Your 5 Favorite Christmas Albums

[Grainger49]

I know this only covers 70% of the posters here but here goes.

It is the season for pleasure, so guilty pleasures should be included.

My 5 Favorites, no particular order:

1. Bing Crosby - Merry Christmas (face on cover w/White Christmas)
2. The Chieftans - The Bells Of Dublin
3. Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song
4. Johnny Mathis - For Christmas, I admit it!
5. Dean Martin - Making Spirits Bright (he drank them all)

[denti alligator]

Low: Christmas

[Grainger49]

Sam, you need 4 more or is this your only album?  Probably the newest.

[Brent]

In the order that I thought of them rather than bestestnest:

Low Christmas
John Fahey The New Possibility John Fahey's Guitar Soli Christmas Album
Vince Guaraldi Trio A Charlie Brown Christmas
Bing Crosby Merry Christmas (this is a childhood/nostalgia thing, but it's pretty goofy/weird/kitschy enough on its own)
Any/all of the Nonesuch Early/Medieval Christmas records (A Medieval Christmas, Christmas in Anglia, Christmas in England and Early America, I may have one or two more)

[vladimirwolfe]

Jimmy Smith-Christmas Cookin'
Vince Guaraldi-A Charlie Brown Christmas
Holly Cole-Baby It's Cold Outside

That's all I got for music but for video:

Christmas Story (In God we trust, all others pay cash)
It's a Wonderful Life
How the Grinch Stole Christmas
A Charlie Brown Christmas

Cheers!

[denti alligator]

Sam, you need 4 more or is this your only album?  Probably the newest.

I know, but this is really the only one I listen to.

Pressed, I'd add:

2. Sufjan Stevens: [The first Xmas box set]
3. Jingle Bells Jazz [compilation]
4. Dubliners: Bells of Dublin
5. Run-D.M.C.'s "Christmas in Hollis" on repeat


Oh, and for movies I've got some favorites:

1. Die Hard
2. Gremlins
3. Fanny and Alexander

[Chris]

The first 3 Trans Siberian Orchestra releases  (LOVE them)... My cd compilation of the Classics Ie. Bing, Perry Como , Nat etc.. And "An Orchestral Christmas"... honorable mention  Twisted Sister's  Twisted Christmas....

[fullheadofnothing]

I love, love, love, love Christmas records. Nothing brings out the stupid in people like the holidays.

Billy Idol - Happy Holidays
Meco - Christmas in the Stars
Froggus - A Froggy Christmas
Johnny "Bowtie" Barstow - A Bowtie Christmas
The Happy Crickets - Christmas with the Happy Crickets

(Honorable mentions to The Jingle Cats - Here Comes Santa Claws, and both the John Fahey Christmas records, one of which was already mentioned)

Standout tracks from other sources
Joseph Spence - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
The Fall - No Xmas for John Quays
Oscar the Grouch - I Hate Christmas
Jewel - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Edited to add:
Tom Lehrer - A Christmas Carol
P.D.Q. Bach - Throw the Yule Log On Uncle John

[Wanderer]

Two CDs from Anonymous 4,  "On Yoolis Night" and  "Legends of St. Nicholas". Anonymous 4 has other Christmas albums I bet I would like those too.

On LP John Fahey - "Christmas Guitar Vol. 1" and "Christmas with John Fahey Vol. 2" 

The Christmas sections of G. F. Handel's "Messiah" from the 1966 Colin Davis recording directing the London Symphony (with Heather Harper, John Shirley-Quirk, etc)     

...and I almost forgot

CD -  Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band 'Tapestry of Carols"

[STURMJ]

GRP Christmas Collection(s)

[SteveH]

My most played Christmas disc was a present from my mother from years ago - a cheapo Walmart disc called "A Classical Christmas".  I think we like it so much because it can play in the background and add 'ambience' without being intrusive.

I also really like Jacqui Naylor's "Smashed for the Holidays".

SteveH

[Sh7eleven]

I'll put up Martin Sexton's Camp Holiday, sounds oh so excellent on the stereomour.  Great vocals and acoustic guitar.

[mcandmar]

Fairytale in New York by the Pogues.  Its only christmas when you hear a pub full of drunk people singling along..  ...its an Irish thing

[Grainger49]

There are some good selections here and a few I have never heard of.

I'm playing 88 CDs on a 200 disk changer on shuffle.  If there is a minimum of 30 minutes of music on each it won't repeat for 2 days.  Since I know many of the newer CDs are longer maybe 3 days.

[Chris]

Thats a cool thing Grainger.. just hit random and its all good.. and I agree with Steve H, just the compilation of the classics can go a VERY long ways toward my Holiday enjoyment... They are absolutely timeless.... And who knows, maybe in a hundred years, people will be saying this about Twisted Sister's holiday offering...