20 Underrated Christmas Songs You Need to Hear This Holiday Season
A festive playlist for those of us who are tired of hearing Mariah Carey on repeat.
I’m the kind of crazy Christmas junkie that Hallmark has made a mint on. I still cry every time Kevin McCallister runs across the foyer floor and leaps into Catherine O’Hara’s arms, I can recite Hugh Grant’s opening monologue in Love, Actually from memory and, most importantly, I begin listening to holiday tunes before the neighbors have even taken down their Halloween decorations.
I love all the hits—from classic crooners like Bing Crosby and Elvis Presley to modern pop staples like John Legend and Meghan Trainor—but after a few hundred listens, even the most magical song becomes a bore. Not to mention that neuroscientists now say the “incessant repetition” of Christmas songs all season long can lead to cognitive fatigue and even negatively impact your mental health.
So a few years back, I began compiling the best off-the-beaten-path holiday tunes I could find. Some were unique covers of well-known songs by lesser-known artists, and others were obscure song and artist combinations I’d never heard before. I scoured Spotify, rummaged around the internet and enlisted the help of similarly festive friends. Like most Christmas songs, they weren’t all the height of music because that’s not the point of holiday tunes anyway. Their magic is meant to make you feel a certain kind of way—nostalgic, wistful, gleeful, sometimes even sad. And since it’s the season of giving, I figured I’d offer a sampling of the songs I’ve compiled for other holiday lovers out there who are sick of listening to Mariah Carey on repeat and need a refresh. Without further ado, here are some of the most underrated Christmas songs of all time, all of which should be in your rotation this holiday season.