My top ten favorite Christmas albums, in ascending order:
10. Tracy Thorn – Tinsel and Lights. Her voice will bring a good mood to whatever time or space you choose to play her album.
9. Michael Buble – Christmas. This one has been reported as the best selling album in Australia for six years in a row. Not sure how true this statement is, but he does have a good voice.
8. Sixpence None the Richer – The Dawn of Grace. Leigh Nash sings for the band, proving that the female vocalists dominate this list. Her delivery is superb, especially on “Christmas Island”, easily the best song on the album.
7. The Brian Setzer Orchestra – Boogie Woogie Christmas. Great fun for when you don’t want to be so calm. When you want to rock, turn the table on this one. And yet, the song “O Holy Night” brings a pleasant mellowness to the otherwise raucous mood.
6. Sarah McLachlan – Wintersong. Using her usual commandingly emotional singing voice, Sarah brings the joy and sweetness to you for your holidays.
5. Annie Lennox – A Christmas Cornucopia. Like many others on this list, Annie’s voice is perfect for these kinds of songs.
4. Nat King Cole – The Best of Christmas. All the traditional oldies, sung by one of the greatest of all time.
3. Martina McBride – White Christmas. Her renditions of some traditional Christmas songs make you feel as if you’re listening to a choir instead of only one vocalist. She’s a country singer at heart, though the songs on this album don’t sound like country music.
2. A Charlie Brown Christmas – Vince Guaraldi Trio. If you’re in the mood to relax, there’s no better album to play than this. The children’s voices in the choir are soothing. The instrumental pieces are superb and calming.
1. Hi-fi Holiday. This compilation, put together by Old Navy, is like the playlist of Christmas songs you wish you lined up. There are exceptional artists on the album such as Smokey Robinson, and then there’s also James Brown, who does it the way he does it. Sometimes I don’t care for how James Brown does it, so I skip his song. Regardless of the one sometimes dud, this is a fantastic Christmas album full of energetic favorites. Worth one thousand repeats.
Xenosthesia.com 