Best New Christmas Albums of 2019
I wasn’t sure if I was going to get the time to do my annual Christmas album review, but luckily for all of my fellow Clark Griswolds out there, I just got back from a road trip where I spent about 30 hours alone in the car. And yes, almost all 30 of those hours were listening to Christmas music.
This was a strange year for new Christmas music. I checked out about 20 new albums, and honestly, very few of them grabbed me. At first glance when I saw which artists were releasing new albums, I thought this would be a pretty good year. Here are some of them.
Idina Menzel, Lea Michele, Mariah Carey, Chicago, Bing Crosby, Robbie Williams, Pentatonix, The Oakridge Boys.
Not a bad list of potential Christmas albums, right? Pentatonix and Mariah Carey both scream Christmas, and their prior albums have become must-have staples in any Christmas music fans’ collection. The new albums they released this year are actually re-releases, which I’m typically not a fan of. Re-releases are usually the same exact album you’ve already heard, just maybe with an extra song added, or some sort of “bonus” feature that never, in my opinion, is worth buying. But hey, if you LOVE Mariah Carey and think her Christmas album is the end all be all of Christmas Music, then by all means, you’ll love the deluxe version.
It’s the same thing with Pentatonix. If you love them, then great, but if you’re looking for something NEW, I’d suggest looking elsewhere, and since my annual Christmas album review is supposed to be NEW music, I’m omitting both Mariah and Pentatonix from my list. I’m going to give you my top 3, cause really, the others were all just very “meh.”
#3 – Idina Menzel – Christmas: A Season of Love
Lea Michele – Christmas in the City
Yes, these are 2 different albums. I have them both at my #3 spot not because I couldn’t decide which one was better, but because these albums are the same damn album. In my opinion, Idina Menzel and Lea Michelle are basically the same person. Their voices and the way they sing songs are almost identical. I feel like it was so stupid for both of them to release a Christmas album the same year. I’d be willing to bet that neither one of them knew the other one was doing a Christmas album, especially because they even sing some of the SAME songs on the albums. Yikes. In fact, each of their versions of “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year” are just about the same EXACT arrangement. I went back to back from Idina to Lea on that song, and even the back-ground singers are doing the same exact thing. How embarrassing. I would bet when one of their camps found out that the other camp also released an album, and when they saw what songs were on each, there was a big “oh shit” moment. Both of these ladies have fabulous voices. If you’re the type of person that likes their style of singing then you’ll probably really like both of these albums. Not sure which one to listen to? I guess I’d lean a little more toward Lea Michelle, but really, just flip a coin, because it doesn’t matter.
Favorite Tracks:
Idina Menzel – I’ll be home for Christmas, Ave Maria/O Holy Night
Lea Michele – O Holy Night, White Christmas, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
#2 – Brynn Stanley – Classic Christmas
I had never heard of Brynn Stanley before I heard this album, and even after googling her, I still have no idea who she is. About half way through this album I realized why I was enjoying it so much. She’s basically the female Michael Buble. If you’re a fan of Michael Buble Christmas music, then you will love this album. This was just so perfectly jazzy and instantly classic and timeless, that I almost gave her the #1 spot. Whoever this girl is, I hope she does more of this.
Favorite Tracks:
Let it Snow
Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me
Jingle Bells
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
#1 – Bing Crosby – Bing at Christmas
I know what you’re thinking. I thought you said your list was for NEW Christmas music, isn’t this a re-release? You’re absolutely right. But…I made the rules, so I can break them. I still stand by the fact that I don’t like re-releases. However, this one from Bing Crosby is different, and here’s why. This album is the original vocals from his classic White Christmas album, but with all NEW arrangements with the fabulous London Symphony Orchestra. The results are amazing. They don’t take any stupid creative liberties, or try to push the boundaries of the songs or anything like that. They just take his original vocals and put them over a fantastic orchestra. If his “White Christmas” album is one of your favorites, then this “re-release” will 100% be your new favorite Christmas album, maybe of all time. It’s that good, and it’s why it has the #1 spot for me this year.
Favorite Tracks:
It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas
Let it Snow
White Christmas (The last track, not Track 4)
I think next year I’m going to expand this a bit… until then! Merry Christmas!
