storage that fits the collection, and care supplies.
5. A record or CD from the artist’s own store
Buying from the artist’s own store usually means more of the money reaches them, and a local record shop is the next best thing. Check their shelf (or ask a friend) so you don’t duplicate one they own.
6. A record shop gift card
Collectors know exactly what they’re missing. A gift card to their local independent shop lets them hunt it down.
7. Storage that fits the collection
Record crates, a shelf sized for LPs, or CD storage for the collection that has outgrown its tower. Measure before you buy.
8. Care supplies
A record cleaning kit, fresh inner sleeves and outer sleeves, or replacement jewel cases for cracked ones. Unglamorous, and every collector uses them.
What do you get someone who loves concerts?
Good gifts for a concert-goer are tickets to a show they’d hesitate to buy, high-fidelity earplugs, a ticket stub display, and the setlist on a CD.
9. Tickets
The obvious one, and still the best. Choose a show they’d hesitate to buy for themselves, and go with them if you’re invited.
10. High-fidelity earplugs
Musician-style earplugs turn the volume down evenly so the music still sounds clear. Their ears ring less the morning after a show.
11. A ticket stub display
A frame or book made to hold ticket stubs and wristbands. Print digital tickets so the recent shows can go in too.
12. The setlist on a CD
Before a show, a CD of the songs the band is likely to play gets them ready on the drive there. After, the setlist from a night you went to together is a keepsake.
What do you get someone who sings in the car?
Good gifts for a car singer are a five-CD road trip set, a wireless karaoke microphone, a night in a karaoke room, and tickets to a sing-along show.
13. A road trip set
Five CDs, about six and a half hours of their songs, for a long drive. Our road trip songs list is laid out as five discs, from the departure to the last exit.
14. A karaoke microphone
Wireless karaoke microphones with a built-in speaker connect to a phone. It lets them take the car performance indoors.
15. A night at a karaoke room
Book a private room for them and their friends. It’s the gift for someone who knows every word but won’t sing on an open stage.
16. Tickets to a sing-along show
A musical, a tribute act or a cover band night where the whole room sings. Pair it with a CD of the songs for the drive.
What do you give a musician as a gift?
Good gifts for a musician are lessons, strings and picks in the gauge they use, rehearsal or studio time, and a songbook of an artist they love.
17. Lessons
A block of lessons, either in the instrument they play or the one they’ve always wanted to try. Ask the teacher about a gift voucher.
18. Strings, picks, reeds and sticks
Musicians go through these constantly. Ask a bandmate, or look at what’s already in their case, so you get the right gauge and brand.
19. Rehearsal or studio time
An afternoon in a rehearsal room or a session in a local studio to record a song properly. Something they want but rarely pay for.
20. A songbook
A book of sheet music or chords for an artist they love. It’s a weekend of learning songs, and it sits well on the music stand.
What music themed gifts aren't kitsch?
Music themed gifts work when they’re about one artist, album or memory, not music in general. A framed print of a favorite album cover bought from the artist’s store beats a clock shaped like a record. A mix CD with a cover you designed in our free CD cover maker beats a T-shirt with a treble clef.
Questions people ask
What do you get a music lover who has everything?
For a music lover who has everything, choose something they can't buy off a shelf: their own favorite playlist burned to a CD with a custom cover, tickets to a show they'd never splurge on, or a lesson in an instrument they've always wanted to try. Experiences and personal things beat more gear.
What is a good music gift?
A good music gift matches how the person listens. A playlist curator wants their mix made physical, a collector wants storage and care for their records or CDs, a concert-goer wants tickets and earplugs, and a musician wants lessons, strings or studio time.
What are good music themed gifts?
Music themed gifts work best when they're tied to an artist or album the person loves: a framed print of the album art from the artist's own store, a ticket stub display, or a mix CD of that artist's deep cuts. Generic music-note decor rarely lands.
What do you give a musician as a gift?
Give a musician things they use up or can't justify buying themselves: lessons, rehearsal or studio time, strings and picks in the gauge they already use, or a songbook of an artist they love. Ask a bandmate what they use before buying gear.
Is a mix CD a good gift for a music lover?
A mix CD is a good gift for a music lover, because music lovers tend to care most about the choosing and the order, and a mix CD shows both. Burn their favorite playlist with a custom cover, or make them one of songs you think they haven't heard yet.
What is a unique music gift?
A unique music gift is a custom one: a CD of the songs from the night you met, the setlist from a concert you went to together, or their own playlist with their photo on the cover. Nobody else can give the same thing.