Monday, December 20, 2010

My 5 favorite Christmas albums

Have you ever noticed how a lot of Christmas music -- if not most of it -- totally sucks?

Admit it, out of the five thousand, one hundred and twenty thee Christmas albums recorded every year, maybe six will make the cut to be worthy of immortality. And even then, only half the songs are any good.

But knowing this doesn't stop me from listening to non-stop Xmas music at this time of year. It's fun, it gets me into the spirit, and it just makes the whole house feel Christmasy.

So in the spirit of the season, here are my top five Christmas albums, full of songs that give me that good old Yuletide spirit:

















This is the newest -- and least awesome -- album on my list, but hey, it's 99 pretty darn good classical music Christmas songs, and Amazon sells it for just $1.99. What's not to love?
















Yule Be Struttin gets some playtime throughout the year. There are some fantastic jazzy compositions on this disk, and I never tire of it. Plus that's one sexy cover photo.
















John Denver and the Muppets... ah, this takes me back to my childhood every time I listen to it. How sad that we've lost both Mr. Denver and Mr. Henson. Bittersweet but beautiful.

















More than just a slice of childhood, more than just good Christmas music, most of this is just plain old good music, period. I dance like Shermy every time I listen to it.
















My all-time favorite. Ray Charles is at his absolute best here. His vocals are perfection and the arrangements are genius. Every song is a gem, and some are worth keeping on the rotation long after the season is complete.

So do any of these make your cut? What are your favorites? Feel free to share!

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