Exclaim! Holiday Gift Guide: The Best Vinyl and Box Sets of 2023

It's the gift that's sure to please the music obsessive on your holiday list: a new record. From deluxe version of recent favourites to expanded box sets celebrating some of the best albums ever, here are some must-have vinyl records that will make a perfect present this holiday season.

Alexisonfire reissues

As well as being available individually, Brooklyn Vegan has packaged together all five of the St. Catharines post-hardcore band's studio albums, a BBC sessions collection, and an Alexisonfire magazine featuring new interviews with the band.

Jeremy Dutcher's Motewolonuwok 

The follow-up to Dutcher's 2018 Polaris Music Prize-winning album Wolastoqiyik Lintuwakonawa, this special edition of Motewolonuwok includes a songbook of sheet music for songs from both LPs.

DEBBY FRIDAY's GOOD LUCK LP

The Sub Pop Loser Edition of DEBBY FRIDAY's 2023 Polaris Music Prize-winning album GOOD LUCK comes on clear vinyl.

Green Day's Dookie Super Deluxe Edition 30th-Anniversary Box Set

The Bay Area pop-punk trio's first blush with megafame, Dookie gets the Super Deluxe treatment, spreading the original album (plus demos and live tracks, including the band's mud-splattered Woodstock '94 set) across six LPs.

HAIM's Days Are Gone 10th-Anniversary Edition

More than 3,600 days have gone since the release of HAIM's debut. This new 10th-anniversary edition includes an extra disc of B-sides, demos and remixes that help flesh out the sisters' early years.

Joni Mitchell Archives – Vol. 3: The Asylum Years (1972–1975)

This third deep dive into Joni's prodigious archives covers the period from For the Roses through The Hissing of Summer Lawns and captures her transformation from singer-songwriter to a more jazz-influenced sound that she would pursue for the rest of the decade.

New West Records limited edition vinyl

The latest special vinyl offerings from New West Records showcase the breadth of the label's roster. Roots rocker JD McPherson's 2018 Christmas album Socks is back on marbled red wax just in time for the holidays and limited to 2,000 copies. Dwight Yoakam's Live from Austin, TX captures an early career peak on two baby blue LPs, limited to 1,000 copies. Finally, What Matters Most, Ben Folds's first solo LP in eight years, aims the other piano man's typically sardonic POV at modernity while injecting some earnest hope for the future. The opaque yellow vinyl pressing is limited to just 500 copies.

Talking Heads' Stop Making Sense reissue

Following the recent re-release of the best concert film ever comes this expanded soundtrack that adds "Cities" and "Big Business / I Zimbra" to the original album's 16 tracks, as well as new liner notes from all four members of the legendary band.

The Tragically Hip's Phantom Power 25th-Anniversary Box Set

One of the Hip's best albums gets even better, adding an additional five never-heard studio tracks, alternate takes, and a live set. The 5LP box also includes a 64-page booklet, a behind-the-scenes book about the "Bobcaygeon" video shoot, and more.

Trans-Canada Highwaymen's Explosive Hits Vol. 1

Members of Barenaked Ladies, the Pursuit of Happiness, Sloan and Odds cover hits from Canadian musical legends. It's enough to warm a Gen Xer's jaded heart.

Neil Young's Chrome Dreams

Another one of Neil Young's "lost" albums sees the light of day. Originally set for release in 1977, Chrome Dreams compiles these songs — many released later in different forms — the way Young originally envisioned.