Least and most favorite Christmas albums?

[bbernardini]

Least favorite: "A Very Ally Christmas", in which Vonda Sheperd and friends massacre 14 holiday classics. The frightening thing is that the high point of the album is Robert Downey Jr.'s cover of Joni Mitchell's "River".

Most favorite: "Sounds Like Christmas" by The December People. Basically Robert Berry and an anonymous cast (rumored to include some prog-rock and classic rock veterans) perform classic Christmas tunes as they might have been performed by artists like Yes, Queen, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, Kansas, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Sting, The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. If you don't appreciate any of these bands, then you probably won't care for it, but I think it's one of the most clever tributes I've heard in years.

2nd most favorite: "Spirit Of The Season" by Sean Kelly and Tom Askin. Sean is the front man of The Samples, and one of my favorite singer/songwriters of all time. A few years back, he put out this rare Christmas album with soon-to-be (and now no longer) Samples member Tom Askin. Beautiful stuff.

[0007]

1. Jingle Bells

[otohara]

2. Manhiem Steamroller

I worked in records, then radio and one of those "smooth jazz" stations. Played to death then and still won't go away.

[Skink]

3. Least: Vince Guaraldi's Peanuts album

These people went out and recorded a Jr. High Christmas concert and have managed to market the entire retail season around it. Out of tune piano and all.

[elperromagico]

4. Most favorite? "A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector."

Christmas songs sound great with the Wall of Sound, and the album also features the modern Christmas classic "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)."

Least favorite? Hell, I don't know; there are so many.

[Kashka-Kat]

5. A Christmas Celtic Sojourn AND Hipsters Holiday

JUST GOT THESE today-- they are both fantabulous!

Hipster Holiday contains the classic Be-Bop Santa by Babs Gonzales and Cool Yule.

Christmas Celtic Sojourn-- entirely different, songs sung by various well known British & Irish tradional musicians, a mood of mist and snow swirling about the moors, absolutely gorgeous.

Least favorite-that meowing cat one. That was entertaining for all of ten seconds, then it became a sharp dagger like pain in my head.

In the words of Babs-

Have a crazy cool Christmas but dont get knocked out!

[leftofthedial]

6. most favorite is one of those cheap-o cassette tapes

I bought about 20 years ago

It has Robert Goulet singing "Let It Snow"

Jim Nabors singing something

Doris Day singing something

It rocks!

second favorite is "Celtic Christmas."