My Baker's Dozen Favorite Christmas Songs

This list has a strong bias toward up tempo songs and because we all like to discover things I have also included many that perhaps, and even hopefully, you have not heard before. 

Carol of the Bells - August Burns Red. August Burns Red is a Christian band from Mannheim, PA. But as lead guitarist JB Brubaker says, Christian is not a style of music and the style of these guys, is described by Wikipedia as Metalcore. What ever you call it, this version of Carol of the Bells rocks … hard. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUId5f1-KbE

 Angels We Have Heard on High - Andrea Bocelli. I’m generally not a big fan of classical music but Bocelli’s vocals are undeniably inspiring. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlhdKTYwdsY

 We Wish You a Merry Christmas – Enya. Enya is one of my favorites. She is known for her rich melodic sound and this is her best Christmas song. The song traces its roots back to the 1500s.       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Gf4Ihv1zwc

 Wizards in Winter – Trans Siberian Orchestra. An original instrumental that has become a Christmas classic mostly because of the awesome Christmas light shows it has inspired. Disappointingly, TSO are not Russian, they were founded by New York City music producer Paul O’Neill. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szLmAPW39uE

 Christmastime – Smashing Pumpkins. You wouldn’t expect the Smashing Pumpkins to produce a traditional Christmas ballad but here you have it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXYffxwb6J0

 Jingle Bell Rock – Aly and AJ. Bubble gum rock? Sure. But these sisters still rock out on this modern classic.           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PJhZUUKEeI

Run Rudolph Run – Chuck Berry. This song has been covered by the likes of Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow and even Steven Tyler and Brad Paisley. Still no one does it better than the incomparable Chuck Berry. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YY4_d_JILH4

Walking in a Winter Wonderland – Phantom Planet. A bit punchier than Bing Crosby’s standard rendition but a nice mix of traditional with a bit of rock mixed in.                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEDg1qom9J4

 I’m Dreaming of a … White Christmas – Passion Fruit. Wikipedia calls them a “Eurodance/Bubblegum band”, which can't be good right?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVUYjr6daF0

 Silver Bells – Twisted Sister. I’m not a Twisted Sister fan but Dee Snider does have a fantastic voice and the audience singing along is great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE9aC72kuj0

 12 Days of Christmas - Straight No Chaser. Inventive and funny this take on the 12 days of Christmas mashes up several Christmas tunes and even "Africa" by Toto with great effect.                   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

 Holiday – Greenday. This is a Christmassy instrumental version of Greenday’s catchy “Holiday”. . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQJbhtalPJY

 Holly Jolly Christmas – Burl Ives. This rendition is livelier than Christmas songs produced by crooners such as Bing Crosby or Frank Sinatra yet it could still be played with them and not appear out of place. It was written by Johnny Marks who also wrote “Run Rudolph Run”, “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”, and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree”. Marks like many great Christmas song writers was Jewish.               https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVMCUtsmWmQ