Albums
Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule
Louis Armstrong
Superb compilation of holiday-themed tracks from the legendary Satchmo! ‘Nuff said.
Highly Recommended
Another Laurie Berkner Christmas
The Laurie Berkner Band
I remember back in my old job as a parent to little kids that Berkner was one of the “cool” children’s music artists that parents could listen to, along with the kiddos, without going totally insane. My little ones weren’t huge fans so I don’t have a lot of nostalgia for this stuff but, as kid’s Christmas albums go, this is first-rate. If this was on in the background somewhere I wouldn’t walk out on account of it, so there’s that. If you have kid’s this is a great alternative to the disastrous pop garbage they’re likely bombarded by daily..
A Very Indie Christmas Vol 1, + Vol2
Here’s a stonking bargain for you - Over 100 Christmas tunes from loads of fab artists across many genres all yours for less than $20! And on top of that it’s all for a good cause!
I can vouch for most of the artists, and many of the songs included here, there are some awesome tunes on board, and while it’s not likely every song will float your festive boat the odds are pretty high that you’ll get way more than your money’s worth. Plus, did I mention the whole charity thing?
Volume 2
December
Quando Nuevo
A stellar collection of instrumental tracks, some New Agey /World-ish, others decidedly jazzy. I’ve actually paired this in a playlist with George Winston’s solo piano December, and it melds nicely.
Recommended
Appalachian Christmas
Chosen Road
Bluegrass flavored, gospel-infused country Christmas record, and a good one too. Recommended if this sort of thing is up your chimney.
Christmas Ballads 25th Anniversary Collection
Dave Koz and Friends
Home For the Holidays with DCapella
DCapella & Disney
Not in my home. This was dreadful.
Christmas Morning
Megan Nicole
Generic pop wouldn’t sound out of place under the opening credits of some middling Hallmark Xmas flick.
Singles
Christmas Anyway - Stars
Weak-ish effort from the generally terrific Canadian duo Stars. It’s for charity though so at least your dollar will go to a good cause even if you are likely to shelve and forget the tune pretty quickly.
New Baby for Christmas - Hailey Whitters
Solid country single.
Holiday Party - Dan+Shay
A pedestrian country pop number that sounds as generic and un-Christmassy as its title. Not bad just nothing special.
dear santa - emlyn
Bombastic alt-pop single. Not for me, so I can’t really judge its quality tbh. Give it a spin and see if it’s your thing.
