You can use headphones to listen to illegally downloaded music, but you can’t download headphones. Therefore, it’s no wonder that music stars are putting their name on artist-branded headphones! Dr. Dre started the trend with his “Beats” model, which has exploded into a full-on product line. Now, everyone’s in on the act – even Lady Gaga, whose “Heartbeats” put a spiky, arty, weird fashion twist on your typical earbuds. You can also get Snoop Dogg customized buds from pop-culture-bandwagon-jumping brand Skullcandy, who’ve also done similar editions for the likes of Metallica and Slightly Stoopid.

Personally, our favorite from this trend are these crazy, raveadelic examples of ear candy from legendary DJ Stretch Armstrong. However, style only goes so far: they are headphones, so they better sound good – at least as good as the music from the artist who put his or her name on ‘em! To that end, the high end of Dr. Dre’s “Beats” series are incredible to listen to– per the man who reinvented hip-hop production, the bass is superfat. But while the Lady Gaga buds look, like her, freakishly chic, audio-wise they haven’t gotten the best reviews. So even if you’re a fan, make sure you test out artist-branded headphones before you buy: it’s always a good idea to determine if they are, in fact, as good sonically as the performers are musically, or if the name on the label is just phoning it in…