Best Christmas music, CD or album on your list ?

Hello SonicBeauty,
i saw this posting and i also saw Faith perform a few christmas songs on TV. the back-up singers, the orchestra, the arrangements, were sheer perfection, and i am not a fan of hers per se. But she sang with such conviction and her voice was absolutely lovely. It really took me totally by surprise.
the "other" christmasy music i love is mainly classical which gets me in the mood more than anything else. a good choral arrangement also makes my ears perk up. any mention of "chestnuts" however makes me clap my hands over my ears...

The McGarrigle's were something special

thanks for the recommendation I just bought it this morning

Bah freakin' humbug, I hate xmas music. Well, the Chimpmunks are pretty special.

I LOVE Christmas albums. I tend to play a lot of Christmas music between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Along with the standards from Bing, Nat, Brenda Lee, Jose Feliciano, Johnny Mathis, Elvis, Burl Ives, et al, that I have to hear each year for Christmas to be complete (though you tend to hear these everywhere at Christmas), I tend to play these albums a lot at Christmastime:

Leon Redbone - Christmas Island - Whole album is good, a different sound to stir in to the classics
A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector
Andy Williams - The Andy Williams Christmas Album - My very favorite as a little kid. Don't know why.
Barenaked Ladies - Barenaked for the Holidays - fun arrangements of the classics
Odetta - Christmas Sprirituals - I love Odetta, she's a commanding soul
Carolyn Wonderland - Fireside Songs for the Soul - Fun album
The Irish Tenors - We Three Kings - Love all their Christmas albums
Danny Wright - An Intimate Christmas - Interesting piano arrangements I like to mix in
Pink Martini - Joy to the World - Interesting and international
Jewel - Joy: A Holiday Collection - Jewel being Jewel
Martina McBride - White Christmas - I was surprised by how much I like to play this whole album. Simply done well.
Willie Nelson - Pretty Paper - Pretty Paper is one of my favorite Christmas songs
Twisted Sister - A Twisted Christmas - crazy, but Dee's thunderous vocals make O Come All Ye Faithful sound like a Christian call to arms. An absolute blast to crank this.
The Messiah - London Philharmonic - Hallelujah is too triumphant to not rise to
Whitney Houston - Do You Hear What I Hear - She set a new standard on this song for me

I'll have fun checking out everyone else's list too!

I have this Faith Hill CD and will have to listen to it again. I don't remember being that impressed, but it is in with my stack of Christmas that is out year around. I enjoy The Priests, The Canadian Tenors, and even Celtic Thunder for Christmas albums.