Carols at the Spinnet

Ok, as promised here it is...my list of the creme de la creme of Christmas listenin' guaranteed to make your tree shine a little brighter and your peppermint stick taste a little sweeter!

Top 10 11 12 13 14 Must Own Christmas CDs (in no particular order):

1. Cool Yule (Bette Midler): this is one of the best, all around, Christmas CDs ever. there really isn't one song on it that isn't...DIVINE. the gem of the bunch, though is her cover of the off-beat, yet perenial favorite Melle Kalikimaka,which you may remember from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation. every time i hear that song it gets me in the mood!
2. a Christmas Album (Barbra Streisand): yeah, i'm that gay. i've been listening to this CD since i'm born. mom had it on vinyl (remember vinyl?) and we'd listen to it endlessly at christmas time, while making cookies and cooking. if you can't bring yourself to go into Best Buy and pick the whole CD, then at least do a bump of your favorite upper and download Jingle Bells?, you owe it to yourself and to Babs.
3. Merry Christmas (Mariah Carey): by far and above, one of the most consistantly awesome and timeless christmas albums ever released. Mariah really turns it out with true holiday spirit, style and fun! Plus, you know you can't go without hearing All I Want for Christmas Is You at least once a season, so why bother? buy this CD!
4. Christmas Jollies (the Salsoul Orchestra): it's Christmas. It's disco. It's Chrisco. this has to be one of the hardest albums to find, anywhere. when i worked at Sam Goody, people would come in and try to order it in August. i never understood what al the hype was about till one of the girls i work with, brought it in last year. It's worth every penny that you'd pay on Ebay!
5. Merry Christmas (and Have a Nice Life): the perfect mix of traditional Christmas songs with non-traditional arangements, and original songs (a couple of which were produced by Junior!). again, if you can't bring yourself to buy the whole CD, you absolutely need to DL the Christmas Conga. it's so good, it'll change your life.
6. Home for Christmas: Broadway Cares (Various Broadway stars): this CD will work your Christmas pussy and leave you gagging for more. amazing performances by Roger Bart, Gary Beach, Jane Krakowski, Daphne Ruben-Vega and more. the jewel in its resplendant crown is Liza and Alan Cumming's rendition of Baby It's Cold Outside. it's sure to be a holiday favorite for years to come; you'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll swear that Liza doesn't have her teeth in.
7. a Charlie Brown Christmas (Vince Guaraldi Trio): you've seen the cartoon, you've loved the cartoon; you need to own the CD too. light, jazzy and ambient, it strikes the perfect mood while decorating the tree or watching the Yule Log.
8. Christmas Stays the Same (Linda Eder): another all-around-fantascit CD, Linda really has the perfect voice for a Christmas songs. it's the perfect combination of big band jazziness and St. Pat's worthy orchestral numbers. there's even the most wonferful Lion King-esque arangement of the Do You Hear What I Hear! in the last song on the CD, the Bells of St. Paul's,you can almost see her running through London in the snow, scaring the pigeons in Trafalgar Square looking for her elusive ex, so you don't seem to mind that it has nothing to do with Christmas!
9. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow EP (Michael Buble`): it's only 4 songs, but they're all amazing! Mikey really has come through with the perfect sampling for those of us who get moist with his every syllable.
10. a Very Special Christmas volumes 1, 2 & 3 (Various Artists): ok ok ok it's three cd's , but i tend to think of them as one since i like about 1/3 of each CD and have smooshed them all into one. there are the most timeless of renditions of all your Christmas faves on these CDs: Madonna's Santa Baby, the Pointer Sister's Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Aretha Franklin's O Christmas Tree, and Chris Cornell's Ave Maria. yup...Chris Cornell...the Ave Maria.
11. A Very Rosie Christmas and Another Rosie Christmas (Rosie O'Donnell and Various Stars): did you know Rosie could sing? Well she can't, but you really don't mind when she's singing along with the Dixie Chicks, Jessicca Simpson, Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Barry Manilow (and about a doezen more people). Even better than Rosie's duets are the songs she doesn't sing on, by Darren Hayes, Macy Gray and Elton John. the two must have songs are, by far and above Rosie and Ricky Martin's Aye Aye Aye It's Christmas and my guilty pleasure It's Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) with Cher. so ridiculous that your chestnuts will roast themselves.
12. WCBS-FM's Ultimate Christmas Albums Vol. 1-5 (Various Artists): if there's a Christmas song that was even remotely popular between 1950 and 1990 it's on this set. These are a must have for anyone looking for hard to find one-hit-christmas-wonders like Wham's Last Christmas, the Waitresses' Christmas Wrapping, , Eartha Kitt's Santa Baby and tons of others including one of my favorite songs ever, Lou Monte's Dominic the Donkey.
13. Elton John's Christmas Party (various artists): the Petshop Boys, Rufus Wainwright, the Pretenders, Joss Stone and Kate Bush. can you think of any reason not to own this gem? me neither. pick it up at Starbucks.
14. My Kind of Christmas (Christina Aguliera): another all around good CD with a really impressive selection of original, traditional and religious songs. best of all, the CD has a bonus Thunderpuss mix of the Christmas Song...for those of you into that sort of thing.

5 Must Have Christmas Songs i suggest you DL:

1. Christmas Wrapping (the Spice Girls): this was on their last CD single, Forever. not as good as the orignal (see #12, above), but fun and fabulous in it's own way! since the group has gone the way of Devo, you may as well try and DL it.
2. O Holy Night (Victor Calderone mix) (Kristine W): christmas and club music? yes, my friend it's true. there's no better club diva than Kristine W; i suggest you hit up her website to get a copy of the Limited Edition CD single, which also features Mary Did You Know? another christmas club tune written by KW, herself.
3. O Holy Night (Cher): dunno where i found this live track, but uber-bass Cher sounds like she's about 21 years old. so good, i get chills.
4. Do They Know It's Christmas (Band Aid): ok, i actually found this on Now...Christmas, and spent 20 bucks for it, like 2 weeks ago. don't be a dummy, rip it from a friend or DL it yourself. it's harder to find than a straight guy at a Madonna concert.
5. My Only Wish (Britney Spears): back when Britney wasn't skanky and whorish she released this ultra-sweet Christmas confection sure to melt your heart and put you ina diabetic coma! if you really feel like you need the original, it's on Platinum Christmas with other rarities by Christina Aguliera, Whitney Houston and Toni Braxton. personally, i wouldn't waste the $15.