diff --git a/beetsplug/discogs.py b/beetsplug/discogs.py
index 86af9da06..d63aef8ae 100644
--- a/beetsplug/discogs.py
+++ b/beetsplug/discogs.py
@@ -90,6 +90,9 @@ class DiscogsPlugin(BeetsPlugin):
             token, secret = auth_client.get_access_token(code)
         except DiscogsAPIError:
             raise beets.ui.UserError('Discogs authorization failed')
+        except (ConnectionError, socket.error) as e:
+            self._log.debug(u'connection error: {0}', e)
+            raise beets.ui.UserError('communication with Discogs failed')
 
         # Save the token for later use.
         self._log.debug('Discogs token {0}, secret {1}', token, secret)
@@ -122,7 +125,7 @@ class DiscogsPlugin(BeetsPlugin):
         except DiscogsAPIError as e:
             self._log.debug(u'API Error: {0} (query: {1})', e, query)
             return []
-        except ConnectionError as e:
+        except (ConnectionError, socket.error) as e:
             self._log.debug(u'HTTP Connection Error: {0}', e)
             return []
 
diff --git a/docs/changelog.rst b/docs/changelog.rst
index ba5934c4c..9be8779ea 100644
--- a/docs/changelog.rst
+++ b/docs/changelog.rst
@@ -96,6 +96,8 @@ Fixes:
 * :doc:`/plugins/scrub`: Log an error instead of stopping when the ``beet
   scrub`` command cannot write a file. Also, avoid problems on Windows with
   Unicode filenames. :bug:`1297`
+* :doc:`/plugins/discogs`: Handle and log more kinds of communication
+  errors. :bug:`1299`
 
 For developers: