Man, I wish I'd had one of these when I was a teenager (I'm sure my parents do too). The Vox amPlug saves the ears of innocent bystanders by plugging into your electric guitar's output and acting as a mini battery-powered amp for your headphones. $40 buys your loved ones a little peace and quiet.

The tiny little device has three dials for adjusting the volume, tone, and gain, and an input jack so you can rock along with your iPod tunes. I tried the Classic Rock version (there are also Metal and AC-30 versions), and the sound was surprisingly decent—plenty good for practicing. It also worked fine when I plugged it into my bass guitar (just be careful you don't blow out your headphones).

Best uses for this thing: Beginning guitar players can buy one instead of a full guitar amp, and roommates, spouses, or frazzeled parents can give one to that special shredder in their life. It's the gift that says "Shut up (but keep practicing)."