I'm still one of the many people who feels joy once the first bells start entering the music when December starts. Even though I've heard some of these songs a million times, there's something about hearing those Christmas songs that make you look forward to the holidays. There are a few albums that I've always loved playing around the holidays.
Kelly Clarkson – Wrapped In Red
Kelly mixed classic Christmas songs with original new songs and she's done it so well on this album. "Underneath The Tree" has become a true Christmas classic in the few short years since its release, but there are so many good tracks on this album. She's not gone over the top in Christmas bells or strings, but she's found a great balance between pop and country, new and old and every track blends into the next. The album has surprised me upon its release and that's why it keeps being pulled out of the closet to play each year.
Mariah Carey – Merry Christmas
It helps that I actually was a Mariah Carey fan in her early days – yep, the days she still hates – so it was no surprise I fell in love with this album once it was released. I still play it every year and I still think no one has made a cover of "All I Want For Christmas Is You" better than the original, including all the versions Mariah Carey herself recorded after this album. You can also skip all that other Christmas album she's done, because it doesn't capture the spirit of Christmas like this album did.
Various Artists – Christmas songs
This is actually a Christmas LP that has been floating around in my family for years. I have an old fashioned cassette tape of it, which I lost and it really feels like a loss, because I loved playing this every Christmas. It contains tracks of real classic stars from the generation before mine. It features songs by The Carpenters, The Platters, Bing Crosby, Dana, Andy Williams and one Dutch act called The Blue Diamonds. They were the songs that were on the radio before Mariah Carey released her Christmas album and made everybody want to write new Christmas classics.
Alongside albums, there are always some classic one-time-only songs that I love hearing like Madonna's "Santa Baby" (bet you saw that one coming), Ariana Grande's "Santa Tell Me" and the original Band Aid song, "Do They Know It's Christmas". And from their Christmas albums, I also love "Christmas Through Your Eyes" by Gloria Estefan, "Early Christmas Morning" by Cyndi Lauper and Christina Aguilera's cover of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". What are your favorites?
