Holiday Shopping Guide + Staff Picks

We like to think we're a lot kinder than the High Fidelity crew, but one thing we do share in common with Rob, Dick and Barry—aside from the obvious—is that we love making lists of the music we love. Maybe it's just comes with the territory, but there is something so satisfying about recommending music to folks, especially when they come back later, tell you they dig it and that they want more.

It's fun to discover, and we love facilitating that discovery. In our latest DCD Newsletter, we provided the Slacker's Guide to Holiday Shopping, and at the tail end of that, we threw in a few personal recommendations. Check out the whole mess below and please, whenever you're feeling adventurous, ask one of us for a suggestion. We're always happy to point you in an interesting direction.

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APPETIZER
First things first, let's talk stocking stuffers. We've got plenty of things that'll fit in the oversized socks hanging above your mantle. From gift certificates (available in any denomination), to the "I Still Buy Records" RSD t-shirt (more info), to multiple styles of headphones, to concert tickets (Ticket Alternative venues [now including Eddie's Attic!] and cash only, please), to 33 1/3 books (we've got about 20 of these in stock at the moment), to the just-released Oxford American music issue, you've got options.

ENTREE
Yum, right? Kinda got you hankering for more? Well, for your main course this evening, we have a lovely selection of box sets. Seriously, do you realize how many box sets we have? We have tons. Variety is the spice of life, they say, and boxes like these will fill you up nicely. But don't overdo it! You've got to save some room for...

DESSERT
For your final course, how about something sweet and a little less pricey? Maybe a selection from our vast and eclectic (Ghostface to Wanda Jackson, High on Fire to the Traveling Wilburys, Hendrix to Mumford & Sons) vinyl selection? Or you could sample some recommendations from each member of the Decatur CD crew:

Warren: Wilco's The Whole Love, Tom Waits' Bad As Me, Gillian Welch's The Harrow & the Harvest, Cass McCombs' Humor Risk, King Crimson's Discipline 40th Anniversary
Eliot: McCoy Tyner's Inception/Reaching Fourth, The Spits' IV (vinyl), Dead Boys' Young, Loud & Snotty, Emitt Rhodes' Recordings 69-73
Austin: Soul Jazz's New Orleans: The Original Sound of Funk, 1960-75, The Men's Leave Home, XTC's Skylarking, The Undertones' An Anthology, TV on the Radio's Nine Types of Light
The Security Chicken: Songs to Make Dogs Happy