High school graduation gift ($25 or less) for boy(man) going to music college?

What's your relationship with this boy/man? That might help us think of suggestions.

He's the son of a good friend.

I'd suggest you look around amazon for a good music theory book, that'd be cheep and possibly interesting to him.

elliot, That's a good idea, but I'd argue it's hard to judge what is interesting to an expert (or soon-to-be expert) in a particular topic.

Might go for something nice & interesting like a fountain pen (Lamy makes some excellent reasonably priced onces), or a gift certificate for a music venue where he currently lives or where he is going to college.

Maybe some book on a study of different types of music across the ages? Might help widen his view of music as an art form, just throwing out ideas now...

Well. I'm just out of my first year, and honestly the thing I needed the most at the beginning of the year was stuff that I hadn't thought about before leaving. I'd suggest a target or walmart giftcard (whatever is near his school ..if you know) . Some people say its not that personal, but if it was me I'd rather get a gift card I can use instead of a "heartfelt" gift that I won't use.

I second that--gift cards are great--I would suggest getting an iTunes giftcard -- for $25 he can buy a lot of great music for his iPod. Or, you could write him an IOU for a concert ticket to any concert of his choice during his first year at college and tell him to pick out the show he wants to see and you'll pay for it!

18-19 year old guys always like to eat. You could get him a gift certificate to a pizza joint or some other place near his school.

Without a doubt, money or a gift card. They're always useful & never go to waste.

Harmonica!

Jellyfish!

I like Nicholas Cook's _Music: A Very Short Introduction_ (part of Oxford's Very Short Introduction series). It's an attractive little book for $10 filled with fascinating, whimsical and occasionally profound insights. A gem. There is also a _World Music_ volume, but it's a disappointment.