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Okay, so Black Friday is just a couple days way, officially kicking off the holiday shopping season, and you have no idea what to get your music loving family member/friend? First of all, don’t panic. With the sorry state of the economy and the multitude of online stores and retail outlets fighting for your dollar, there are plenty of options available to those looking for Mac/PC, iPhone and iPod accessories. Perhaps even too many options, which is why we’re narrowing this down to just music accessories. After all, everyone loves music, right? Except the Grinch for the first 25 minutes of that cartoon? And you’re not the Grinch for the first 25 minutes, are you?

Of course not! You’re awesome, and you want to buy people awesome gifts. Well, we’ve got some humble suggestions here to help you on your way.

Macintosh/PC

Yes, yes, yes. iTunes Gift Card. Blah, blah, blah. That’s a safe choice for many computer users, but let’s get a little more personal. Let’s get a gift that doesn’t just say, "I understand you like music, but I don’t know what you already own," let’s get one that says, "I know you really love music, and want you to listen to what you already own but can’t because it’s on vinyl and you can’t afford to upgrade all of those LPs to CD, not to mention the fact that many of the albums are out of print." To that end, take a look at the ION TTUSB10 turntable ($199.00). Now, $200 is expensive, yeah, but when you’ve got Apple suggesting $350.00 iPods as stocking stuffers, $200 suddenly doesn’t seem like such a big deal. Note to Apple, by the way, stocking stuffers are more about price than about actually fitting in a stocking. Something to consider next year.

The TTUSB10 is a feature-rich turntable that allows for direct USB connection to your computer. It can handle 45 and 33-1/3 RPM straight from the turntable, but can also play 78s via software settings. It also comes with the EZ Audio Converter software you’ll need to record the music to your computer, although I recommend going with the CD Spin Doctor application that’s part of Roxio’s Toast 9 Titanium, instead. Other nice features inlcude the 1/8" stereo line input so you can digitize music from other sources (such as a Walkman) through the turntable, a switchable phono/line-level RCA output (with built-in pre-amp) so you can also plug the turntable into your component stereo system, and the S-shaped, counter balanced, anti-skate tone arm. If you’re not sure what all of this means, don’t worry. Chances are, if you’re buying this gift for a music lover who insists upon keeping up his vinyl LP collection in tact because he likes "holding the covers" and prefers the "warm sound of vinyl," he’ll know what it’s all about.

And, of course, there’s always this option; you could buy the TTUSB10 for yourself and give converted albums as a gift. Eh? How about that? Everyone wins, and Christmas is saved!

Oh, and there’s a cassette archiver available, too.

iPod

Now, if you’re looking for something less expensive (like I usually am) but that’s just as useful, consider a pair of headphones. These can run you anywhere from ten to hundreds of dollars, and the varity of styles and functions is crazy. So, let’s look at something in the middle; mid-priced, with good enough sound to be used in a controlled environment but portable enough for iPod use. To that end, I suggest the Koss PortaPro Stereophones ($49.99). I reviewed these headphones back in my Applelinks days, and was stunned by the quality of sound they get for such a meager price. Clear, precise and full, I’ll never go back to Apple’s earbuds again. Even better, they’re suitable for every single audio use with your iPod: music, movies and games. It sounds like something that should be obvious, but it’s not. Often, headphones marketed as being suitable for games have far too much low end power, making your music muddy. On the other hand, many sets of headphones marketed for iPod use don’t have the low end capabilities to handle the thunderous sound effects of games and movies. The Koss PortaPro Stereophones take on everything.

Equally important, they roll up and latch together to comfortably fit inside a purse or coat pocket. Yes, they’re not as portable as earbuds (you certainly wouldn’t want to go for a jog with these on), but that’s the sacrifice you make for better sound and usefulness beyond your iPod. Get these for music lovers who actually enjoy listening to their music.

iPhone

This one may be a bit tougher to justify to music lovers, because we’re talking about the iPhone. And unless you’re using that headphone jack, you’re just not going to get great audio out of the iPhone. Still, with the AirCurve ($19.99), Griffin has created one of the most unique iPhone accessories available. It sits right on the fence between usefulness and novelty item, but is pretty cool either way.

The AirCurve is an acoustic amplifier for your iPhone, using a coiled waveguide “horn” to increase the audio level of the iPhone’s speaker by about 10 decibels. Remember that old Bose Waveform commercial with Herbie Hancock? I’m thinking it works like that, and I’ll let our smarter readers correct me if I’m wrong. Regardless, it’ll amplify the iPhone’s audio without distorting it at all, and it does this without the need of an electrical outlet or batteries. It’s attractive enough to sit on your desk at work or a bedside table, and small enough to travel with you to hotels.

It’s there, actually, that the AirCurve proves its usefulness. If you use your iPhone as an alarm clock or with a program such as Freeverse’s Tranquility to lull you to sleep, the AirCurve will get you much better sound while keeping the iPhone up off the table. In addition, Griffin made the smart choice of adding a docking cable pass through so you can charge your iPhone while it’s resting in the AirCurve. No worries about the battery dying while you’re asleep.

The AirCurve includes adapters for both the original iPhone and iPhone 3G.

Now, Get to Shopping

Of course, these are just just three small items in the mass of merchandise available. Give them a shot, or let them inspire you to come up with your own gift ideas. If you have a suggestion of your own or find something really unique while schlepping packages across town, let us know.