Rockin Around the Christmas Tree: Our Favorite Christmas Albums

Ahhh, I LOVE Christmas music. So much so, that some of it gets in the playback year round. The following is a list of my personal favorite albums for this Christmas season. Some of them are brand spanking new- thanks E-Music! (If anyone wants to join emusic, please email me so I can get the referral credits. It's a great deal for indie music lovers!)

1) Behold the Lamb of God by Andrew Peterson.
--In the opinion of our household, Andrew Peterson has musically picked up in many ways where Rich Mullins left off. As mentioned in a previous post, this is one of our year round favorite albums. Be sure to check out his other music on his site- not a dud there, as well as his site The Rabbit Room, where you can gain more insight into his life, thoughts and art. (Not to mention that of some other great artists!)

2) Joy by Allen Levi, Ed Cash and Bebo Norman.
-- We have had this Cd for years now, and it is very much in heavy rotation right now. These three guys are all great musicians on their own, but their voices just fit together so well. Be sure to check out their individual web sites- especially Allen's. He has some great funny songs as well as some very insightful ones.

3) Christmas from the Realms of Glory by the aforementioned Bebo Norman.
--This album is brand new for this Christmas season, and I could listen to Bebo's voice all day long. It's like honey.

4) Any of these Cds by the Appalachian Christmas Quartet.
--The ACQ isup of some of the Kid Brothers of St. Frank, headed up by Michael Aukofer. The roster changes from year to year, but has included some of our favorites, such as Brad Layher, and Erik Hauk. The music is primarily instrumental, but using instruments you won't hear on your typical Christmas albums. These Cds are heavy on Hammered Dulcimer, Lap Dulcimer, Violin, ethnic percussion, guitar, mandolin, lute and even such unusual instruments as boomwhackers and the PVCiano. The official 4th member of the quartet is the jackalope.

5) The Darkest Night of the Year by Over the Rhine.
-- As in anything they do, Karin's voice is beautiful. They have a new Christmas Cd out for 2007 called "Snow Angels" but we don't have it yet. It's on our list for next year though!

6)Wishing for This by Leigh Nash.
--Leigh is probably best known as the voice behind Sixpence None the Richer, but has a couple of solo projects out as well. This is yet another artist with a distinctive voice, but so lovely. One of my faves on this CD is Eternal Gifts. This CD is also new for this year.

7) When My Heart Finds Christmas and Harry for the Holidays, both by Harry Connick Jr.
--These are 2 great feel good Christmas Cds that will appeal to most people. They have a lot of fun songs as well as the traditional carols. Harry's voice is so easy on the ears, and these Cds are destined to become Christmas classics.

8) Holiday Songs and Lullabyes by Shawn Colvin.
--Sweet, simple and perfect for this time of year.

9)Noel by Various Artists- Via Records 1995.
-- Shane and I got this CD the week we got married. I remember listening to it driving around Gatlinburg on our honeymoon, and it is still one of our favorites. If you manage to find one laying around in a bargain bin somewhere, be sure to snatch it up! It has some great renditions of classic songs, as well as some really good artists. If I had to compare it to anything currently on the market it would be the "City on a Hill" series.

10) Wintersong by Sara McLachlan.
-- Despite consistently spelling this musician's name incorrectly, I think she is great! Keep in mind, I do not listen to top 40 radio, am not much into "Pop" music, but I love Sarah MCLachlan. This CD came out last Christmas and it is just delightful. Yet another artist with a sweet voice that will appeal to most people.

11) WeatherVane Christmas: The Gift by Various Artists
-- This Cd is apparently out of production and impossible to find. It featured great artists (see previous posts on Real Music by Real People) such as Jason Harrod, Claire Holley and others. Weathervane was a bit of a precursor to Paste Music and a sibling of sorts to Awakening Records- just in case anyone remembers them. Anyway, this Cd has a lot of nice acoustic Christmas favorites and a number of original songs as well.

We also downloaded some great new Christmas Cds from Jars of Clay, Martha's Trouble and Kevin Max (formerly of DC Talk)- all from Emusic. I have not listened to any of those enough to list them as favorites yet, but there is always next year!