It’s the most wonderful time of year once again and the sound of joyous music has begun to fill the air. This year, Thanksgiving hadn’t even passed and already Christmas tunes could be heard over the local radio stations. Without fail, long before snow has even hit the ground, many artists’ had released “new” holiday classics to jam the radios until well after Christmas day. How is one to decide who is worth listening to and who is not? Frankly, if anyone is sitting in their vehicle for a long period of time this season, it will not matter because you’ll get to hear them all anyway.
Instead of trying to decipher which CDs or iTunes downloads are best to spend your hard-earned cash on, here are the top from the Billboard Charts that should be invading your iPod or mp3 player this holiday season:
1. Reigning at number one is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” a staple since the early 90’s when her first Christmas album dropped.
2. Holding the number two spot is “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee, an oldie but a goodie.
3. Nat King Cole bounds in the third slot for “The Christmas Song.”
4. Bobby Helms takes us away with “Jingle Bell Rock,” a song made popular by Home Alone with Maculy Culkin.
5. “Holly Jolly Christmas” by Burl Ives sweeps us off our cheery feet once again at number five.
6. Trans-Siberian Orchestra – “Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24).”
7. Andy Williams at seven with “It’s the Most Wonderful Time Of the Year,” and isn’t it?
8. Jose Feliciano with our favorite song “Feliz Navidad.”
9. Bing Crosby couldn’t have said it better with “White Christmas,” because aren’t we all hoping for snow at Christmastime?
10. And, last but not least, holding the number ten spot is Wham! with “Last Christmas” because we all have given our hearts during that warm season only to be left cold.
But nowhere in the charts are any of the newer holiday remakes such as Lady Antebellum’s holiday album “On This Winter’s Night” or Justin Bieber’s “Under the Misteltoe.” It seems as if modern artists aren’t hitting the note when it comes to belting out those holiday tunes we adore so much and hear for 4 straight months. The good news is: every artist, new and old, has remade the aforementioned songs a million times and, with the simple click of a mouse, they can all be searched on iTunes or found on a Wal-Mart shelf in the music section. If it really breaks your heart that much, Now That’s What I Call Music always offers a holiday compilation every year to fulfill the need for modern renditions of the classics. Happy Holidays!
By Nadia Saar