Help me buy a non-computer CD recorder for my mom

My mom wants a CD recorder for Christmas. The more I look into it, the more questions I have.

I would like to get her a CD recorder to hook up to her all in one shelf system. Later we could buy her other components, until she has a nice system. My dad is going to find out what kind of inputs/outputs her stereo has.

I see ads for CD players that say “Plays CD-R’s” - does this mean not every player works with CD-R’s? She wants to make CD’s for my dad’s truck. How do I know if CD player will play recorded CDs?

She wants to copy tapes to CD. Will a run-of-the-mill CD recorder do this? I looked at an all in one shelf system that had a CD recorder. It had a button that said “CD to CD” but no indication that it would copy tapes to CD. And of course I couldn’t find an employee to help me.

Any advice? Does anyone here have a CD recorder to share their experiences? Thanks!