Thanksgiving has come and gone. Now to get ready for Christmas and a great way to do that is to listen to Christmas music!

I was making bread Thanksgiving morning for our family Thanksgiving dinner. Making bread involves a lot of watching bread dough rise so I used that time to start getting ready for Christmas. Off to EMusic.com. There were two Christmas albums that I had seen in previous searches. These were Christmas albums that I had on vinyl and were worth having so I started there and then searched for "Christmas". The following were the ones that I felt were worth downloading. I have DSL so those with modems might be a bit more discriminating. The total download was 780MB. Best have a large hard drive too.

These albums are also available as CDs through Amazon and other fine music emporiums, with some exceptions noted.

Christmas music that I currently have on vinyl
Both of these are by master guitar players. John Fahey on steel string guitar and Charlie Byrd on jazz guitar.

A New Possibility - John Fahey's Christmas Album Volumes 1 And 2 by John Fahey.
I always thought that this was an odd choice for Fahey. His music never was very commercial and Christmas albums seem to be done for commericial reasons. This album is still pure Fahey.

The Charlie Byrd Christmas Album by Charlie Byrd
Charlie Byrd is a great jazz, classical, and latin guitarist. A very tasty album.

Rock

Christmas by Jorma Kaukonen
Jorma plays guitar for Hot Tuna and played for the original Jefferson Airplane. Some traditional Christmas songs and some not so traditional. A must for Hot Tuna fans.

Jazz

The Christmas Collection by Various Artists - Fantasy / Prestige
A variety of jazz groups. Dexter Gordon, Paul Bley, Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, Gene Ammons and more.

Playboy's Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night by Various Artists - Playboy Jazz / Concord
Not so Silent Night indeed. The likes of Arturo Sandoval, Pancho Sanchez, the Caribbean Jazz Project, and others put a jazz latin beat to these Christmas songs. And then there is that cool Playboy bunny album cover.

A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi
From the Amazon review:
The first time you listen to this disc you will undoubtedly be transported directly back to your childhood. Charles Schulz's Peanuts characters will go toe-tapping and funky-dancing through your mind's eye. Play it a few more times, though (ignoring the dialogue snippets, if you can), and you will begin to truly revel in Guaraldi's wonderful, humorous, deep piano playing. You'll hear why he's such an influence on new age ivory tickler George Winston, but you'll also realize that Winston's holiday music never quite sparkles with the underlying passion, and humor, that twinkles in these grooves. Buy it for the nostalgia--keep it because it will remain one of the most enchanting albums in your holiday collection. --Michael Ruby
And it has Linus and Lucy. What more could you want?

Misc

A Sheffield Christmas Collection by Various Artists - Sheffield Lab
Sheffield Labs was known for their direct-to-disk recordings. This has some jazz, new age, and pop. David Grusin, Pat Coil, Lincoln Mayorga, and more. Tasteful. This doesn't seem to be available on Amazon.

Olde

A collection of chants, traditional, and Elizabethan Christmas songs.

Christmas Now is Drawing Near by Sneak's Noyse (on original instruments)

Elizabethan Christmas Anthems: Music of Gibbons, Byrd, Tomkins, Peerson, Amner, Holborne, Bull and more by The Rose Consort of Viols
This doesn't seem to be available on Amazon.

Christmas Chant: Sacred Chant for Christ's Nativity by Monks & Nuns of Prinknash & Stanbrook Abbeys
This doesn't seem to be available on Amazon.

Old Christmas Return'd (Christmas Music and Song From Past Ages) by The York Waits
This doesn't seem to be available on Amazon.

World

It's A Cuban Christmas by Various Artists - Max Latin
After listening to all the Olde music above, this will wake you up.

Nomad Christmas: A World Music Celebration by Various Artists - Music Of The World
Music from India, Brazil, Bulgaria, the Middle East and ??.

At the edge

Christmas Greetings From New Orleans by Various Artists - Louisiana Red Hot
This is a collection of Christmas novelty tunes from New Orleans. There is one essential cut on this album and that is Louis Armstrong reading The Night Before Christmas. Not to be missed! Not available on Amazon.

Over the edge

An Industrial Christmas Carol by Martin Atkins and the Chicago Industrial League
This is the one for those into Industrial music. Pretty cool.

Valley Of Christmas by Andrei Codrescu
Andrei Codrescu reads the traditional Christmas story about Desirae, Brian, their son Almond Joy, and their Dominican cajun once-a-week maid Maria. Not avaliable at Amazon.

That's all folks!