David Mushrall, 22 years old, of Knox, Maine, paid about $2,000 for a new 37-inch LCD flat-screen TV, an Xbox 360 Elite game console and the Halo 3 video game. He had just received his tax refund and could finally afford the long-planned purchases.

Ditto for Colin Lucas. "This is something I've been planning for two years," said Lucas, 24, of Bangor. "I'm a happy man today." He had made his first purchase of a TV, a 40-inch LCD flat-screen, at the sale price of $1,999. He paid with Best Buy gift cards he had received at birthdays and Christmases. His girlfriend had already bought him a home-theater surround-sound system in the fall. The faltering economy played no part in either's decision-making. "This has been a long time coming," said Lucas.

Recession or no recession, the masses will have their gadgets and gizmos. Sales of electronics and related software might soften because consumers are feeling the pinch from high heating-oil and gasoline prices and tighter credit, but a slew of factors this year should whet consumer appetites for video games, DVDs and televisions. That should prove a boon to giant Best Buy, the Richfield, Minn.-based consumer-electronics retailer.

MORE ON STOCKS FROM SMARTMONEY.COM