Here is the definitive list of the “Top Ten Best Christmas Songs & Best Versions of Them ” updated for 2022.
10) ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ – A Charlie Brown Christmas
9) Alone on Christmas Day – Phoenix*
9) Fairytale of New York – The Pogues
8) Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – U2 no Ronnie Spector no, I mean Darlene Love
7) Father Christmas – The Kinks
6) All I want for Christmas is You – Mariah Carey
5) Happy Xmas (war is Over) – John Lennon
4) Baby Its Cold Outside – Glee Cast Idina Menzel & Michael Bublé
3) Santa Claus is Coming to Town – Bruce Springsteen
2) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas – Judy Garland
1) The Christmas Song – Nat King Cole
*New to the list this year, Phoenix’s cover of “Alone on Christmas Day”, unearthed this long-lost Beach Boys holiday track from 1979 that was never formally released. Phoenix’s version is a highlight in the completely bonkers Netflix holiday special, A Very Murray Christmas.
Here’s a review of ‘A Very Murray Christmas’ . My review – It is creative, heartfelt and absurd. Nothing about it is “fine” or merely “ok”. It’s all train wreck or genius. It is designed to evoke strong emotions. You’ll either love it or hate it.
The U2 version of ‘Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)’ is great but I’m just digging the Ronnie Spector Darlene Love (?) version so much this year. The Glee Cast version of ‘Baby Its Cold Outside’ is certainly charming and beautifully sung, but the Idina Menzel & Michael Bublé version is a bop.
