My teen is completely in his music-loving phase. He has self-learnt the guitar and, much to my delight, listens to 70s and 80s rock! A couple of years ago, I was looking for all sorts of expensive Rubik’s cubes for him, and football gear before that. But for the past few years, his passion for music has grown by leaps and bounds and it doesn’t seem like it is going to stop anytime soon.
Of course, a mother needs to honour and encourage that passion. Giving my children gifts that are connected to their interests and hobbies has been my aim forever. Be it birthdays, Christmas, Raksha Bandhan or simply a gift for doing well at something they love, I am always looking for interesting things related to their current passions.
So lately, my searches have been all about music-themed gifts, rock music gifts, guitar accessories, musical instruments, vinyl records, cassettes and CDs, music books and vintage music memorabilia.
And while I was looking for gifts for my son, I realised there must be plenty of other people doing exactly the same thing. What do you buy for a teenager who loves music? What is a good gift for a guitar player? What can you give someone who loves classic rock, vintage music or old-school bands?
So I thought I would share some of my finds here.
These are a mix of everything my son loves – guitar accessories, new instruments (he is trying the harmonica recently!), vintage-style gadgets, rock band merchandise, books and collectibles. Some are practical, some are just fun, and some are the kind of things that music lovers will probably stop and look at every time they walk past them!
The links below are mostly for Amazon India. I will add Amazon USA links as well, where I can, since many of these products are made for the international market and are available in different countries. And even if you can’t find the exact product where you live, these should give you plenty of ideas for music gifts, rock gifts and gifts for guitar lovers. After that, Google is your best friend!
Guitar Accessories & Gifts for Guitar Lovers
If someone in your family plays the guitar, guitar accessories make some of the easiest gifts to buy. They are useful, don’t usually require you to know exactly what kind of guitar the person owns, and there are so many fun options beyond the usual strings and picks.
Guitar Cell Phone Holder
A fun and practical accessory for anyone who plays guitar while following music, chords or tutorials on their phone. It is one of those little guitar accessories you don’t realise you need until you have one!
Official Licensed Guns n Roses Adjustable Guitar Strap
A great gift for a Guns N’ Roses fan who also plays guitar. This adjustable guitar strap works with acoustic, bass and electric guitars and adds a bit of classic rock attitude to an otherwise ordinary guitar.
Van Gogh “Starry Night” Guitar Strap
For the guitar player who likes art as much as music, this Van Gogh Starry Night guitar strap is a much more unusual choice. A nice gift for someone who wants their guitar accessories to be a little different from the usual black straps.
Collectible Indian Heritage Guitar Picks
These caught my eye because they combine two things I want to encourage in my son – his love of playing the guitar and an interest in his own heritage. He may mostly listen to rock, but he is certainly not averse to discovering more about Indian music, culture and traditions. I love gifts that can do a little more than just entertain!
These particular picks are made with different Indian woods and have cultural motifs, so they are both a useful guitar accessory and something he can learn more about.
And this gave me another idea: if you are buying for a music-loving child or adult, look for guitar picks, straps, instruments or other music accessories inspired by their own culture or heritage. It is such a nice way of connecting a hobby they already love with where they come from.
I also found these along the same lines:
Sugar Skull Mexican Guitar Picks
Collectible Beatles Guitar Picks with Tin
A fun little gift for a Beatles fan who plays guitar. The collectible picks come in a Beatles-themed tin, making this feel more like a piece of music memorabilia than just a packet of guitar picks. Guitar picks, in my opinion, will make perfect stocking stuffers for music lovers!
Rock Legends Guitar Picks
A small but very giftable item for anyone who loves classic rock and guitar. These rock legends picks are the sort of inexpensive music-themed gift that can easily be added to a larger birthday or Christmas present.
Rock Bands Guitar Picks
Another easy gift for a guitar player, especially one who loves rock bands. Guitar picks are small enough to make a stocking stuffer or add-on gift, but a fun design makes them much more special than a standard set.
Portable Musical Instruments
One of my favourite categories when looking for gifts for music lovers is small musical instruments. You don’t necessarily need to buy someone a full-sized piano or another expensive instrument. There are plenty of quirky, portable instruments that let music lovers experiment and have fun.
David Bowie inspired synthesizer Stylophone
The Stylophone is one of those wonderfully quirky little electronic instruments that is both a musical gadget and a piece of pop-culture history. It is particularly fun for anyone fascinated by vintage synthesizers, David Bowie and experimental sounds.
Mbira – A Portable, African Musical Instrument
The mbira, sometimes called a thumb piano, is a fascinating little instrument to discover. Compact and portable, it is a lovely gift for someone who enjoys experimenting with different musical instruments from around the world.
Harmonica
My son has recently started experimenting with the harmonica, so this one naturally made my list! It is inexpensive, portable and particularly appealing to anyone who loves blues, folk and classic rock music.
Rock Band and Music Mugs
Mugs are probably among the easiest music-themed gifts to find. You can go for a generic music or guitar design if you don’t know someone’s particular musical tastes, or choose one featuring their favourite band. From guitar-shaped handles and musical notes to Beatles, Guns N’ Roses, Pink Floyd and other rock band designs, there is something for almost every music lover.
