The Best Gifts for Motown Fans
A curated Motown gift guide – vinyl, CDs, apparel, and collectibles for every kind of fan, from longtime devotees to recent converts.
No record label has ever cast a longer shadow over American pop than Motown. From the moment Berry Gordy turned a small house on West Grand Boulevard into Hitsville USA, the label rewrote the rules of crossover, gave the world its share of the greatest singles ever cut, and trained a generation of writers, players, and singers — Holland-Dozier-Holland, the Funk Brothers, Marvin and Stevie and Diana — who would shape pop for decades after. We’ve gathered 14 favorites from the Motown collection at uDiscover Music, spanning the definitive box set, vinyl reissues from the catalog’s biggest names, holiday classics, and a few essential CDs for fans building their first serious collection.
Vinyl
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On 50th Anniversary (Limited Edition) 2LP
The album that turned a Motown hit-maker into a social conscience, expanded across two LPs with the original record plus the Detroit Mix and rare instrumentals. Still the cornerstone of any serious Motown collection, and the right starting point for anyone building one.
Marvin Gaye – I Want You (Vinylphyle Edition) LP
Marvin’s slow-burning, lushly produced 1976 record — the one where he traded the social commentary of What’s Going On for a long, intimate study of desire — in uDiscover’s premium Vinylphyle pressing. A great pick for the collector who already owns the obvious Marvin Gaye titles and is ready for a deeper listen.
Pick up the Marvin Gaye I Want You (Vinylphyle Edition) LP on uDiscover Music here.
Marvin Gaye – What’s Going On Live (Limited Edition Translucent Turquoise) 2LP
A 1972 Washington, DC homecoming show that captures the only complete live performance of the What’s Going On album, newly mixed and mastered, on translucent turquoise vinyl. The live document for the Marvin fan who’s worn out the studio LP.
Stevie Wonder – The Definitive Collection (Limited Edition Yellow) 2LP
A career-spanning Stevie set — “Superstition,” “Sir Duke,” “Higher Ground,” “Living for the City,” “Isn’t She Lovely” — pressed on limited yellow vinyl. The single best vinyl entry point for anyone who only knows Stevie from the radio and is about to fall in love with the album cuts.
The Jackson 5 – The Ultimate Collection (Lavender Seaglass) 2LP
Twenty-five Jackson 5 essentials — “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “I’ll Be There,” “Never Can Say Goodbye” — across two LPs of lavender seaglass color vinyl. A gorgeous gift that doubles as a permanent reminder that the most magnetic frontman in pop history started here, around age eleven.
Pick up The Jackson 5 The Ultimate Collection (Lavender Seaglass) 2LP on uDiscover Music here.
The Jackson 5 – Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Apple Red) 7″
The Jacksons’ definitive Christmas single, pressed on apple-red 7″ vinyl — a stocking-filler that feels like an event when it slips out of the sleeve. The right under-the-tree pick for any holiday-vinyl hobbyist.
Pick up The Jackson 5 Santa Claus Is Coming to Town (Apple Red) 7″ on uDiscover Music here.
Diana Ross – Thank You 2LP
Diana Ross’s first album of new material in fifteen years, written and recorded across three years of home sessions — a warm, life-affirming record from a voice that has been at the center of pop and soul for six decades. Pressed across two LPs.
Pick up the Diana Ross Thank You 2LP on uDiscover Music here.
Diana Ross – Wonderful Christmas Time 2LP
Diana’s holiday set expanded to a 20-track deluxe 2LP package — seasonal standards and beautifully done covers, sung in a voice that needs no introduction. The Motown holiday vinyl gift, full stop.
Pick up the Diana Ross Wonderful Christmas Time 2LP on uDiscover Music here.
Four Tops – Reach Out LP
Levi Stubbs and the Tops at the absolute peak of their Holland-Dozier-Holland run — “Reach Out (I’ll Be There),” “Standing in the Shadows of Love,” “Bernadette.” A reissue of one of the great Motown LPs, and an essential pick for the giftee whose collection skews toward singles rather than albums.
Pick up the Four Tops Reach Out LP on uDiscover Music here.
The Temptations – Christmas Card LP
The Temptations’ early-1970s holiday set on vinyl — traditional Christmas classics delivered with the harmonic precision of one of the greatest vocal groups in the Motown stable. A sharp pick for the giftee who wants their holiday playlist to swing.
Pick up The Temptations Christmas Card LP on uDiscover Music here.
Various Artists – The Big Chill (Limited Edition Red Transparent) LP
The soundtrack that introduced a generation of late-baby-boomers to the Motown catalog they’d been raised on without realizing it — “Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “My Girl,” “I Second That Emotion,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” — on limited red transparent vinyl. A perfect cross-generational gift.
Various Artists – A Motown Christmas 2LP
The Motown holiday compilation, gathering Stevie, Diana, the Temptations, the Jackson 5, and the rest of the label’s marquee voices on a single 2LP set. Stays in rotation from Thanksgiving through New Year’s, every year.
Pick up the Various Artists A Motown Christmas 2LP on uDiscover Music here.
CDs & Box Sets
Various Artists – The Complete Motown #1’s Box Set
The crown jewel of any Motown gift list: an 11-disc collection of every Motown #1, packaged as a miniature replica of the Hitsville USA building itself. Decades of Marvin, Stevie, Diana, the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Jackson 5, Smokey, and the rest of the label’s hit-makers in a single, gorgeously presented box. The serious-collector pick.
Pick up the Various Artists The Complete Motown #1’s Box Set on uDiscover Music here.
Stevie Wonder – Songs in the Key of Life 2CD
Stevie’s 1976 magnum opus across two CDs — “Sir Duke,” “I Wish,” “As,” “Isn’t She Lovely,” “Pastime Paradise” — and the album that more or less single-handedly redefined what a pop record could ask of its listener. The cornerstone of any Stevie collection in CD form.
Pick up the Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life 2CD on uDiscover Music here.
Mary Wilson – The Motown Anthology 2CD
A career-spanning 2CD set from the late Mary Wilson — founding Supreme, Motown ambassador, and one of the voices that made Hitsville sound like Hitsville. A thoughtful pick for the giftee whose Motown shelf is heavy on the marquee names but light on the women who built the foundation.
Pick up the Mary Wilson The Motown Anthology 2CD on uDiscover Music here.
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