 | Beyond the Season by Garth Brooks
Buy used from: $10.99 A statement to Garth's popularity: this, his first Chrstmas album, immediately went to multi-platinum status when it was released...in THE SUMMER. This album is very Garth, and a stark contrast to "The Magic of Christmas." This album is among my favorites because I enjoy the arrangements to most of the songs. They are very simple, a little rough around the edges at times.
|
 | Garth Brooks and The Magic of Christmas by Garth Brooks
Buy used from: $8.89 This album is considerably different from Garth's first Christmas album. Most of the songs have delightful big-band arrangements. This is a contemporary Christmas album done in a classic style, and I love it.
|
 | The Christmas Collection by Il Divo
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $2.97 Who would have thought that "Over the Rainbow" would work as a Christmas song? Somehow, though, it fits. "O Holy Night," itself, is worth the price of the album. Perhaps the best performance of my favorite Christmas song that I have ever heard.
|
 | Ultimate Christmas by Various Artists
Buy new: $8.49 / Used from: $5.99 This album, with the following two compilation albums, forms a good foundation when building a classic Christmas songs collection. If you are looking to start your collection, get these three compilations. You cannot go wrong.
|
 | Now That's What I Call Christmas! by Various Artists
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $5.89 The first CD of this set is great. I do not like the second CD at all, though. Still, the first CD is worth the price of the set.
|
 | Now That's What I Call Christmas, Vol. 3 by Various Artists
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $7.35 While I like Now! 1 and 3, I disliked volume 2 (the "Signature Collection"). Hence, it is not listed. :-)
|
 | Motown Christmas by Various Artists
Buy used from: $5.39 When I was growing up, NBC aired a special called "A Motown Merry Christmas" with Redd Foxx playing Santa. I had it on VHS for the longest time, but for the life of me I cannot find it now. The songs on this album remind me a great deal of that television special. It is a great album in its own right, with some of the best artists of all time recording some classic Christmas songs.
|
 | Motown Christmas 2 by Various Artists
Buy new: $8.47 / Used from: $5.98 |
 | Elvis Christmas by Elvis Presley
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $5.98 This CD contains, perhaps, my favorite Christmas album from when I was a kid. We owned "Elvis Sings The Wonderful World of Christmas" on vinyl, and I literally wore it out. This compilation returns those childhood memories to me. This CD presents both of Elvis's original Christmas albums: Elvis' Christmas Album (1957) and the aforementioned 1971 album.
|
 | The Christmas Song by Nat King Cole
Buy used from: $23.25 It really is hard to beat the title track on this album. It is the definitive version of the song; no one performed it better. The remainder of the album, of course, is fantastic as well. This is a great album for any Christmas collection.
|
 | Making Spirits Bright by Dean Martin
Buy used from: $24.75 Hearing Dean's voice always makes me smile. His interpretations always are unique, and his voice is, of course, sensational. This is a really fun album.
|
 | Christmas with Dino by Dean Martin
Buy used from: $13.52 This is an alternate version of the Dean Martin Christmas album. Same songs (and a couple of extra, alternate versions), just a different order.
|
 | The Andy Williams Christmas Album by Andy Williams
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $6.05 |
 | White Christmas by Bing Crosby
Buy new: $6.98 / Used from: $1.50 Ask any person in the U.S. to name a Christmas song, and the vast majority probably will name "White Christmas" first. Irving Berlin may have written the song, but when you think of the song, the only voice you ever hear singing it is Bing's.
|
 | The Voice of Christmas: The Complete Decca Christmas Songbook by Bing Crosby
Buy new: $15.97 / Used from: $11.95 This is the one that I own, as opposed to the "true" Bing Crosby Christmas album. Many more songs, though quite a few of the extra songs are just alternate versions (e.g. you get four versions of "White Christmas"). A nice, alternate album if you just cannot get enough Bing.
|
 | A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special by Vince Guaraldi Trio
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $4.06 Just like anyone born after about 1960 (the show was first broadcast in 1965), I grew up watching this animated special every year during the holiday season. You remember the plot, of course, but you remember the music as well. Listening to this album immediately transports you back to your childhood.
|
 | Christmas Album by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $5.96 Looking for a fun Christmas album? Grab this one. In addition to the wildly popular interpretation of "Jingle Bells," this album features some of the most entertaining arrangements ever. There is a reason that this album still is in print some 40 years after it was first released and that it remains one of the most popular Christmas albums of all time.
|
 | JACKSON 5 - CHRISTMAS COLLECTION: 20TH CENTURY MASTERS (RMST)
Buy used from: $9.99 |
 | Give Love at Christmas by The Temptations
Buy new: $6.98 / Used from: $1.74 |
 | Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker - Complete Ballet by Valery Gergiev
Buy new: $10.97 / Used from: $9.99 |
 | Handel - Messiah / Erickson, McNair, Hodgson, Humphrey, Stilwell, Atlanta SO, Shaw by Atlanta Symphony Orchestra & Chamber Chorus
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $5.66 |
 | Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer by Burl Ives
Buy new: $6.98 / Used from: $0.94 Along with the aforementioned Elvis Presley album, this is another Christmas album that we had on vinyl that I wore out. This album instantly transports me to my living room in the house where I grew up, sitting in front of the television watching "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty the Snowman."
|
 | A Christmas Together by John Denver & the Muppets
Buy used from: $8.25 |
 | Once upon a Christmas by Kenny Rogers
Buy used from: $44.19 To be honest, this one surprised me. It is a little cheeky, but it has really has good music on it done in classic Kenny and Dolly style.
|
Listmania!
