I collect Christmas music. I have been doing so since I was a teenager, and it’s become something of an obsession. Before Apple Music and Spotify took everything online, I had collected over 500 physical Christmas albums. Now, of course, we can access all music all the time, so that little boast falls away.
Choosing the best of the albums and songs is not an easy task – and obviously highly subjective. In fact, it’s impossible. But I guess I am as qualified as anyone to do so. Here then are my “best of” lists of Christmas music (this is a work in progress – latest update 10 Dec 2020):
- Best Albums by artists
- ** Best version of every Christmas song **
- Best modern Carols
- Best Compilation Albums
- Best Album by genre
- Best medleys (songs)
- Best Full Christmas Concerts (YouTube videos)
- Best lists of Best Christmas songs
- I have created a YouTube Playlist (here) that includes almost all the songs below, and is a great way to listen through these songs.
To get into these lists the songs and albums need something distinctive, they are musically excellent (even if I don’t particularly like the style), they must not be cheesy (so, no Boney M then), and they must capture the Christmas spirit (festive or reflective). I also favoured variety (so that my list of top albums didn’t dominate the individual songs list too much). The final criteria is that I included not just popular musicians, but Christian artists and worship albums as well – it is Christ-mas, after all.
These lists are going to be updated regularly, and change as I get suggestions and come across new songs and albums (and get slapped down for my initial choices). I’d love to hear your suggestions for these lists, and any songs or albums you think are better than the ones in my lists below.
Please remember that it’s actually impossible to create a “best of” list of Christmas songs. It’s actually better to be clear on what musical styles you prefer, and then get the best Christmas album in those styles. It’s also a good idea to select the best version of each Christmas song you like. That’s what I’ve done below, knowing full well there is not one chance that any list of “best Christmas songs” will ever be satisfactory. There are just too many musical genres competing for attention.
So, add your voice below.