The 2023 Holiday Gift Guide for Music Lovers
From turntables to box sets to books to stocking stuffers.
Music Features Gift Guide
If you can believe it, the 2023 holiday season is on the very, very near horizon. Black Friday is this week, which means it’s time to start thinking about what to get the music lover in your life. Have no fear, the Paste music team is here to help. We’ve come up with 20 gifts clocking in at a variety of price points.
Marshall Acton III Speaker
Music was made to be heard on more than just an iPhone speaker. Save your loved one from listening to their favorite artists on a less-than-desirable speaker and get them professional quality with the Marshall Acton III Speaker. As a Marshall owner, I cannot rave about them enough. The Bluetooth speaker comes in three colors to fit the aesthetic of any room, and don’t let its small size fool you—the Acton III packs a punch with its bass and treble control. This gift is the perfect addition to anyone’s list because what is a home without the perfect sound system to share musical joy? —Olivia Abercrombie | Buy Here |
“Now Playing” Wall Mounted Record Display Shelf
It’s a subtle addition to your listening experience, but it adds just enough flair to really fill out the space where you keep your records. The “Now Playing” display can be mounted easily with a few screws or some command strips, and it’s 3D-printed from bioplastic. Having this will allow you to proudly show off what album you’ve got on rotation, and it’s a great wall decoration for any collector. If you get it off Etsy, you can get it in a bunch of different colors. It’s a win all around. —Matt Mitchell | Buy Here |
LEGO Icons: Jazz Club
I’m including the Jazz Club LEGO set because I’m manifesting that someone will buy it for me this year. But, it’s an incredible design that features beautiful, old-school architecture. It’s easily one of LEGO’s coolest sets in recent memory, and you can pair it with the Jazz Quartet build that comes separately. LEGO is still as popular as ever—maybe even more so these days—and if the musician you know and love also has an affinity for plastic bricks, there’s no better option than the Jazz Club. —MM | Buy Here |
Uncommon Goods Turntable Cheese Board
This gift is a subtle and very tasteful addition to any music lover’s kitchen, especially for those who love a good charcuterie situation. The cheese board comes complete with a secret cheese slicer—the needle—and volume knobs for added authenticity. The slate design makes cleaning and setting up the picturesque platter of your dreams easy and quick. The gift also doubles as a lovely kitchen decoration when not in use—who wouldn’t want an extra turntable in their kitchen? —OA | Buy Here |
Music Genius Playing Cards
Add some flair to your loved one’s next game of Go Fish with these gorgeously illustrated playing cards featuring music legends like Madonna, Prince, Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse. Add in Björk and David Bowie as the jokers, and you have the perfect deck. Any music fan would kill to have these to break out at their next game night. —OA | Buy Here |
Vinyl Me, Please Membership
If someone you know lives in a rural part of the country or just can’t make it out to their local record store as often as they’d like, a Vinyl Me, Please Membership is worth its weight in gold. The vinyl record subscription service is available in three, six and 12-month increments. Your giftee has full control over which genre they get—be it rap, rock, country, essentials or classics—and they have the right to substitute each selection so they are never given a record they don’t want. Each Record of the Month is packed with new liner notes and is of the highest-quality pressing money can buy. Members also get first dibs and special pricing on VMP exclusives. You can even get 20% off your first purchase. What’s not to love? —MM | Buy Here |
Audio-Technica ATH-M50X Headphones
A music fan, musician, podcaster or turntable devotee always needs a good pair of headphones, and the Audio-Technica ATH-M50X edition is one of the best on the market. Eons more affordable than a set of AirPod Maxes, the ATH-M50Xs come both wired and wireless and with a built-in Amazon Alexa—making it easy to change songs without touching their computer or phone, answer phone calls and set reminders. The best part about these headphones is they boast 50 hours of battery on one charge. —MM | Buy Here |
Game That Song
Do you have a person in your life who makes playlists for extremely niche and specific scenarios? Then Game That Song is the perfect gift for them to flex their skills. The game’s concept is that one player selects a card and describes a scenario where that song could be played. Then, every other player plays their song pick for that scenario. It’s basically a less offensive version of Cards Against Humanity with the added pleasure of subjecting your friends to your music taste—so grab this game and get together with your friends and family to discover new songs and figure out who should and shouldn’t be allowed to have the aux. —OA | Buy Here |
Alex Pappademas & Joan LeMay: Quantum Criminals: Ramblers, Wild Gamblers, and Other Sole Survivors From the Songs of Steely Dan
The best music book of 2023 should be at the top of any holiday gift list for the music lover in your life. Alex Pappademas and Joan LeMay’s Quantum Criminals is a fully illustrated, humorous and dense collection of stories, musings and biography about not just Steely Dan, but the characters who populated their songs for more than 40 years. From Rikki to Hoops McCann to Kid Charlemagne, Pappademas’ prose and LeMay’s paintings pair together to give Donald Fagen and Walter Becker’s band the vivid, unforgettable context it has always deserved. It’s an essential mapping of Steely Dan’s wild and wonderful world, told straight from two Danheads. —MM | Buy Here |
Loop Experience Ear Plugs
Destroying your ears to look “cool” at concerts is out; wearing earplugs at live shows so you can hear when you are old is in. Nothing says “I love you” more than giving the avid concert-goer in your life a pair of earplugs to protect their precious eardrums. Luckily, we live in a time where earplugs can be stylish. The Experience Earplugs from Loop come in nine different colors and reduce the noise while keeping the quality of the live performance well intact. —OA | Buy Here |
We Are Rewind Portable Cassette Player
