Christmas Music

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I just love Christmas music.

Last Christmas I wrote about Merry Christmas with Johnny Mathis (read about it here). I just listened to it again, and it is still, in my humble opinion, the ultimate Christmas Album,

That said, because I love the sounds of voices blended in perfect harmony, I've decided this will be the year of acapella Christmas music.

A few years ago, a good friend gave me We Three Kings, by the Roches. And what a gift it was! While not totally acapella, their harmony is sublime. This fantastic Christmas album has 24 songs and right now, it's just $6.99 for an MP3 download on Amazon. If you love Christmas music, I can't recommend it enough. To download it, you can click here.

I also just discovered a group called Straight No Chaser. A male acapella group, they have a wonderful Christmas album called Holiday Spirits. They also have another Christmas album called Christmas Cheers. I haven't heard Christmas Cheers yet, but from the samples I've heard on Amazon, it should be every bit as tuneful as Holiday Spirits.

Finally, thanks to Amazon's free Christmas downloads, I've found a female acapella group called Aliqua. This is my very special favorite Christmas music discovery of 2009. The harmony these women exhibit is celestial, really it has to be heard to be believed. I promise you, if you like sweet harmony and beautiful Christmas music, this one is a winner. Their album, called All I Want is currently available for download, also just for $6.99. Or if you just want a taste, you can download their version of "Oh Come Emmanuel" here for free.

I recently had a conversation with a friend on the merits of downloading music from iTunes versus Amazon, and I must say, my preference is Amazon. They give away a ton of free songs, especially at Christmas. I just downloaded twenty five free Christmas songs, which gave me the opportunity to hear groups I would never have heard otherwise. Usually, iTunes only offers one or two at a time. Also, Amazon downloads are DRM free, which means you can use them on as many of your devices as you like (iPhone, iPod, different home computers, etc). And usually, Amazon is cheaper.

But wherever you choose to get your music, there's a lot of wonderful new Christmas music this year. If you find any that you feel is special, please let me know, because I do love Christmas music!