Great Gifts for Vinyl Fans

Crosley T150
Before you go spoiling your friends and family (and yourself) with so many great records, you’ll want to make sure everyone involved can actually listen to them. That’s where the Crosley T150 comes in. Sold exclusively through Barnes & Noble, the T150 is a complete turntable system that comes with 30-watt stereo speakers. If you’ve already got speakers you like (most vinyl junkies do), don’t worry; the Crosley’s RCA inputs are compatible with most audio systems. And should you feel the need to go digital, the Crosley has a Bluetooth receiver built right in. Whether you’re trying to get someone else started on vinyl or upgrading your own system, you can’t go wrong with the Crosley T150.

reputation, by Taylor Swift
Fans of Taylor Swift’s 1989 are going to love reputation, since it picks up where that album left off musically. Not only that, it’s an evolution of Swift’s synthpop sound—rather than drawing from 1980s aesthetics a second time, these songs are more brash and modern, and could even be called industrial pop. Just as Swift’s image became more sophisticated, songs like “Call It What You Want,” “Look What You Made Me Do,” and “Delicate” are more ambitious in both lyrical content and composition. Swift also collaborates with Future and Ed Sheeran on “End Game,” and proves to be a much better rapper than anyone, including her fans, would expect. We’ve got it on December 8, a full week before anyone else, so lock in those preorders now.

From a Room Volume 2, by Chris Stapleton
The second part of Chris Stapleton’s new record, From a Room Volume 2 comes out a few months after Volume 1. If you have any country music fans on your holiday gift lists this year, this album is perfect. Stapleton’s approach to country music is tuneful and unpretentious, with great vocal harmonies and folk-inspired arrangements that aren’t crowded with pop embellishments. His cover of Kevin Welch’s “Millionaire” is a standout example of Stapleton’s talents (it was one of the lead singles for a reason), as is “Scarecrow in the Garden.” And just in case you’re curious about the album’s name, Stapleton is honoring Nashville’s RCA Studio A, where it was recorded.

God’s Favorite Band, by Green Day
This greatest-hits album, named in reference to a joke Stephen Colbert made when the band performed on his show, shows that Green Day is as irreverent as ever. The tracklist draws from all of Green Day’s studio albums as of press time, with the exception of their debut album 39/Smooth and their ¡Dos! and ¡Tré! records from 2012. As one might expect, Dookie and American Idiot provide the most songs, all of which are great selections. While there’s only one song here from Insomniac, it’s the most memorable from that album (“Brain Stew”), and Nimrod is well-represented by “Hitchin’ a Ride” and “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” As a bonus, previously unreleased song “Back in the USA” is included here too.

The Thrill of It All, by Sam Smith
Sam Smith, who found fame in 2014 with his hit single “Stay With Me,” spent most of 2016 working on new material, and released his second album, The Thrill of It All, in November. Sam worked with classical crossover group Clean Bandit and Timbaland for this record, with the latter producing Smith’s second single, “Pray,” inspired by the singer’s experience with the War Child charity. “Pray” is an awesome song, by the way, with plenty of gospel heft stabilizing Smith’s voice. The album’s other single, “Too Good at Goodbyes,” will make you miss your ex-, even if you don’t have one.

Baby Driver OST
Very few films are as soundtrack-dependent as 2017’s Baby Driver; much of the character action is specifically choreographed along with the music. So it’s no surprise that the official Baby Driver soundtrack is so well curated. It’s a mix of guaranteed crowd-pleasers—the Damned’s “Neat Neat Neat,” Queen’s “Brighton Rock,” the Beach Boys’ “Let’s Go Away for a While”—and some deeper cuts, like Dave Brubeck’s “Unsquare Dance.” Not only is this soundtrack a good starting education in the arcs of American pop music (covering soul, jazz, and rock), there’s some hidden wit in the individual song placement. T. Rex’s “Debora” is followed by Beck’s “Debra,” for example.

Colors, by Beck
Beck’s music is so timeless that it’s easy to forget how long he’s been around—Colors is his 13th studio album. Thanks to his touring schedule, it took four years to write and record Colors, and he and producer Greg Kurstin play most of the instruments. How Beck sustained that level of energy for so long is anyone’s guess, but this record is the most fun music he’s released in years. The central melody of “Wow” is a potent earworm, and “Dear Life” is as bouncy as the hipster lounge funk that made him famous in the first place. Similarly, “Up All Night” was made for the dance floor, and is a sign that Beck is still having fun with his music.