One of the bestu00a0u2013 if not the best u2013 u00a0rugged Bluetooth speakers out there. At $270 you’re definitely paying for it, but for that you get powerful sound, a 35-hour battery life and a totally waterproof design. It also functions as an external battery if you want to charge your mobile devices, which can be super handy.”A nice, great, tiny little Bluetooth speaker that delivers some quality sound with relatively low distortion and also packs max portability. You can grab a new one for about $100, but if the recipient isn’t super picky you can find a factory refurbished one on Amazon for about $45.”A 200-page quarterly publication focused on long-form music writing and photography. The articles are awesome, and it makes for a great coffee table read when friends visit.”Another cool, higher-end Bluetooth speaker. Really beautiful and not all that outrageously priced at $135 on Amazon. However, it isn’t really something meant to be thrown into a bag so it’s a bit more of a niche item, and the battery life only being five hours is definitelyu00a0a drag.”Every year Bleep puts out a “Top 100 Tracks” for download, and it’s always filled with a ton of gems. This is a great gift for your music friend that has already heard of every band you know. It tends to skew a little more on the electronic and experimental side, so don’t go in expecting rock and pop.”Say what you will about Bose gear being overpriced, but they really do have au00a0nice line of Bluetooth speakers at the moment. At $269, the SoundLink III is a major improvement over previous iterations and sports a 14 hour battery. Added bonus for NFL fans: you can get this speaker outfitted in a Packers, Bears, Jets or Seahawks paint job.”If you’re looking for a great entry level controller, this is the one to get.u00a0The price is around $249 at most shops, but depending on which DJ software you want to use, u00a0you might also need to pay for a software upgrade.”At $7, thisu00a0little guy makes for a great stocking stuffer.”Sure – this might make you look like a Lyft or Uber driver, but how many times has changing the song on your phone caused you to getu00a0distracted? This helps. A lot.”This little dudeu00a0is one of the better cheap Bluetooth speakers out there at $35. I really love Anker products. So cheap, generally quite reliable and honest about what their products do and do not do. 15-20 hour batter life, oh and $35, did I mention that?”The art of mixtape has been lost with the transition to digital and streaming. With this retro personalized gift, you can bring back the good ole days.”A few friends of mine got this for me as wedding gift, and I loved it. Select a genre, pay a monthly fee, get a record in the mail. It’s that simple. I also recommend Vinyl Me Please if you are looking for exclusives that you can’t find anywhere else. Personally I think the bros at Prescribed Vinyl have slightly better musical tastes (go with the electronica/beats/downtempo prescription and you won’t be disappointed).”Don’t know exactly what your buddy needs? This gift voucher is great place to start. Juno has everything from records and MP3s to DJ equipment and accessories.”
Music lovers can only get so many copies of Adele’s 25 over the holidays before they start to have a tough time faking smiles. Below are a few of my favorite Bluetooth speaker selections from 2015, as well as some of the top music gizmos chosen by our resident social media guru (and fellow music lover) Travis.
Whether you’re looking for hardware, music subscriptions or just a cute little stocking stuffer – here are some great gift options for your musically inclined friends.
