I’m going to let you in on a little secret: being a music fan can cause a lot of tension between you and your bank account. There may be arguments. There may be tears. But you have to understand that to said music fanatic, all that late night online CD shopping is an invaluable addition to their music collection, honest. It’s not a phase, and it’s not an addiction, it’s a way of life. We live it and breathe it and drink it with our morning coffee.

You can make life easier for the music lover in your life by buying them something off this list. This is the perfect guide on what to get them for their birthday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, or just because you’re feeling super affectionate and maple-syrup and wafflesy towards them. This list is mainly aimed towards rockers, punks, metalheads, etc. but you can easily tweak it to suit other music genres, too.

1. Gig tickets. Make sure it’s to see a band they actually like. Don’t insult them with like, One Direction tickets or whatever.
2. Framed lyrics of their favourite song makes a super personal gift.
3. Amazon or eBay gift cards. Strictly for fans of physical CDs and records, and for those who love a bargain.
4. A subscription to That’s Not Metal podcast. For £17 a year for a TON of quality content, you can’t go wrong!
5. HMV gift card. ‘Cause they are SUCKERS for a shiny new live DVD or CD that they can take home straight away and pop into a CD player old school style.
6. A knitted scarf or gloves. Music lovers spend quite a big chunk of their lives standing in queues for gigs, meet and greets, or waiting for band members to come out of a venue after a gig, and it can be pretty nippy! So something to keep them warm is always welcome.
7. Or be SUPER old school and make an awesome mixed tape or CD! This is one of my favourite sorts of gift ever, and I still love making mix CDs.
8. An item signed by their favourite band or musician. This is a KILLER present and you’ll be in their good books for generations. Look on eBay, or some bands will even signed stuff on their websites (like The Rasmus have right here, bless them!).
9. New headphones or earphones. Personally, I run through pairs of headphones and earphones like other people run through shoes.
10. A magazine subscription. Think Kerrang!, Rock Sound, or Metal Hammer.
11. Mini speakers. There is a humungous variety of all sorts of music speakers out there that can handily be attached to a music player and voila, instant boom box!
12. A music festival survival kit. You can put one together yourself! Include things like: wellies, a water bottle, suncream, insect repellent, an umbrella, a tent, paracetamol, and a blanket. Tadaaaaa!
13. A CD. Because obviously!
14. Anything cat related. Most metalheads are big cat lovers, too. Damn, we’re awesome.
15. An iTunes gift card. For the digital music lover. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea because many music fans collect CDs, and even vinyl and cassettes, but some prefer downloads.
16. An iPod or MP3 music player. This one can be tricky because chances are they will probably already have one. If not, it’ll make for a great gift. Just don’t be tempted to add music to it unless you’re sure what they like because they’ll most likely just format the whole thing and start over!
17. A band t-shirt. Just be careful with getting the size right. We may be frenzied mosh pit demons, but we have feeling, y’know.
18. VIP/ backstage passes. This is pretty much the equivalent of taking them on a Caribbean cruise, only much better, and without so much sea air.
19. A live concert DVD. This is the very next best thing to being at an actual gig and can be relived as many times as they want from the comfort of their own sofa. Come to mamma!
20. A band poster. OF COURSE I want a gigantic picture of Howlin’ Pelle’s face on my wall!

Feel free to print this list out and refer to it in times of need. YOU ARE WELCOME.