I love Christmas. I love music. So why does most of the Christmas music we’re subjected to make me want to choke out Santa and all of his elves? I mean, what’s a guy to do? Answer: The Most Epic Christmas Playlist. EVER!!
Just what is The Most Epic Christmas Playlist. EVER!!, you may ask yourself? It’s my personal holiday obsession – a meticulously curated and carefully mixed collection of the absolute greatest Christmas music there is. I can say it’s the greatest because I listen to everything that gets released and cull it all down to just the 20 best tracks of the year. For 11 years now.
And when I say I listen to everything to find the 20 best tracks, I mean I listen to EVERYTHING. Ne Yo? Check. Dionne Warwick and Friends? Check. Cheap Trick? Check. The Oak Ridge Boys? Check. Rob Halford (yes, THAT Rob Halford, from Judas Priest)? Check. More than 120 albums and EPs, and a few dozen singles this year. My motto: “My ears bleed so yours don’t have to.”
This particular bit of Christmas magic starts in med-September when the first holiday albums are released. And it goes through the 1st of December when The List is published. Does it feel hella strange to be listening to Christmas music when it’s still full on summer in L.A.? Yes. Do I do it anyway? Yes. Does my husband roll his eyes, do an abrupt about-face and bolt the room if he walks in on Christmas music before we’re even in October? Yes.
Is it all worth it? Absolutely.
And the result is … well … quite simply the most epic Christmas playlist ever. 220 tracks chosen by hand (ear) over 11 years. Artists you’ve probably never heard of. Brilliant covers of song you thought you’d heard every possible version of. Amazing original music. And not a clunker in the bunch. It truly is a Christmas miracle. I’m not saying it’s the only Christmas music you’ll ever need, but if *you* said that, I wouldn’t argue.
1) Merry Xmas Everybody – Robbie Williams (feat. Jamie Cullum)
2) Christmas All The Time – Meg & Dia
3) The Holidays Are Here – Danny Gokey
4) Sugar And Booze – Ana Gasteyer
5) Home For The Holidays – 11th Hour
6) Give Me Christmas – Sidewalk Prophets
7) Please Come Home For Christmas – Nota
8) A Hand For Mrs. Claus – Idina Menzel (feat. Ariana Grande)
9) It Don’t Have To Be Cold To Be Christmas – Tim Rushlow
10) This Year For Christmas – Phil Wickham
11) All I Want This Christmas – Leslie Cours Mather
12) Winter Wonderland – Matthew West
13) Like It’s Christmas – The Jonas Brothers
14) Even Santa Claus Gets The Blues – Don Amero
15) I Love The Winter Weather – Brynn Stanley
16) I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Lea Michele (feat. Johnathan Groff)
17) Merry Christmas Darling/What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve – Randy Rainbow (feat. Norm Lewis)
18) Better Than Christmas –LONIS (feat. Daphne Willis)
19) We Do Christmas Like We Mean It – The Collingsworth Family
20) Do You Hear What I Hear? –Pentatonix (feat. Whitney Houston)
BONUS TRACKS
21) First Thing On My Christmas List – The Imaginaries
22) Let It Snow – The Real Group
Follow Kevin’s Christmas Playlist on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/kevins.playlist.35 and get the entire Most Epic Christmas Playlist. EVER!! on AppleMusic https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/the-most-epic-christmas-playlist-ever/pl.u-EVRrIVoMXW