Top 10 Classic Christmas Albums Get you Through Season
 Personally, the sooner I start listening to Christmas music, the less I look forward to the holiday itself. The grating monotony of the same 30 songs played in a loop on the radio causes me to twitch and blocks any spark of Christmas spirit that attempts to make an appearance. Also, call me a curmudgeon, but I can’t stand most of the Christmas songs recorded after the 1970s as a general rule (one exception – Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas is You”). So, instead of turning on the radio, I rely on these albums to pep up my spirit and create the anticipation that is so great about this season. |
10. Celtic Thunder - Celtic Thunder Christmas  | Irish vocal group Celtic Thunder were named Billboard's Top World Music Artist for 2009. A new PBS television show with Celtic Thunder will air in December 2010 and include songs from this collection. |
9. Let’s Sing a Song of Christmas – Spike Jones  | If you’re into “alternative” Christmas tunes, you can find goofy songs like “Nuttin For Christmas,” that take a whimsical approach to the season. While a few of the songs can get a little old pretty fast – with the falsetto voice of the kid singing the solo song “The Angel in the Christmas Play,” the rest are fun, big band arrangements of classic tunes. By the way, Spike Jones is not the same as Spike Jonze. |
8. The Christmas Album: Light of the Stable – Emmylou Harris  | It’s music with bluegrass/classic country twang and it is marvelous. The title song, “Light of the Stable,” is full of guitar strumming and gorgeous vocals. It’s a mellower alternative to the peppy carols on most albums and great if you’re into acoustic guitar and bluegrass. Turn it up when you’re stuck in holiday shopping traffic to melt your stress away. |
7. The Christmas Album – Johnny Mathis  | Christmas and Johnny Mathis are like hot chocolate and snow days, popcorn and movies, peas and carrots or Obama and disappointment. They go hand in hand. From my grandmother to my daughter, I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like the smooth vocal stylings of the velvet-y voiced crooner. I dare you to get through the season without hearing his rendition of “Holly Jolly Christmas” and NOT feeling like the hollow shell of a human being – it’s second only to the Burle Ives version. |
6. Let it Snow – Michael Bublé  | I may be a curmudgeon when it comes to classic Christmas music, but it doesn’t mean the artists have to be born before the 1950s to make the list. Michael Bublé croons arguably better than even the originals like Frank Sinatra – yeah, I went there. Also, his rendition of “Grown-Up Christmas List” should make Kelly Clarkson run and hide… |
5. Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas – Ella Fitzgerald  | If Ella wishes you a swinging Christmas, that’s exactly what you’ll get. A great mix of jazz, blues and of course, Ella’s buttery, rich voice brings the holidays to a swinging start (or finish) as she serenades you with “Christmas Island, ” “Winter Wonderland,” and all the other standards of her day – but with more oomph than anyone else could. |
4. The Judy Garland Christmas Album  | If you can block out her drug-filled past and focus on her showy vocals, you’ll even get a taste of Oz thrown in with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” as a sort of bonus. There are also a couple of show tunes that mildly reflect the sentiment of the season for a change up in your holiday listening repertoire. There’s nothing quite like her voice belting out “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. |
3. Christmas with the Rat Pack  | The only reason this one trumps the silken voice of Michael Bublé is that this album combines the talents of Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. to produce an album with a charm of infinite proportions. Sit back, grab a dry martini (with an olive, of course), put on your tuxedo and ask your mafia friends to come over for a good, old fashioned Christmas dinner. |
2. A Perry Como Christmas  | Where would Christmas be without Perry Como jovially singing praises of the season with catchy arrangements and a jazzy beat? Absolutely nowhere. This album reminds me of being stuck in a 40’s musical about Christmas, and that’s something I’m totally okay with – I just need someone to buy me a pair of tap shoes to complete the fantasy. |
1. What a Night! A Christmas Album – Harry Connick, Jr.  | It should be renamed, “What an Album! The Greatest Christmas Album of All Time,” but I’m not a record executive. It’s a little New Orleans, a little classic, full of a strong horn section and some up tempo beats that get your Christmas juices a-flowin’. The best part: Harry himself along with some original Christmas tunes to get you out of the rut of traditional songs. |