I guess then, that these would be my unofficial "Top 10 Christmas Albums"...(In no particular order...):
1. Diana Krall -- "Christmas Songs"
2. Al Petteway & Amy White -- "Winter Tidings"
3. Laurence Juber -- "Winter Guitar"
4. James Taylor -- "James Taylor at Christmas"
5. Doug Smith -- "Christmas Guitar"
6. Various Artists -- "Elixir - Great Strings, Great Music, Vol. 2"
7. Tommy Emmanuel -- "All I Want For Christmas"
8. Vince Guaraldi Trio -- "Charlie Brown Christmas"
9. Amy Grant -- All of them, particularly the instrumental tracks featured on each album
10. The Carpenters -- "Christmas Portrait"
So, what you are your favorites?
I usually have a hard time with "best of" lists but I enjoy the discussions so here is my attempt (TODAY, with no particular order):
First, where we overlap:
1. James Taylor -- "James Taylor at Christmas"
2. Doug Smith -- "Christmas Guitar" (and I'll add his other title "A Guitar for Christmas")
3. Vince Guaraldi Trio -- "Charlie Brown Christmas"
4. Amy Grant -- "A Christmas Album"
5. The Carpenters -- "Christmas Portrait"
Now the other 5:
6. Carlos Nakai & William Eaton -- "Winter Dreams"
7. Nat King Cole -- "The Christmas Song"
8. Bing Crosby -- "White Christmas"
9. Dan Fogelberg -- "The First Christmas Morning" (very reverent with some nice original compositions)
10. I'm going to lump Windham Hill's Winter Solstice & Carols of Christmas series here as I like nice, thoughtfull and reflective instrumentals as part of my Christmas listening
And I'd like to throw in an "honorable mentions" category and highlight a song or three:
-- Doyle Dykes -- "O Holy Night" from the album Zelf -- a wonderful rendention IMO
-- John Denver -- "Aspenglow" and "Christmas for Cowboys" from his Rocky Mountain Christmas album -- must hear songs for me every Christmas
-- Steven Curtis Chapman -- "The Night Before Christmas" from the album "All I Really Want" -- this song just moves me every time
-- Glad -- "In the First Light" (a nice summary of the true message of Christmas and beyond)
And finally, I'll put in a plug for some local jazz musicians -- if you like Vince Guaraldi you might like Little Town Trio -- "Carols for Christmas"