Jim Morrison once waxed on wax about how “the future is uncertain and the end is always near.” Well if that’s the true-be-all-end-all-whatsit statement folks, then it’s a good thing that music is always near to help with the confusion. No matter what the mood or attitude of the homosapien: mad, glad, depressed, morose, lively, ebullient, ragtag, etc., music is always a welcome addition regardless of what’s going on or what’s going down. This year’s crop of sonic comestibles should take care of anyone feeling hi-fi or lo-hi; either way, all of them are welcome additions under the tree or near the menorah or whatever your late year holiday preference may be. Human beings have so many choices to choose from these days, and here’s some more below.

Check out our 2022 Holiday Gift Guide for Music.

Another holiday season is almost upon, which means another great reason to buy and gift all things books! And there are some truly beautiful offerings from the publishing world this year, such some new illustrated editions of J.R.R. Tolkien works and Game Of Thrones/House Of The Dragon tomes, as well as Star Wars box sets; tie-ins for Star Trek, Stranger Things, and the Marvel and DC universes; graphic novel collections; hard rock and heavy metal memoirs; book-related gifts; fun, pop-culture-themed cookbooks, and much more!

Check out our Holiday Gift Guide 2022 for Books, eBooks, and Audiobooks for our favorite holiday gift picks for the readers in your life.

Sorry for the last minute post here, folks. I know I am not giving you a lot of time prior to the holidays to grab any of these treasures, but I only have the excuse of…well, nothing. I have been forgetful of late. Therefore, please accept my apologies and I hope you find something in this list for the D&D player(s) in your life.

Here’s the 2021 Holiday Gift Guide: Dungeons & Dragons Edition.

So this is the “new normal?” Or is it a return to the “old normal?” Either way, regardless of how you spent this past year, regardless of your thoughts on the world, politics, and economics of the world, furrowing your eyebrows at this or that or embracing all the necessary and arguably unnecessary changes in the world, one needs a constant personal and universal soundtrack to keep going, to keep sane, to keep grounded and inspired. As the newest round of the holiday season gets ready to dawn upon us, music not only acts as the perfect and always obvious choices for even the most discriminating of tastes, but also something that brings much-needed relief and communion to end another challenging year and brace everyone for what lies ahead in 2022. So as always, here’s my picks for some of the sonic highlights released this year, spanning all genres and tastes.

Check out our 2021 Holiday Gift Guide for Music.

We had hoped it wouldn’t come to be, but 2021 turned out to be more of the same from the previous year thanks to the pandemic. Lots of hunkering-down isolating or enjoying the great outdoors more often than usual. And once again, books played a big part in helping us all cope and maintain some kind of normalcy. Now more than ever, books in all their various formats will make a great gift this holiday season. This year saw a resurgence of Dune; illustrated versions of J.R.R. Tolkien works; memoirs from the world of rock and heavy metal; graphic novel collections; fun, pop-culture-themed cookbooks; stories from the imaginations of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Grady Hendrix; continuing adventures from the Star Trek, Star Wars, and Marvel universes, and much more.

Check out our Holiday Gift Guide 2021 for Books, eBooks, and Audiobooks for our favorite holiday gift picks for the readers in your life.