You really can’t go wrong with a music-themed mug. From Guns N’ Roses and The Beatles to Pink Floyd, AC/DC and Led Zeppelin, there are mugs featuring almost every famous rock band you can think of. They make easy birthday gifts, Christmas gifts or small gifts for music fans.
Guitar-Shaped Handle Music Mug
A fun gift for a music lover or guitar enthusiast, this mug has a guitar-shaped handle and musical notes all over the cup. I especially like it as a small, affordable gift for someone who plays guitar – something they can actually use every day while still showing off their love of music. This comes in a red and an Acoustic guitar variant as well. I bought the blue one because my son’s guitar is blue 🙂
Vintage Style Music Gifts
There is something about vintage music gadgets that appeals even to people who didn’t actually grow up with them. Perhaps it is the nostalgia, the retro designs or simply the fact that they look so much more interesting than modern electronics!
Speaker Shaped Guitar Picks Holder Box with 5 Picks
This little speaker-shaped box is a fun way to store guitar picks and comes with picks included. A great desk accessory and an easy gift for a guitarist, especially if you are looking for something small and inexpensive.
Vintage Style FM Radio with Bluetooth Speaker
This is the kind of gadget that combines the look of an old-fashioned radio with modern Bluetooth functionality. A nice choice for someone who loves retro decor, vintage music and old-school audio equipment but still wants to stream music from a phone.
Cassette Player and USB to MP3 converter
This is a particularly fun gift for anyone fascinated by the cassette era. A portable cassette player that can also convert cassette recordings to MP3 brings together the nostalgia of physical music with the convenience of digital audio.
Vinyl Records & Cassettes – The Gift of Music You Can Hold
One thing I noticed while travelling around Europe was just how many shops were dedicated to vinyl records, CDs and cassettes. Some were tiny independent record stores, while others had shelves and shelves of old and new music. It was lovely to see that physical music is still very much alive.
For a music lover, a vinyl record of a favourite album can make a much more personal gift than simply buying something with a band’s name on it. And you don’t necessarily have to look for a rare or expensive first pressing. A favourite album, a classic rock record or even an album that reminds you of a particular time can be a wonderful present.
Cassettes are another fun option, especially for someone who loves the nostalgia of vintage music. You can look for original tapes of classic albums or bands, or even explore vintage cassette players if the recipient enjoys collecting and playing physical music.
And if you are travelling, keep an eye out for local record stores and vintage music shops. You may come home with a much more interesting souvenir than the usual fridge magnet!
Books
Books are another category I keep coming back to when looking for gifts. Ours is a reading family and I am more than happy to add some collectible books on whatever the children are passionate about. If someone is genuinely interested in music, there is so much to explore beyond simply listening to songs – the history of instruments, legendary musicians, famous albums, recording technology and the stories behind the music. Some of these will actually make interesting coffee table books I think!
Guitars and Heroes: Mythic Guitars and Legendary Musicians
A beautiful choice for someone who is fascinated by guitars and the musicians who made them famous. This is the kind of coffee-table-style music book that a guitar lover can dip into again and again.
2,000 Guitars
For someone who can never get enough of guitars! A visual celebration of thousands of guitars makes this a great gift for guitar enthusiasts, collectors and anyone who enjoys looking at the different shapes, designs and history of these iconic instruments.
Rock Trivia Madness: 60s to 90s Rock Music Trivia & Amazing Facts
This one is for the person who always seems to know something about every band, album or musician! Covering rock music from the 1960s through the 1990s, it is a fun gift for classic rock fans and anyone who enjoys music trivia and fascinating facts.
The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock ‘n’ Roll
This is a particularly interesting choice for a guitar enthusiast who wants to know the story behind the instrument. It explores the rivalry between Leo Fender and Les Paul and the role their innovations played in shaping the sound of rock ‘n’ roll.
String Theories: Tips, Challenges, and Reflections for the Lifelong Guitarist
A thoughtful gift for someone who is learning guitar or has already been playing for years. Rather than being just another guitar instruction book, it offers tips, challenges and reflections that can appeal to the lifelong guitarist.
Radiohead’s OK Computer
For the Radiohead fan, this is a chance to dive deeper into one of the band’s most influential albums. A great addition to a music lover’s bookshelf, particularly for someone who enjoys reading about the stories and ideas behind classic albums.
A Few More Ideas for Music-Themed Gifts
And this is really just the beginning. Once you start looking, there are so many gifts for music lovers that you can easily build an entire gift list around someone’s particular taste.
For a guitar lover, look at guitar straps, picks, pick holders, guitar stands, tuners, wall hangers, songbooks and guitar-themed decor.
For a rock music fan, band merchandise, rock memorabilia, mugs, posters, vinyl-inspired decor, biographies and books about legendary musicians are all good options.
For someone who loves vintage music, look for cassette players, retro radios, turntables, old-style speakers and vintage-inspired music accessories.
And if you are buying for a teenager who loves music, don’t assume the gift has to be expensive. A quirky little instrument, a set of collectible guitar picks, a book about their favourite band or a fun guitar accessory can be just as exciting.
The best part of buying gifts connected to a child’s interests is that you are not just giving them another thing. You are saying, I see what you love, and I think it is worth encouraging.
And honestly, that is one of the best reasons to go looking for music-themed gifts in the first place.
Leave a Reply