The radio stations near me seem to play the same selections by the same artists...over and over. Andy Williams and Karen Carpenter weren't the only people to sing Christmas songs, and as much as I like to be creeped out by Dean Martin's Baby It's Cold Outside, there are quite a few songs I'd like to see added to the rotation.
SheDaisy: A Brand New Year - don't let their country roots scare you away. This is one of the best Christmas albums...ever. Some different arrangements of classics and some original songs. There's only one song on the album I could do without...a song about two people basically beating the crap out of each other's stuff. Funny, true, but just not my thing. That's What I Want For Christmas is a beautiful love song with a sultry jazz feel and I love the guitar in Hark the Herald Angels and Jingle Bells. I could listen to those riffs looped for hours.
Aly & AJ Acoustic Hearts - You would think this duo would be just another Disney or Nick sap-filled candy pop album. You would be wrong. While they don't do anything really new with the classic songs they render them beautifully. There are a couple of original songs, and you've likely heard them on the radio at some point: Greatest Time of Year and Not This Year (which is a good reflection of where my Christmas spirit is).
A Charlie Brown Christmas - Just Awesome Jazz. 'nuff said?
Any Elvis Christmas Album - usually just plain fun to sing along with though Santa Bring My Baby Back (to Me) is my favorite. Some, like White Christmas border on the hysterical as Elvis's ability to speak clearly devolves as the song goes on.
There are also some good singles out there:
Do You Hear What I Hear? - by Spiraling - a mash up of Do You Hear with Baba O'Riley
It Snowed - by Meaghan Smith
12 Days of Christmas - by Straight No Chaser