We Are Rewind is trying to change the game when it comes to cassette players in the 21st century. The once-obsilete listening device has come soaring back, and this specific model is unbelievably great. The We Are Rewind portable cassette player comes in orange, blue and grey and is powered by a built-in lithium battery. On top of its futuristic design, it has a recorder function that lets you make your own mixtape. If that wasn’t enough, it’s also got a Bluetooth speaker that makes for a good alternative listening experience to headphones, if that’s more your speed. —MM | Buy Here |
P Pluginz Marshall Jack Key Ring
Is your loved one always losing their keys? Do they also love playing guitar? Then the Marshall Jack Key Ring is the perfect stocking stuffer for them. The amp piece can be mounted anywhere, giving a dedicated spot for your keys to go anytime you get home. It’s also a fun addition to your keychain that can be shown off to other musicians. What’s more fun than plugging your keys into an amp when you return from work? —OA | Buy Here |
The Replacements: Tim: Let It Bleed Edition Box Set
Your favorite Midwestern rock group’s best album recently got the makeover it deserved. Tim: Let It Bleed Edition sees the original tapes from the Replacements’ seminal 1985 LP get a new mix from Ed Stasium—the legendary engineer who was supposed to mix the record in the first place. The 4 CD/1 LP set features unreleased studio recordings, sessions with Big Star bandleader Alex Chilton, demos and a live concert from 1986 at the Metro in Chicago. On top of that, a 12×12 hardcover book filled with unseen photos and a history of the Tim era written by the band’s biographer, Bob Mehr. It’s not just one of the best box sets of 2023, it’s a perfect album becoming, somehow, even more of a gem. “Swingin’ Party” has never sounded so good. —MM | Buy Here |
Lol Tolhurst: Goth: A History
Let your favorite goth feel seen with Lol Tolhurst’s Goth: A History. Tolhurst guides you through the history of goth as a genre, discussing icons like Tolhurst’s own former band The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, Joy Division and more. The book combines anecdotal tales from his life growing up in goth culture with a discussion of the genre’s legacy as it endures today. This is the perfect read for all current and future goths to understand the culture and hear fun stories from one of its most influential members. —OA | Buy Here |
Kacey Musgraves “Slow Burn” Candle from Boy Smells
Now, your loved ones can experience the magic of Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour through the scents of her signature “Slow Burn” Boy Smells candle. Since we all already own the 2018 album in sonic form, we must get creative with how to let it envelop us further. This is the perfect gift for music and candle lovers alike, and it ensures a “Slow Burn” with its 110-hour burn time. Imagine filling your home with the smells of lush raspberry and smoking incense while your Golden Hour record spins in the background—talk about a picturesque, cozy winter afternoon. —OA | Buy Here |
Spotify Premium Gift Card
Nothing is better than giving the simple gift of music through Spotify Premium. Any avid music listener has been interrupted by the “Want a break from the ads?” message more than once, and when you are trying to have your sad girl, Phoebe Bridgers moment, there is nothing worse than being interrupted by that infamous, loud and immovable voice. There are many gift card options with one, three, six, and 12-month versions. Free that special someone in your life from the ads and get them a premium account to enjoy their favorite artists anytime they want with no interruptions. —OA | Buy Here |
Jeff Tweedy: World Within a Song
The latest book from Wilco bandleader Jeff Tweedy is his funnest yet. It holds a combination of memories, inspirations and songs, as Tweedy chronicles the music that has greatly shaped his taste, talents and livelihood. He writes about everyone from Joni Mitchell to Otis Redding to Billie Eilish and gives us an even further look into his life, building upon the world he welcomed us into on Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) a few years ago. World Within a Song isn’t just a must-read for Wilco fans, it’s an essential bookshelf addition for music historians, fans and newcomers alike. —MM | Buy Here |
Sunnylife Splash Speaker
Though it won’t get much use on the East Coast until next summer, the Sunnylife Splash Speaker is a no-brainer pick for beach- and pool-side listening needs. It’s an affordable waterproof speaker that has a recharge capacity of 200 times and a play-time of two hours. It’s lightweight, pretty and it gets the job done when your surroundings are at their wettest. If you buy a Sunnylife Splash Speaker, you can keep your Bose or JBL speakers safe inside and away from the water. It’s good to have options, and Sunnylife makes it simple. —MM | Buy Here |
Donner STARRYPAD MIDI Drum Machine Beat Maker
Built perfectly for beginner and professional music production, Donner’s STARRYPAD MIDI drum machine beat maker is the perfect addition to any budding musician or engineer’s sonic artillery. It works with a laptop or computer keyboard, weighs nearly nothing and can create songs anywhere—at home, at the coffee shop, under the table at your family’s holiday dinner, you name it. The drum machine comes with 16 soft backlit pads that trigger beats, samples and effects, and the unit has a great, adjustable velocity sensitivity. It’s a great starter kit for anyone looking to learn more about synchronization and beat-making, as well as a unique and easy piece of equipment for anyone’s on-the-go rig. —MM | Buy Here |
Audio-Technica AT-LP60X Turntable
Most gift guides will tell you to buy a Crosley or Victrola record player this year, but you oughta skip that nonsense. Those turntables will just hurt your records over time. An Audio-Technica AT-LP60X is a good place to start, as it won’t break the bank and you’ll get a good quality listening experience out of it. This was my first bigtime turntable, and it changed everything for me. It’s a good size, has automatic start and stop buttons (an essential function for us folks who don’t have the steadiest of hands) and can be purchased with add-on speakers to help take your record cabinet to the next level. It’s Turntable Lab’s best-selling entry-level turntable for a reason. —MM | Buy Here |