The List #46: The Only Christmas Playlist You'll Ever Need

Keep your Feliz Navidad.

Santa Claus has reached Herald Square in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, so it is now legal to play Christmas music according to the Constitution. Under Project 2025, it will be mandatory.

However, despite the rich abundance of excellent carols, jazz standards, and classical repertoire on offer, some people and department stores continue to insist on blaring “Feliz Navidad”—three minutes of tedious janglecore that always feels like ten—over every available loudspeaker. I won’t go so far as to say that this should be a felony, but just a little jail time couldn’t hurt. The same goes for “So This is Christmas,” a litany of banalities that would embarrass ChatGPT, and “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” a self-righteous guilt trip masquerading as a song. We don’t have to live like this! We have options!

Here are some of the best ones. To rescue you from wallowing in lyrical squalor, I present five indispensable Christmas albums without which no holiday playlist is complete.