The 22 Best Christmas Songs of All Time

Carols older than the light bulb share this list with pop songs that come back to the charts every December.

1. 1
   Jingle Bell Rock

   Bobby Helms's 1957 rockabilly spin on sleigh-bell songs.
   1000pts
2. 2
   The Christmas Song

   Mel Tormé and Bob Wells's chestnuts-roasting song, made famous by Nat King Cole.
   926pts
3. 3
   Underneath the Tree

   Kelly Clarkson's 2013 song from her first Christmas album, Wrapped in Red.
   762pts
4. 4
   O Holy Night

   Adolphe Adam's 1847 setting of the French poem Minuit, chrétiens.
   708pts
5. 5
   Last Christmas

   Wham!'s 1984 synth-pop song about giving your heart to the wrong person.
   656pts
6. 6
   Merry Xmas Everybody

   Slade's 1973 glam-rock UK number one, still on every British Christmas playlist.
   656pts
7. 7
   Do They Know It's Christmas?

   Band Aid's 1984 charity single, organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure.
   656pts
8. 8
   Sleigh Ride

   Leroy Anderson's 1948 orchestral piece, later a hit for the Ronettes with words added.
   647pts
9. 9
   Blue Christmas

   Elvis Presley's 1957 version of a country song about a lonely Christmas.
   647pts
10. 10
    Santa Baby

    Eartha Kitt's 1953 wish list, from a sable to a yacht.
    579pts
11. 11
    Carol of the Bells

    Mykola Leontovych's Ukrainian carol Shchedryk, first sung in Kyiv in 1916 and given English words by Peter Wilhousky in 1936.
    579pts
12. 12
    Happy Xmas (War Is Over)

    John Lennon and Yoko Ono's 1971 song, sung with the Harlem Community Choir.
    579pts
13. 13
    Wonderful Christmastime

    Paul McCartney's 1979 synthesizer song, recorded alone at home.
    579pts
14. 14
    Feliz Navidad

    José Feliciano's 1970 bilingual song, with one line in Spanish and one in English.
    502pts
15. 15
    Driving Home for Christmas

    Chris Rea's song about sitting in holiday traffic, written in the late 1970s.
    502pts
16. 16
    All I Want for Christmas Is You

    Mariah Carey's 1994 song that returns to the top of the charts almost every December.
    413pts
17. 17
    Silent Night

    Stille Nacht, first sung in 1818 at Oberndorf in Austria, with music by Franz Xaver Gruber.
    413pts
18. 18
    White Christmas

    Irving Berlin's song, sung by Bing Crosby in the 1942 film Holiday Inn.
    413pts
19. 19
    Fairytale of New York

    The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl's 1987 duet about a Christmas Eve in a drunk tank.
    312pts
20. 20
    Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

    Judy Garland introduced it in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis.
    312pts
21. 21
    Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

    Brenda Lee recorded it in 1958 when she was 13.
    0pts
22. 22
    Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

    Darlene Love's 1963 wall-of-sound plea from Phil Spector's Christmas album.
    0pts

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