The Best Gift Ideas for Music Lovers That Aren’t Another Record

The Best Gift Ideas for Music Lovers That Aren’t Another Record
Contributor: Chris Neill, Lauren Rouse
At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.

Music is one of those things that everyone can enjoy, but when it comes to buying a gift for someone who loves their tunes, things can get a bit tricky. The last thing you want to do is buy them an album they already have or worse an album that they absolutely hate.

Thinking of music-themed Christmas gifts can be a challenge, particularly if you don’t know your giftee’s taste, so to help you out, we’ve collected a few options that’ll keep anyone’s toes tapping.

Here are some gift ideas for the music lovers in your life, so bring on the good vibes.

The best gift ideas for music lovers under $50

Boundless Record Cleaning Kit

best gifts for music lovers
Image: Boundless

Vinyl is very much back in, and whether you’re digging out the old vinyl in the garage or purchasing a new track, you’ll want to keep those guys clean. As any vinyl owner knows, the smallest scratch or speck of dust can mess with your sound. Dirty vinyl can also damage the needle on your record player. So why not give them a gift that will service all of their albums?

A vinyl care kit is a great gift for turntable owners, particularly if you can’t decide which album to give them. This Boundless kit comes with a stylus cleaning brush and a record brush with carbon fibre bristles, so they can wipe away any fine dust particles from their favourite albums.

Where to buy Boundless Record Cleaning Kit:

Premium Record Sleeves

best gifts for music lovers
Image: Facmogu

This gift falls into the same category as the previous one, as it’s a great way of showing someone that you care about their record-collecting hobby by giving them something incredibly practical. These 12-inch sleeves are designed to hold vinyl LPs and are roomy enough to hold double albums. They’re also resealable, which is a sweet bonus if you’re buying for someone who is a stickler about keeping all their records pristine. Plus, with 100 sleeves, the gift recipient probably isn’t going to run out any time soon.

Where to buy Premium Record Sleeves (100pcs):

Vinyl Record Coasters (6-Pack)

Image: Catch

For cute music household items, coasters always do the trick. Plus, these vinyl-themed ones are suitably retro and practical. We love a stylish gift that also has a use. This pack of six will work for both hot and cold drinks, and won’t slide around your table. They also have some sweet designs.

Where to buy the Vinyl Record Coasters (6-pack):

Grab a music book

Image: Faber/Motorbooks/Random House

If you know what kind of music your gift recipient loves, grab them a book related to their favourite band or musician. Whether that’s a memoir, a coffee-table book full of photographs or a broader overview of the music industry, you’re sure to find something that they’ll devour during their Christmas break.

Here are a few of our picks:

The best gift ideas for music lovers under $100

Echo Pop

amazon echo pop sale
Image: Amazon/Gizmodo Australia

If you’re buying a gift for someone who has been looking to add some smart devices to their home, the Echo Pop is a solid pick. Not only can it be used to control all the compatible smart devices in your home through the Alexa voice assistant, but it also works as a speaker to play all their favourite music.

Gizmodo Australia’s Managing editor, Asha Barbaschow, reviewed the Echo Pop and was impressed by its quality, despite its budget price:

“I genuinely cannot tell you having an assistant-enabled speaker that sounds good enough in a bedroom/office that’s priced at $79 isn’t worth your investment if you’re looking for a light-touch smart speaker. The sound is fine, it comes in cute colours, and it doesn’t take up much room at all.”

Where to buy the Echo Pop:

Blue Snowball iCE Microphone

best gifts music lovers
Image: Logitech

If you’re buying a gift for a budding musician, grabbing them a mic is a handy way to help them record themselves. The Blue Snowball iCE is an incredibly easy-to-use plug-and-play USB microphone. Once connected, the Snowball iCE will let them record crystal-clear audio in no time flat.

Where to buy the Blue Snowball iCE Microphone:

Wireless Transmitter for Musical Instruments

Image: Lekato

If you’ve got a music player in the house, whether it be guitar, bass or other electric instruments, a wireless transmitter is a neat gift. The Lekato Wireless Digital Transmitter is great for those who play music but hate cables.

The two small transmitters plug into your amp and your instrument and then wirelessly beam the sound between them. They’re rechargeable with a battery life of up to five hours and have almost zero lag. Game changer.

Where to buy Lekato Wireless Transmitter:

The best gift ideas for music lovers over $100

Jabra Elite 7 Pro Earbuds

click frenzy sale headphones earbuds
Image: Jabra

When it comes to noise-cancelling earbuds, there’s a lot of stiff competition out there. Jabra’s Elite 7 Pro earbuds manage to combine high-quality audio with great active noise cancellation, and when compared to some of the other mid-range earbuds out there, come with a fairly affordable price tag.

In our review of the Jabra Elite 7 Pro earbuds, we noted that they “easily live up to the expectations that Jabra has set and are earbuds that can stand toe-to-toe with the best of them.”

Alongside its ANC, these earbuds also include a transparent hearing feature that’ll give you an awareness of your surroundings when you’re out and about (that’s especially helpful if you jog near busy streets). The earbuds also have a battery life of around 8 hours, with an additional 30 hours available from the charging case.

Where to buy the Jabra Elite 7 Pro Earbuds:

Sonos Roam Speaker

gift ideas music lovers
Image: Sonos

The only thing better than listening to music with friends is listening to music with friends in the outdoors. The Sonos Roam is a portable speaker that will help your musical mate’s wildest dreams come true with killer sound in a handy little package. Even if they’re not an outdoorsy type, this Sonos speaker will make for a fantastic option if they need an all-rounder option for home.

With this gift, they can spend the rest of their summer rockin’ out by the beach or listening to some sweet tunes while chilling out in their room. Plus, this neat little speaker comes with Sonos’ fantastic audio quality.

Where to buy the Sonos Roam:

Audio Technica Sound Burger Portable Bluetooth Turntable

best gifts for music lovers
Image: Audio Technica

If you know someone whose love for vinyl outpaces the available space in their home, Audio Technica’s Sound Burger could be the answer they’ve been looking for. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of its original release, Audio Technica launched an updated version of the portable turntable earlier this year.

Complete with Bluetooth connectivity, this belt-driven turntable can play 33 1/3 and 45RPM records, and maintains its stability with a die-cast aluminium alloy platter. Just pop it on the coffee table, throw an album and listen away.

Where to buy the Audio Technica Sound Burger

More Gizmodo Australia gift guides

Image: Audio Technica/Jabra


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At Gizmodo, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. We have affiliate and advertising partnerships, which means we may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page. BTW – prices are accurate and items in stock at the time of posting.