I love Christmas music. Naturally, I enjoy all the classics like Burl Ives and Mannheim Steamroller. But over the last couple years, I’ve found a quartet of albums that I really enjoy, and you may too:
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Pentatonix - PTXMas
Amazon - Apple Music - iTunes - Spotify
An amazing quintet that got their start on reality TV, Pentatonix’s first Christmas album is excellent, and amazing considering all the music comes from five voices. My favorite track is “Carol of the Bells”. -
Pentatonix - That’s Christmas To Me
Amazon - Apple Music - iTunes - Spotify
Released this year, Pentatonix’s follow-up Christmas album may be even better than their last. My favorite track is “Mary, Did You Know?”. -
Pentatonix - A Pentatonix Christmas
Amazon - Apple Music - iTunes - Spotify
I’ve come back from the future to amend this post, and add the new-for-2016 A Pentatonix Christmas. You can see a theme here, for sure, but I really love Pentatonix’s Christmas albums. They’re appropriate in almost any sort of social gathering, and the music is phenomenal. On this album, my favorite track is “Hallelujah”. -
Family Force 5 - The Family Force 5 Christmas Pageant
Amazon - Apple Music - iTunes - Spotify
Definitely not for the faint of heart, Family Force 5 is a “crunk rock” band. I’m old, so I don’t know exactly what that means, but their takes on classic Christmas songs are a ton of fun. I’ve had this album on heavy rotation since Jason Alford introduced me to it a few years ago. My favorite track is, unsurprisingly, “Carol of the Bells”.
So, check out the above, and I think you’ll find your Christmas will be just that much sweeter.
UPDATED 30 November 2016 8:30 AM: Updated links to remove Rdio & Beats; added A Pentatonix Christmas.