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The Best Christmas Songs of All Time

by Michael R. Burch

Let me begin by stating the obvious: these are really just my personal choices for the best Christmas songs ever written, performed and recorded for posterity. But on the other hand, if you haven't heard Enya's "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" or Charles Haugabrooks' "Sweet Little Jesus Boy" or Boney M.'s reggae version of "Mary's Boy Child" or Simon and Garfunkel's "Comfort and Joy/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" sung in rounds, how can you be sure that your personal list is complete? So perhaps you'll want to consider mine, compare notes, and perhaps update yours. 

My pick for the number one Christmas song ever is Eartha Kitt's sexy, sassy "Santa Baby." But all the songs near the top of my list provide strong competition, from the atmospheric vocals of Enya, Jackie Evancho and Andrew Johnston, to the orchestral thunder of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra belting out "Carol of the Bells" and "Christmas Canon Rock." And then there are the wonderfully tender and touching performances, such as Amy Grant's "Breath of Heaven," Clay Aiken's "Mary Did You Know?" and Roy Orbison's "Pretty Paper." There are also the wonderful Christmas hymns of yore, like "Silent Night" and "O Holy Night," sung by such stellar performers as Mahalia Jackson, Josh Groban and Celine Dion. One of my favorites is a little-known song, "The Ballad of the Christmas Donkey," sung tenderly and soulfully a cappella by my wife, Beth Burch. Before you accuse me of nepotism, please allow me to point out that when Johnny Carson asked Lynn Anderson (of "Rose Garden" fame) to name the young country singer to keep an eye on, she named Beth (then Beth Harris). You can click any of the hyperlinked song titles below to hear the songs you haven't heard before, or want to hear again.

Eartha Kitt - Santa Baby
Enya - O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Carol of the Bells
Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Christmas Canon Rock (On this Very Christmas Night)
Andrea Bocelli and Mary J. Blige - What Child Is This?
Amy Grant - Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)
Charles Haugabrooks - Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Jackie Evancho - Ave Maria
Celine Dion - Ave Maria (English lyrics)
Andrea Bocelli - Gloria in Excelsis Deo
Manheim Steamroller - Handel's Messiah, Hallelujah Chorus
Andrew Johnston - Pie Jesu
Beth Burch - The Ballad of the Christmas Donkey
Roy Orbison - Pretty Paper
John Lennon and Yoko Ono - Happy Xmas (War is Over)
Band Aid - Do They Know it's Christmas
Boney M. - Mary's Boy Child (reggae version)
Ray Charles - Merry Christmas Baby
Christina Aguilera and Dr. John - Merry Christmas Baby
Charles Haugabrooks - Angels We Have Heard on High
Michael McDonald - Go Tell it on the Mountain
Cast of Glee - Last Christmas
Josh Groban - Angels We Have Heard on High
Josh Groban - Ave Maria
Enya - Christmas Secrets
Simon and Garfunkel - Comfort and Joy/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (sung in rounds)
Art Garfunkel - O Come All Ye Faithful
Josh Groban with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir - O Come All Ye Faithful
Dan Fogelberg - Same Old Lang Syne
Sarah McLachlan - River
Sarah McLachlan - Angel
Clay Aiken - Mary Did You Know?
Mahalia Jackson - Sweet Little Jesus Boy
Ed Ames - The Ballad of the Christmas Donkey
Sarah McLachlan - O Little Town of Bethlehem
Christina Aguilera - This Christmas
David Bowie and Bing Crosby - Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy
Christina Aguilera and Brian McKnight - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Faith Hill - Where Are You Christmas
Harry Belafonte - Mary's Boy Child
Mariah Carey - All I Want for Christmas is You
Mormon Tabernacle Choir - Carol of the Bells
Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Bruce Springsteen - Merry Christmas Baby
Eagles - Please Come Home for Christmas
Bon Jovi - Please Come Home for Christmas
Death Cab for Cutie - Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)
Bob Seger - Little Drummer Boy
Mahalia Jackson - Silent Night
Josh Groban - Little Drummer Boy
Josh Groban - O Holy Night
Sarah McLachlan - What Child Is This
Vince Gill - Do You Hear What I Hear
Aaron Neville - Please Come Home for Christmas
Charles Haugabrooks - Jesus, Jesus Rest Your Head
George Michael and Wham! - Last Christmas
Sinead O'Connor - Silent Night
Michael Bolton - Joy to the World
Whitney Houston - Joy to the World
Billy Squier - Christmas is the Time to Say "I Love You"
Celine Dion - O Holy Night
Frank Sinatra - Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
Frank Sinatra - Mistletoe and Holly
Beyonce - Ave Maria
The Royal Guardsmen - Snoopy's Christmas
Queen - Thank God it's Christmas
Harry Simeone Chorale - Little Drummer Boy
Rhea's Obsession with Athan Maroulis - We Three Kings
Enya - Oíche Chiúin [Silent Night in Gaelic]
Bing Crosby - White Christmas
Elvis Presley - Blue Christmas
Elton John - Step Into Christmas
Josh Groban - Thankful
Josh Groban - What Child is This
Chris Rea - Driving Home for Christmas
Billy Corgan, Emilie Autumn and Dennis DeYoung - We Three Kings
The Carpenters - Merry Christmas Darling
The Beach Boys - Little St. Nick
Il Divo - O Holy Night
Sting - Gabriel's Message (a Basque folk song with English lyrics)
Dido - Christmas Day
Nat King Cole - The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)
Vanessa Williams - Do You Hear What I Hear
Josh Groban - It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey - Baby It's Cold Outside
Enya - White is the Winter Night
Barbra Streisand - Sleep in Heavenly Peace/Silent Night
Vanessa Williams - I Wonder as I Wander
Aretha Franklin - Winter Wonderland
Ed Ames - Away in a Manger
Brenda Lee - Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree
Lady Gaga and Beyonce - Christmas Tree
Boyz to Men - Silent Night
The Temptations - Silent Night
Beyonce - Silent Night
Faith Hill - O Come all Ye Faithful
Luther Vandross - O Come All Ye Faithful
Mariah Carey - O Holy Night
Ed Ames - O Holy Night
Jewel - Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Jars of Clay - Little Drummer Boy
Jackson 5 - Up on the Housetop
Bette Midler - Cool Yule
Martina McBride - Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow
Josh Groban - Petit Papa Noel
Bing Crosby - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Bing Crosby - Do You Hear What I Hear
Chuck Berry - Run Rudolph Run
Commodores - Deck The Halls
Bobby Helms - Jingle Bell Rock
Elmo and Patsy - Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer
Bruce Springsteen - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Gene Autry - Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Gene Autry - Frosty the Snowman
Gene Autry - Here Comes Santa Claus
Adam Sandler - The Chanukah Song
Perry Como - It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

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