Happy Monday, fam! I'm extremely pleased today to introduce our 2019 back-to-school guide. And that's not just because it's my favorite time of year (that would actually be our holiday gift guide), but because this has turned out to be our largest and most ambitious back-to-school series yet. In addition to top picks in 11 categories -- everything from laptops to smartphones to gaming and dorm gear -- we went big on tips and buying advice this year. We didn't just want to tell you what to buy, but we wanted to help you choose wisely, and then make the most out of whatever you chose.

You can see all of our product and service recommendations in this hub, and throughout the week you'll see us posting various related stories -- everything from how to buy a laptop for school in 2019, to an explainer on streaming college sports. (Hint: It's more complicated than it seems.) I also highly suggest our upcoming roundup of apps to help you keep up in class -- there's more than one item in there I wish I had at my disposal [redacted number] years ago. Check out our guide today and then stick with us -- we have a lot of good stuff coming.