Kudos to alert reader Drew Stafford for pointing out this little guy:
That’s compact little ready-to-use LM386-based amplifier, ready for you to add input, speaker, and power (a 9volt battery will do ya), all for under $5, with free shipping (i.e., not a lot more then what you’d pay for components to build such an amplifier yourself). Pretty slick!
*Thanks Drew!*