I’ve been given the gift of music

Mom and Dad—er, I mean, Santa Claus—tucked a fun little surprise into this year’s stocking. On Christmas morning, my siblings and I each unwrapped a $15 iTunes gift card. Now, I normally purchase hard copies of all my CDs (yeah, and I also prefer to write with pen and paper, not laptop and word processor. I’m so old fashioned), but I am absolutely not one to turn down free music! Last month I used a $10 iTunes credit from a friend to purchase Over the Rhine’s Good Dog Bad Dog. With $15, I have enough for a full album and a few songs (or half another album—I think I can suck up the $5 difference).

But what will it be?

Every time Live 100.5 plays The Raconteurs’ “You Don’t Understand Me,” I’m surprised by how much I love that song. (I’m not much of a White Stripes fan.) But do I need the entire CD?

Months ago a musician friend said his latest obsession was the new Kings of Leon album. Should it be my next purchase?

I still need eleventy billion Over the Rhine albums, and my Iron and Wine collection is far from complete. Should I work toward that end?

Somehow I missed out on Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago when it first released. Is this my chance to catch up on 2008?

My amazon.com wish list offers a hundred suggestions from my to buy list; this is a decision that could take me several days. But after perusing that list, I think I might need to add the newest Nick Hornby to my lengthy to read shelf, too …