Are you dreaming of a White Christmas?
It’s that time of year again.
With temperatures beginning to drop, all of the major channels releasing their festive TV schedules, and jingle bells beginning to ring, it’s time to curate the best Christmas songs for your holiday playlist.
And if you happen to need a little help putting together your list this year, then look no further.
From Mariah Carey’s festive ode, All I Want for Christmas Is You to Shane MacGowan’s controversial Christmas classic Fairytale of New York, read on for some of the very best Christmas songs in no particular order.
Best Christmas songs of all time
All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
It’s impossible to even imagine Christmas without Mariah Carey’s quintessential track All I Want for Christmas If You.
A 1994 recording from Carey’s album Merry Christmas, the song has become synonymous with Christmas cheer.
When it first came out in 1994, the song didn’t make it higher than 12th place on the Billboard Hot 100 list. But its popularity has grown in years come by, with the track making the Hot 100’s top 10 for the first time in December 2017 and soaring to No. 1 for the first time in December 2019 (for three weeks).
White Christmas – Bing Crosby
Over eight decades since it debuted on Bing Crosby’s radio show, White Christmas remains one of the most popular Christmas tunes, capturing the feelings of nostalgia and longing that surround Christmas.
Originating on Irving Berlin’s soundtrack for the 1942 film Holiday Inn, the song is a bittersweet classic and transports you back to the festive periods of yesteryear.
We’re not crying, you are.
Last Christmas – Wham!
Pop duo Wham!, composed of Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael, released Last Christmas in 1984, but it didn’t hit the top of the charts until 2017, following Michael’s death.
The song has continued to resonate year after year, a true ode to heartbreak and once again nails that bittersweet mix that people can’t help but be attracted to at Christmas.
The song even went on to inspire a festive film penned by Emma Thompson – Last Christmas, starring Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding.
Not to mention, the original music video is an absolute classic.
Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
It’s really the only way to interact with your Christmas tree, but Brenda Lee’s song is another long-lasting classic.
In need of a Christmas boogie, then Brenda will get you up on your feet – and she’s up on hers too in the more recent joyful official video.
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love
One of the most iconic Christmas songs ever that’s bound to get you in a festive mood, Love’s vocals and the lyrical longing only serve to add poignant depth to the merry melody.
Fairytale of New York – The Pogues (featuring Kirsty MacColl)
A drunken ‘cheers’ and ode to the world and, let’s face it, a brilliant contrast to some of the cheerier and gooier Christmas songs.
In 2023, the song has even more poignance following the passing of lead singer Shane McGowan, meaning both singers of the song have now passed – distinctive singer Kirsty MacColl died in 2000.
The perennial ‘cool kids’ Christmas song and another bittersweet masterpiece. Once again, another iconic music video too.
Feliz Navidad – José Feliciano
Over 50 years after its release in 1970, Feliz Navidad continues to unite people with its bilingual charm.
A song that only gets better the bigger the crowd you’re with too – an ideal addition to any festive party playlist.
Baby, It’s Cold Outside – Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong
The music titans Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong have a whole festive album together, but Baby It’s Cold Outside remains the most popular track from their repertoire – one of many versions of the song.
The song was originally popularised in the 1949 film Neptune’s Daughter and even won an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1950.
While some have felt the lyrics have not stood the test of time, the song in its entirety continues to endure and has been covered by endless big names but Ella and Louis’s remains the best.
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Judy Garland
Judy Garland first sang Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas for a scene in Meet Me in St Louis (1944).
Considering Garland’s own tragic life, the song has only gathered an even greater melancholic resonance. The nostalgic and hopeful lyrics in the face of adversity feel forever relevant for many and are another example of a song capturing the complicated feelings many can experience at Christmas time.
Stay Another Day – East 17
“Don’t think I could take the pain” – the lyrics of longing from 90s boyband East 17 are incredibly emotional and on the whole for a pop song and Christmas no. 1, Stay Another Day proves to be an incredibly downbeat Christmas song but one that touches hearts after all these years.
Songwriter member Tony Mortimer revealed that the song was inspired by his brother’s suicide, adding another angle of poignancy to the pop track.
Sleigh Ride – The Ronettes
Another song from Phil Spector’s festive album, Sleigh Ride is one of the most quintessentially festive songs and one with a sense of flirtation and exuberance.
An upbeat, catchy earworm that remains a firm favourite after all these years and lead singer Ronnie Spector’s distinctive vocals surely is one of the chief reasons we keep coming back for more.
Blue Christmas – Elvis Presley
No music list is complete without the presence of The King himself and Elvis’s cover of the 1948 country song Blue Christmas is another melancholic wonder that utilises the vocal charisma and tone of the biggest solo artist of all time.
It’s a testament to Elvis’s version that every cover since has approached the tune in the same way.
The song was re-released in 2009 to some success with singer Martina McBride being edited in to provide a moving duet, the video of which can be found below.
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas – Michael Bublé
Yes, the original titan of this song has to be Bing Crosby, but you would be hard-pressed to enter a shop during the Christmas season that doesn’t play the cover by Michael Bublé which boasts the crooner’s vocals at his smoothest.
You know Christmas is on the way if you hear this wherever you go. Gooey Christmas goodness in a toasted bun.
2000 Miles – The Pretenders
There’s a theme here. Some of the best festive tunes are rich with melancholy and this downbeat wonder from The Pretenders can’t help but capture that bittersweet and mature mix of emotions many can’t help but feel at Christmas.
The unique and earthy vocals from singer-songwriter Chrissie Hynde are always instantly recognisable and you can’t help but ponder on the heartbreak that the Yuletide brings with her lyrics dropping with grief for a lost love.
The Power of Love – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Despite the song having no allusions to Christmas, the release and marketing of the song have made The Power of Love a Christmas classic.
The nativity portrayal in the music video is iconic but the lyrics capture an almost operatic sense of spirituality and raw emotion.
Co-writer and lead vocalist Holly Johnson told The Guardian: “I always felt like ‘The Power of Love’ was the record that would save me in this life. There is a biblical aspect to its spirituality and passion; the fact that love is the only thing that matters in the end”.
Johnson couldn’t be more right.
Underneath the Tree – Kelly Clarkson
A more recent addition to many’s festive playlist repertoire, Kelly Clarkson has delivered a modern Christmas classic with her upbeat tempo but once again bittersweet lyrical content in Underneath the Tree.
“It just won’t feel the same, alone on Christmas Day,” notes Clarkson in the chorus, offering a romantic but thoughtful twist to an otherwise jolly festive tune.
Read more:
- BBC confirms Christmas TV schedule including Call the Midwife, Death in Paradise
- Channel 4 confirms Christmas TV schedule including Alternative Christmas Message
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