Flashback Friday -- The Christmas Music Edition

Christmas, for me, equals the Carpenter's Christmas CD.  This album was the soundtrack of our Christmas season every year of my growing up memories.  It is my all-time fave collection of Christmas music and every year when I bring it out again, I feel like I am back at home.  Simply put, it wouldn't be Christmas for me without the Carpenter's Christmas Portrait playing in the background.  It is, in fact, such a part of my seasonal festivities, that my freshman year of college, I ended up buying my own copy of the CD, simply because I couldn't wait until I got home to start the season right.  :)  While I have come to love other compilations of Christmas music just as much, the Carpenter's still reign supreme -- if only for nostalgia's sake. 

Because I love music and making lists so much, I'll close with my top 3 albums (other than the Carpenter's, of course) that are on my playlist this season:

1. Wintersong, Sarah MacLachlan -- Super gorgeous, her voice is ethereal and transcendent.  I love pretty much every song on this album.
2. Sing Noel, The Lower Lights -- O M Wowza; can I just say again that I am LOVING this CD?  Probably because I really love a blue-grass-y/folksy sound, but more than anything it just makes me want to sing out loud. 
3. Come Let Us Adore Him, The Lower Lights -- What can I say??  I had to get their other Christmas CD, too!  And I love this one just as much.  If not more.  But really -- I can't decide which is better!  The instrumentation is gorgeous, the arrangements are new and different sounding (while still feeling authentic and traditional), and their version of The Little Drummer Boy (my personal favorite Christmas song of late) feels personal yet majestic, all at the same time.  It literally brought me to tears today while listening.
   
   
    
   So there you have it.  Now go out and listen to some beautiful music and have a happy weekend!