20 of the Best Holiday Recordings Ever!!!

So I've given you a list of some of my favorite holiday CDs, but in case you want to make a CD of your own and buy individual tracks from your favorite digital outlet, here are 25 of the best holiday recordings, in my opinion of course! I put the CD where you can find them in parantheses. Enjoy!

1. "This Christmas" - Donny Hathaway (A Donny Hathaway Collection)

2. "Santa Baby" - Eartha Kitt (What a Wonderful Christmas, Louis Armstrong & Friends)

3. "The Christmas Song" - Nat King Cole (The Christmas Song)

4. "Back Door Santa" - Clarence Carter (The Original Soul Christmas)

5. "Merry Christmas All" - The Salsoul Orchestra Feat. Denise Montana

(Christmas Jollies, The Salsoul Orchestra)

6. "Santa, Please..." - Toni Braxton (Snowflakes)

7. "Carol of the Bells/What Child is This?"- Yolanda Adams
(Christmas With Yolanda Adams)

8. "Christmas Fantasy" - Anita Baker ("Christmas Fantasy")

9. "Sleigh Ride"- Ella Fitzgerald (Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas)

10. "My Favorite Things" - Diana Ross & The Supremes
(Merry Christmas by Diana Ross & The Supremes)

11. "White Christmas" - Will Downing (Christmas, Love and You)

12. "Christmas Only Once a Year" - Chaka Khan
(Jermaine Dupri Presents 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas)

13. "What Child is This?" - Poncho Sanchez
(Playboy's Latin Jazz Christmas, A Not So Silent Night)

14. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" - Toni Braxton
(40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas)

15. "Ave Maria" - Kelly Price (One Family)

16. "Joy to the World" - Mariah Carey (Merry Christmas by Mariah Carey)

17. "Carol of the Bells" - Donald Lawrence Featuring The Tri-City Singers
(Hello Christmas)

18. "Hey Santa" - Ashanti (Ashanti's Christmas)

19. "Born in a Manger- Patti Labelle (This Christmas by Patti Labelle)

20. "Give Love on Christmas Day" - The Jackson 5 (Jackson 5 Christmas Album)

21. "Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive" - Howard Hewitt
(Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration)

22. "No Room at the Inn" - Mahalia Jackson (Silent Night, Holy Night)

23. "Carol of the Bells" - Mary Mary (A Mary Mary Christmas)

24. "Christmas Time is Here" - Brian McKnight
(40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas)

25. "O Come, O Come Emmanuel/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" - Daryl Coley & Beloved
(Christmas is Here)

12 Holiday CDs for Your Collection

Happy holidays to you all. I thought I'd give you some CD recommendations if you're kind of stumped or may not know exactly what's out there to choose from. I'm a soul music and jazz fan, so my selections will be coming primarily from those genres and range from contemporary artists to some of the legends who recorded fine product in my opinion. Here's a list of 12 of the best that I think will keep you satisfied from beginning to end, in no particular order, but the first two are definitely tops on my list.

1. "Snowflakes" - Toni Braxton (Gets my vote for the sexiest Christmas CD ever!)

2. "Merry Christmas" - Mariah Carey (This is gospel, pop, and everything in between!)

3. "Christmas, Love and You" - Will Downing (Another sensual take for the holidays)

4. "Christmas Fantasy" - Anita Baker (Anita's jazzy vocals go well with these tunes)

5. "One Family" - Kelly Price (Kelly brings the soul to Christmas)

6. "Christmas" - Kirk Franklin and the Family (If you need some contemporary gospel)

7. "Playboy's Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night" - Various Artists
(Contemporary latin rhythmic takes on classic holiday songs - Divine!)

8. "Jackson 5 Christmas Album" - The Jackson 5 (Classic!)

9. "A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector" - Various Artists
(Doo-Wop at its best)

10. "The Original Soul Christmas" - Various Artists (Soul music at its best)

11. "A Charlie Brown Christmas"- Vince Guaraldi Trio (Another classic!)

12. "Christmas Jollies" - The Salsoul Orchestra (A disco classic!)