Top 5 CD's of Christmas Music

The top five Christmas cd's will be forever open for debate. Top five country Christmas? Pop/Rock Christmas? Jazz Christmas? Traditional? Classical? R&B? Hip-Hop? I eve toyed with the idea of simply listing my top five favorites! I decided instead to look for the best internet sellers...

#1 I agree wholeheartedly with Johnny Mathis as he sings of Christmas: "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!" And you can hear him sing that Christmas song on of the best selling Christmas CD's on Amazon.com called Now that's What I Call Christmas! (Utv ) This series contains many of America's favorites from traditional carols to jazz and pop holiday tunes, as well as "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," by Brenda Lee. The CD contains songs by stars like the afore mentioned Mathis, Dean Martin, Harry Connick, Jr., Bing Crosby...the list is quite impressive. Style variation from track to track means you can turn it on and forget about it without searching for a favorite every three minutes because they are all hits!

#2 A Christmas Festival, (RCA) Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. The title track of this CD says it all! Some of the finest instrumental versions of some of the most popular Christmas songs are right here. "Christmas Festival" (track 1) is a truly timeless work by Leroy Anderson, as well as his "Sleigh Ride." Turn it on and sip some egg nog or use it as background music when friends visit during the season!

#3 Mary Did you Know? (Word) is a favorite with both Country and Inspirational audiences. Filled with that Country Gospel joy, your favorite Nashville artists create some of the finest Christmas music on disc. Country icons like Vince Gill, Randy Travis, and Kenny Rogers join some relatively new voices like Lone Star, Josh Turner, and Billy Dean to create a CD you'll enjoy for years to come.

#4 Contemporary Christian singer Sara Groves holds this spot for her CD entitled O Holy Night (Dedicated.) Traditional carols fill this new work, but Sara's sweet voice brings a feeling that's fresh but not alien. Sandwiched between the carols are new compositions as well, my favorite being "Toy Packaging," which could easily be part of a Broadway style musical.

#5 The Time-Life Music: Treasury of Christmas-Holiday Memories (Time-Life)is last on our list but is a top seller year after year. Some important original are on this CD, like Gene Autry's "Frosty the Snowman" and Burl Ives' "Holly Jolly Christmas." This is one you'll play year after year!

Remember! These are just seasonal top sellers...not an exhaustive compendium of everyone's favorites! Personally, I would also suggest anything by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Manheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Bing Crosby, Perry Como,...um, sorry...my age is showing!

Merry Christmas!