 | A Winter's Solstice: Silver Anniversary Edition by Various Artists
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $4.22 You can't go too far wrong with Windham Hill's Winter's Solstice series. This one is a quiet, tasteful acoustic collection of winter-themed music, little of it exclusively Christmas-y.
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 | A Winter's Solstice II by Various Artists
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $3.16 An early Windham Hill compilation of contemplative acoustic instrumentals. If you can't stand anything that reminds you at all of Christmas, this one is a good choice for a dark winter evening.
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 | A Winter Solstice Reunion by Various Artists
Buy used from: $7.99 My personal favourite of the Windham Hill Solstice CDs. There's not a bad or tasteless track on here. It may not be exuberant enough for Christmas morning, but it should work for almost any other time.
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 | A Windham Hill Christmas by Various Artists
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $4.39 Unlike the Solstice series, the Windham Hill Christmas series offers mainly acoustic treatments of carols and older, more traditional holiday music -- no Rudolph or Frosty. None of these covers are likely to set off your inner Grinch, however, and this one in particular is almost as quietly serene as the best in the Solstice series.
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 | Windham Hill Christmas II by Various Artists
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $3.86 Pretty much like the first one. Good stuff.
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 | Windham Hill Christmas: I'll Be Home for Christmas by Paul McCandless
Buy new: $6.99 / Used from: $3.00 And this one, though it's a bit warmer in tone, in keeping with its name.
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 | To Drive the Cold Winter Away by Loreena Mckennitt
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $35.40 I love anything Loreena McKennitt, but this holiday CD is as warm and spicy and full of old world charm as a glass of mulled wine. The carols on here (Wessex, Stockford, etc.) will probably be unfamiliar to you.
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 | A Winter Garden: Five Songs For The Season by Loreena McKennitt
Buy used from: $14.98 A shorter CD, but a pleasant one. "Snow" is on both McKennitt's winter CDs, but it's a different version on each.
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 | Ancient Noels
Buy new: $14.99 / Used from: $11.99 This is a gorgeous recording of medieval and Renaissance Christmas melodies. The instrumentation is unique, and the resulting sound a delightful change from tinny carols being played at the mall.
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 | Winter Tidings: An Appalachian Christmas by Al Petteway & Amy White
Buy new: $12.00 / Used from: $10.35 One of the livelier CDs on this list, this recording includes both traditional carols that have been lovingly reworked, forgotten Christmas melodies, and a number of original pieces on harp, guitar, banjo, and more. Warming and beautiful.
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 | Wintersong by Sarah McLachlan
Buy new: $8.99 / Used from: $4.75 This is about as close as I come to pop on this list, and if you listen to it, you might come to the conclusion that it's not very close at all. Bittersweet and full of yearning -- perfect for the longest night of the year.
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 | Comfort and Joy by Tingstad & Rumbel
Buy new: $16.99 / Used from: $12.50 Fingerpicked guitar and soft woodwinds from the Grammy-winning duo. Quiet, soothing, and lovely.
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 | A Feast of Songs: Holiday Music from the Middle Ages
Buy new: $13.99 / Used from: $11.99 Medieval fans, rejoice! Lively, nicely done music that probably won't sound very familiar. Tracks include "Patapan" and "Gaudete."
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