It seems like I’m one of about five people who enjoy listening to Christmas music for two months straight every year. That said, there are some holiday songs that are better than others. So, in the spirit of the season, today’s tournament is a chance to determine which song is the best.
Which Christmas song is the best?
(Feel free to define best any way you want.)
We have five contenders this week:
- “Last Christmas” by Atomic Tom
- “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen/We Three Kings” by Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan
- “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey
- “Christmas Eve/Sarajevo (12/24)” by Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- “The Twelve Days of Christmas” by Straight No Chaser
“Last Christmas” by Atomic Tom
As someone who worked in retail throughout high school and college, I came to loathe this song as sung by WHAM! But then one of my favorite bands that no one has ever heard of, Atomic Tom, put out their version and it quickly became one of my favorites. Also, you should get Atomic Tom’s CDs because The Moment is one of the best albums ever.
“God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen/We Three Kings” by Barenaked Ladies and Sarah McLachlan
One could make a pretty strong case that Barenaked Ladies’ Christmas album is just a holiday cash grab (“Deck the Stills” – “Deck the Halls” with the lyrics changed to “Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young” over and over is a great illustration of this point), but that didn’t stop me from buying said album or from really enjoying this song.
“All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey
This song is objectively one of the best Christmas songs ever, according to numerous charts. It’s been covered many times, including for that cute scene in Love, Actually where Sam plays the drums to impress his American classmate as well as by Atomic Tom, but I think this version will always be the best.
“Christmas Eve/Sarajevo (12/24)” by Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Okay, so fun fact – The guys in metal band Savatage went on to form the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, which is why sometimes you see this song attributed to Savatage and sometimes to TSO. Either way, I love this combination of “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen.”
“The Twelve Days of Christmas” by Straight No Chaser
This song is fun, original, and very well done. Also, probably from a cash grab album but whatever. They were probably poor college kids at the time.
Honorable mention
“I Am Santa Claus” by Bob Rivers
As a metal fan, and as someone who sometimes gets sick of the same songs over and over and over, I wholly enjoy this parody of Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man.”
So, readers, which song is the best?
In addition to voting in the poll, if you leave a comment below explaining your choice, I’ll randomly pick one reader to receive a free copy of my upcoming ebook, “Spice Pirates,” as well as a $5 Amazon gift card.