The time has come to succumb to the commercial orgy that is the holiday season. As the frantic search gears up, here is a list of music gifts that I would happily buy for myself...I mean, for others:

1. A Cool Looking Flash Drive

For the music lover, a flash drive is a great device for storing or backing up mp3s. They now come in every conceivable shape and design, typically store 2GB to 4GB (as much as an iPod Nano) and fit in the palm of your hand. I like the one Mimoco makes that looks like Chewbacca. It costs about $79.95.

2. Guitar Hero III or Rock Band (you decide)

Where Guitar Hero involves guitars only, Rock Band comes with a drum kit, guitar, bass and microphone. Carrie Brownstein recently wrote a hilarious piece comparing the experience of being in the real band Sleater Kinney with playing the game Rock Band. This season I kept it old school and got my little sister Guitar Hero III at Circuit City. It set me back $100, came with one wireless controller and will make my sister squeal.

3. Tickets to the Opera

What could be a more posh New York experience than tickets to the Metropolitan Opera, with dinner and wine afterward? In the movie Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts starts to fall in love with Richard Gere when he takes her to the opera for the first time. So men, take note: even if you don't like opera, this is the kind of gift that could cinch your love life. Wagner's romantic epic Tristan und Isolde is currently playing and it's supposed to be fantastic. Tickets for March 10 are still available in the $15, $80, $100 and $320 ranges. Be sure to check out the many other shows at the Met's website.

4. Tickets to Iron Maiden

If not the opera, then how about Iron Maiden? They're playing at the Izod Center in Jersey this March. Iron Maiden has a legendary live show, and it's not often they come around. If you know someone in their twenties or thirties who owns at least one black t-shirt (and most likely isn't a girl), chances are they'd thank you for this one. Tickets are going for $57.50.

5. Bose Earbud Headphones

These were a gift I gave myself this month. They come with three different sized buds to fit different ears, and are the most comfortable headphones I've ever worn. That and they pick up registers in my heaviest drum n bass tracks that I'd never heard before. While some might argue that since mp3s are already so bastardized there's no point in listening to them with good equipment, I would say: go for it. I've fallen in love with my iPod again because of these. The cost of my reckless affair: $100.

6. World Band Radio

I'm a gadget fiend, and this radio is particularly cool. What makes it perfect for the serial road-tripper or international traveler is that it's small, portable and picks up 10 short-wave bands, making it possible to tap into local and international stations no matter where you are. And because it's sold at the MOMA Design Store, it also looks good. Price: $60. To pimp this gift even further, throw in a DVD of Pump Up the Volume, featuring Christian Slater as a pirate radio DJ. Could a gift really get much better than that?

Christian Slater wants you to buy one of these cool music gifts