WE all know how snobby music lovers can be.
From alphabetised record collections to month-long quests to find a rare Nirvana bootleg, they’re the most particular of people. So when it comes to buying Christmas presents, get it wrong and you’re likely to be shunned for life.
If you’ve got pots of cash, there are a few guaranteed ways to find a jaw dropping present. Something signed by a cult artist — even better if they’re dead — is always bound to impress.
IRockNRoll.com has an impressive number of signed albums from a plethora of artists, including Johnny Cash’s Now Here’s Johnny Cash, which was released on Sun Records in 1961, and which has been signed by the man in black himself. At $449.95 (approximately £300) it’s not cheap, but you’ll score enough brownie points to take you through to 2010.
Signed Johnny Cash album, $449.95 from IRockNRoll.com
Alternatively, those with an unlimited budget may also want to buy their loved the one thing that improves the listening experience more than anything else — a pair of Bose noise cancelling earphones.
Not only does the music sound great, but they block out everything else, making for the ideal listening conditions. And after all, what price can you put on a bit of peace on Christmas day?
Back in the real world, those with more modest budgets should head to Etsy.com, which specialises in handmade items and helpfully has a section entitled “music”.
Our favourites from the site are Mock The Rock’s album cover journals, and Rock ‘n’ Recycle’s Ramones album tote bags.
Show your appreciation of classic rock with a Stairway To Heaven journal, or impress the rock chick in your life with a bag celebrating punk’s finest.
Led Zeppelin Stairway To Heaven journal, $28 from Mock The Rock at Etsy.com
Ramones 45 Record Album Cover Tote, $26.95 from Rock ‘n’ Recycle at Etsy.com
Sticking with the theme of album covers, Barry Miles’ book The Greatest Album Covers Of All Time showcases 250 of them, and is bound to keep any music geek quiet until it’s time for Christmas dinner at least.
The chosen albums were picked by a panel including famous designers, musicians, producers and record company executives whose reasons for choosing covers accompany the illustration of the sleeve.
The chosen entries might not necessarily be of a best-selling release, but they are definitely important artistically, stylistically or culturally.
The Greatest Album Covers of All Time by Barry Miles, £14.99 from all good book shops
If your music lover is also a gadget fan who finds it hard to get up in the mornings they’re bound to appreciate a retro iPod alarm clock.
It looks just like the old alarm clocks that would make your fillings vibrate when the bells went off, but actually has two powerful speakers and an iPod dock that will let you wake up to any song, album or playlist you choose.
Another iPod gadget that’s bound to provide hours of fun on Christmas day is the iKaraoke — perfect for budding pop stars, although less so for parents coping with a bucks fizz-induced early hangover.
iKaraoke, £20.89 from Play.com
If you’re still stuck, buy them the thing they don’t even know they want — a stylophone.
The brilliantly bizarre instrument made famous by everyone's favourite paint-chucker Rolf Harris is back, and it still sounds unlike anything else on earth.
If it’s good enough for David Bowie and Jarvis Cocker, it’s good enough for anyone.
Stylophone Original, £14.95 from Firebox.com
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