My Favorite Christmas Records Countdown #24-26

Once I’ve broken down my wife’s resistance to 24/7 Christmas Music, I jam the old Sony 200-disc carousel full of Holiday CDs in slots 175-200.  The day may come when the hearts of men fail and they listen to streaming Christmas Music but, as Aragorn said, “Today is not that day!”  That’s right, I’ve got a lot of Christmas vinyl, too.  Oh,yeah.

Last year, I typed my way through an album a day, and I’m not all that excited to repost them, but it’s a good reference if you’re building a collection, so I’ll be linking to a few, every few days, and add some new finds mixed in here and there. Click on the links imbedded in each album title for more.

#26 Now That’s What I Call Christmas Volume 1. Anthology by Various Artists

I flip-flopped #26 and #25 this year, mainly because Now That’s What I Call Christmas is bogged down by a few more modern songs–Britney Spears and Gloria Estefan contributions are particularly insipid–but overall this is a great set you can find used for pennies. Along with the next entry, these form a wonderful backbone for a comprehensive pop music Christmas singles collection.

 

 

#25 Rhino Records presents Home For Christmas.  Anthology by Various Artists

 

 

 

 

 

 

In my mind, this is the best Christmas Anthology available, and that’s the rub–it’s difficult to find. It functions like the bastard love child born from those orgiastic holiday delights of the 1960’s Tire-company sponsored Christmas vinyl albums, and covers much of the same ground. This is the soundtrack to my childhood Christmases, remastered, and has serious traction as a vintage/retro goldmine of hipster delight. It’s out of print–if you see one around, snatch it up for yourself or as a gift.

#24 Diana Krall: Christmas Songs
I have to admit that I have a soft spot for Diana Krall and this recording because last year, when Ms. Krall was at #22, my post on her included the album cover and another sexy picture.  For months after, and much to my confusion, my blog would pick up around a half dozen hits to based on searches for “Diana Krall.” Well, I’m not a stats counter, but back when this blog was new and a dozen hits in a day was mind-blowing, I was certainly grateful.  This is a perfectly good album, for I found myself skipping over it for some reason, so I had to drop her down a little this year.  And yes, I realize that it would be wildly cynical of me to post more sexy pictures of the wildly popular jazz chanteuse.  I’d never be so low as to post stuff like this: