Because why the heck not? I have almost 15 hours of music on my playlist that’s rated over 3/5 stars. I realize the idea of buying a “CD” or other album format is almost as quaint as Currier & Ives prints, but … well, get off my lawn.
Anyway, we have a lot of favorites, but here are some that sort to the top of the 4-5 star list.
Annie Lennox, A Christmas Cornucopia (2010)
Lennox belts things out with such raw passion, that hearing the former Eurythmics star with songs like “Angels from the Realms of Glory,” “God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen,” and the Coventry Carol is almost a painful experience.
Bruce Cockburn, Christmas (1993)
These are mostly traditional tunes, sung in a country-pop style by Cockburn. “Mary Had a Baby,” “Down in Yon Forest,” and an original, “Shepherds” are some of my faves.
Loreena McKennitt, To Drive the Cold Winter Away (1994)
McKennitt’s dulcet tones do great with older, traditional English carols (with an occasional original). High marks to the Winter Garden (1995) as well, though it has only five songs on it.
Jo-el Sonnier, et al., Cajun Christmas (2002)
Some fine Cajun / Zydeco Christmas carol instrumentals. Great renditions of “The First Noel” and “Deck the Halls”. Fresh and zingy and fun — just as a carol should be.
Vince Guaraldi Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas (2012)
A full album of jazzy, piano-forward carols from the guy who did the Charlie Brown Christmas Special of holy name. Very mellow, enjoyable set of background music for any holiday party.
Misc., A Classic Christmas
A great collection of 1950s-60s Christmas tunes from Perry Como, Ella Fitzgerald, Dean Martin, Eartha Kitt, Bing Crosby, et al. We love the mid-century classic carol albums, and this one is a great combo of those.
This one I can’t find on Amazon any more … but, then, I picked it up in a store on a visual impulse buy. And there are plenty of compilations of favorite crooners and classic singers doing Christmas that you can find what you are looking for. That’s how we ended up with a lot of our holiday selections.