Various Artists - "Now That's What I Call Christmas!"

Various Artists - Now That's What I Call Christmas!

2001, UMG

Disc One:

1. Nat King Cole - "The Christmas Song"

2. Bing Crosby - "White Christmas"

3. Elvis Presley - "Blue Christmas"

4. Frank Sinatra - "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"

5. Tony Bennett - "Winter Wonderland"

6. Ella Fitzgerald - "Sleigh Ride"

7. Dean Martin - "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!"

8. Perry Como - "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays"

9. Johnny Mathis - "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year"

10. Burl Ives - "Holly Jolly Christmas"

11. Gene Autry - "Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer"

12. Elmo & Patsy - "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"

13. Brenda Lee - "Rockin Around the Christmas Tree"

14. Bobby Helms - "Jingle Bell Rock"

15. The Beach Boys - "Little Saint Nick"

16. Carpenters - "Merry Christmas Darling"

17. Kathy Mattea - "Christmas Collage"

18. Bing Crosby & David Bowie - "Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth"

Disc Two:

1. John & Ono - "Happy Xmas (War is Over)"

2. Bruce Springsteen - "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"

3. Band Aid - "Do They Know It's Christmas?"

4. Paul McCartney - "Wonderful Christmastime"

5. Michael Bolton - "Our Love is Like a Holiday"

6. Harry Connick, Jr. - "(It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Claus"

7. Diana Krall - "Jingle Bells"

8. Manheim Steamroller - "Away in a Manger"

9. Ottmar Liebert - "Deck the Halls"

10. Gloria Estefan - "Love on Layaway"

11. Celine Dion - "Don't Save It All for Christmas Day"

12. Joe - "This Christmas"

13. The Isley Brothers - "Special Gift"

14. The Big Yard Family - "All We Need is Love (Christmas in the Yard)

15. Britney Spears - "My Only Wish (This Year)"

16. *NSync - "You Don't Have to be Alone (On Christmas)

17. Luther Vandross - "O Come All Ye Faithful"

18. Boyz II Men - "Silent Night"

This collection has as much Christmas music as one can possibly cram onto two CDs. I'd say 3/4ths of it is pretty dang good. The first disc is solid with classics from Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Tony Bennett. It also has some of the sillier songs like "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Grandma Got Runover By a Reindeer" - all by the original artists - all good. It even has Bing Crosby and David Bowie and their version of "Little Drummer Boy" which is probably my all time favorite version of that song. The second disc starts out good but ends up a fetid pile of suck by the end. I like John & Yoko, Band Aid, and I love the synth-tastic "Wonderful Christmastime." But Britney Spears? *NSync? Who the heck is the Big Yard Family?! Not to mention Gloria Estefan and Celine Dion chime in to schlock up the disc with some crappy ballads. Still, this is a a good buy for the first disc alone.

Useless Fact: There's a series of "Now" discs... but don't bother, they all suck.