The Best Christmas Music Videos of All-Time

Christmas songs have been an important part of pop culture for decades, but how many have memorable music videos? Most of the holiday classics we hear on the radio don't have music videos because they were recorded decades ago, long before anyone thought of MTV. Consequently, the best Christmas music videos of all-time are mostly from the last 30 years. They range from rocking tunes to sweet, low-key pop songs.

Here's one opinion of the best Christmas music videos of all-time, counted down from eight to one.

8 Last Christmas, Wham!
Poor Andrew Ridgeley. The Wham! second fiddle had to take a back seat to George Michael even in this Christmas music video. The song and video are totally '80s, with synths and a silly beat playing while the band and friends decorate the tree and enjoy some winter fun in the snow. It's corny, but that's what makes it fun.

7 Jingle Bell Rock, Billy Idol
Rockin' rebel Billy Idol actually released a legit Christmas album in 2006 called Happy Holidays. The "Jingle Bell Rock" music video makes the list because it's kind of ridiculous to see the former bad boy tossing snow in the air, grinning awkwardly and dancing in front of the tree. Idol is smiling so much, you have to wonder if he did the entire video as an ironic joke.

6 Christmas (Baby Please Come Home), U2
When one of the world's biggest rock bands records a live holiday music video, people take notice. U2's remake of the Darlene Love song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" was incredibly catchy and its two-minute black & white clip that captured the band at the height of its game comes in at number 6 on our list of the best Christmas music videos of all-time.

5 Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy, David Bowie & Bing Crosby
Bing Crosby performing with David Bowie in 1977 would be like, say, Barbra Streisand performing with Marilyn Manson today. Yet the odd couple worked. Bowie kept it classy by wearing a suit jacket in the music video, and though it's true Bowie forced the writers to create the "Peace on Earth" verse because he didn't want to sing "Little Drummer Boy," the newly-created song was even better.

4 Christmas in Hollis, Run DMC
The biggest rap group of the '80s invited us all to a Christmas in Hollis, Queens, with a clever holiday rap song featuring horns and sleigh bells. The cheeky video shows the band finding Santa's wallet full of money and mailing it back to him (which results in a big bag of money from Santa under their tree. The trio also finds new chains and Adidas shoes under their Christmas trees.

3 O Come All Ye Faithful, Twisted Sister
Leave it to Twisted Sister to wreck the holiday with a frightening version of "O Come All Ye Faithful." Borrowing the guitar riff from the band's signature hit "We're Not Gonna Take It," the heavy metal veterans win comedy points for their video in which they terrorize a poor, unsuspecting woman with their way-too-loud rendition of the religious classic, earning the number 3 spot on our Best Christmas music videos list.

2 All I Want for Christmas is You, Mariah Carey

Only one Christmas song in the past 20 years has become a certified classic, and that is Mariah Carey's 1994 smash "All I Want for Christmas is You." The music video captures the song's fun, exhilarating spirit with clips of Carey frolicking in the snow with Santa. The music video footage was altered to look "aged," giving the clip a nostalgiac feeling.

1 Reggae Christmas, Bryan Adams
Like most of the '80s Christmas music videos on this list, this one is a little cheesy and suffers from mediocre production quality. But it's just so much fun. How can you not smile when a dreadlocked Pee Wee Herman and the original MTV VJs lead a huge room full of people dancing and yelling, "We're having a reggae Christmas!"

The euphoric spirit makes Bryan Adams' "Reggae Christmas" the best holiday music video of all-time. Merry Christmas and a reggae new year to you too, Bryan.

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