I first heard Brady Jefcoat's name about a year ago, while working on this story. In the process of shadowing Marshall Wyatt on his record-collecting rounds, I wound up in the basement of Jefcoat's house and spent a few hours with Wyatt going through Jefcoat's record collection before it was to be auctioned off. I was amazed to see all the vintage record players and jukeboxes Jefcoat had collected and restored, scores of them in every conceivable style.

"Oh, this is nothing," Wyatt said with a nonchalant shrug. "There are a bunch more at the Jefcoat Museum over in Murfreesboro."

That sounded like my kind of place, so I trekked on over to Murfreesboro one recent Saturday to check out the Brady C. Jefcoat Museum of Americana -- as wonderfully weird a place as I've ever visited, a converted school building stuffed chock full of items Jefcoat acquired and restored over several decades of obsessive collecting. And if I had my way, I'd still be there playing with all of it, a cache that includes 264 record players.

For more, see the story in Sunday's paper.

Over the last 14 years, Raleigh's Marshall Wyatt has quietly acquired a reputation for excellence with the compilations of old-time music he's released on his label, Old Hat Records. His latest album is a true masterstroke, a collection of songs about...barbecue. And if he has his way, it won't be the last food-related album to bear the Old Hat imprint. For more details, click on through to the story in Wednesday's food section.

This year has seen a ton of fantastic local records perfect for gift-giving -- just check the tags on this post for a few suggestions on acts to look for. And for further specifics, click here.

Meanwhile, the annual "alternative" musical gift guide is coming on Dec. 14. Check previous years' installments here.