The Best Christmas Songs (A Hi, Ashley Holiday List)

Christmas music hits differently every year, but this season especially, people are reaching for songs that feel honest. From chart-topping classics to sad girl anthems, these are the best Christmas songs to play right now, whether you’re celebrating, surviving, or somewhere in between.

Christmas music is one of the few things we all pretend we’re not sentimental about, until the first note hits and suddenly we’re emotional in the supermarket. These are the Christmas songs that actually matter. The ones that chart, endure, and refuse to be skipped.

10 Best Christmas Songs of All Time

These are the songs that dominate charts, survive decades, and somehow still hit every year.

1. All I Want for Christmas Is You – Mariah Carey
   The undisputed queen. Currently topping iTunes again, because of course it is. At this point, this song is December.

2. White Christmas – Bing Crosby
   The best-selling Christmas song and single of all time. Over 50 million copies sold. Nothing more needs to be said.

3. Last Christmas – Wham!
   Modern, melancholic, and painfully relatable. A Christmas song for people who’ve loved badly.

4. Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
   Rockabilly joy wrapped in tinsel. Timeless, upbeat, and still everywhere for a reason.

5. The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) – Nat King Cole
   Warm, jazz-infused nostalgia. This song feels like candlelight.

6. Jingle Bell Rock – Bobby Helms
   One of the first Christmas songs to blend rock and roll into the holiday canon and it still works.

7. Feliz Navidad – José Feliciano
   Simple, joyful, globally loved. Proof that Christmas music transcends language.

8. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
   Soft, emotional, quietly devastating if you listen too closely.

9. It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year – Andy Williams
   The song that convinces you everything is fine, actually.

10. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
    Multiple versions, all correct. Cozy, romantic, and endlessly replayable.

10 Must-Have Christmas Songs for Any Playlist

These songs feel non-negotiable. If they’re missing, something is wrong.

1. Silent Night
   Written in 1818, still devastatingly peaceful.

2. Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town
   Childhood in song form.

3. Winter Wonderland
   Light, dreamy, cinematic.

4. Jingle Bells
   Yes, it’s obvious. No, it’s not optional.

5. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
   The ultimate underdog anthem.

6. Deck the Halls
   Pure festive energy.

7. O Holy Night
   One of the most vocally demanding and emotionally charged Christmas hymns.

8. Santa Tell Me – Ariana Grande
   A 21st-century Christmas classic. Flirty, modern, and already timeless.

9. Underneath the Tree – Kelly Clarkson
   Big vocals, big feelings, big holiday energy.

10. Sleigh Ride
    Written during a heatwave, ironically enough. Still magical.

10 Alternative Christmas Songs (For People Who Hate Obvious Choices)

For when you want Christmas, but with edge, sadness, or irony.

1. Fairytale of New York – The Pogues
   Frequently voted the best Christmas song ever. Messy, raw, real.

2. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love
   Ranked the greatest rock-and-roll Christmas song by Rolling Stone for a reason.

3. Father Christmas – The Kinks
   Punk-adjacent, political, and quietly heartbreaking.

4. Just Like Christmas – Low
   Lo-fi, wistful, genuinely cool.

5. Don’t Shoot Me Santa – The Killers
   Dark humor with a holiday twist.

6. 2000 Miles – The Pretenders
   Sadder once you know the story. Grief wrapped in melody.

7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus – Amy Winehouse
   Funky, soulful, and unmistakably Amy.

8. Christmas Tree – Lady Gaga
   Synth-heavy, provocative, and unapologetically adult.

9. I Won’t Be Home for Christmas – Blink-182
   Chaotic, unserious, and perfect for people who hate sentimentality.

10. Christmas Wrapping – The Waitresses
    New wave attitude with holiday burnout baked in.

10 Classic Christmas Songs That Never Expire

These songs carry history. Tradition. Weight.

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful
   Origins debated, impact unquestionable.

2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
   Wesley lyrics, Mendelssohn music, instant recognition.

3. O Little Town of Bethlehem
   Quiet, reflective, deeply comforting.

4. The First Noel
   Ancient and enduring.

5. Joy to the World
   Triumphant and loud in the best way.

6. Away in a Manger
   Gentle and intimate.

7. We Three Kings
   Storytelling through song.

8. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
   Darker than it sounds. Still iconic.

9. Good King Wenceslas
   Based on real history, surprisingly intense.

10. Angels We Have Heard on High
    Latin origins, English translation, eternal chorus.

What People Are Listening to This Christmas

Right now, listeners are gravitating toward a mix of comfort and melancholy. Mariah Carey is dominating charts again, while softer, sadder Christmas songs are quietly trending across playlists and social media.

A Sad Girl’s Christmas Playlist (For When the Lights Are On but You’re Not Okay)

This sad girl's Christmas playlist is for anyone who feels lonely, heartbroken, nostalgic, or emotionally overwhelmed during the holidays.

Not every Christmas is joyful. Some of us are grieving, broke, lonely, heartbroken, or quietly tired of pretending this season feels magical. This playlist is for the girls who show up anyway. Lip gloss on. Eyes a little heavy. Heart still open.

This isn’t festive cheer—it’s emotional realism with tinsel on top.

1. Last Christmas – Wham!
   For loving someone who didn’t choose you back. Still hurts. Still hits.

2. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
   Especially the slower versions. Especially when you listen too closely.

3. Fairytale of New York – The Pogues
   Love that didn’t survive real life. Christmas doesn’t save everything.

4. 2000 Miles – The Pretenders
   Long-distance grief. Missing someone who’s never coming back the same.

5. Just Like Christmas – Low
   Quiet sadness. Soft snowfall energy. Emotional dissociation, but make it pretty.

6. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) – Darlene Love
   Begging disguised as a holiday anthem.

7. O Holy Night
   For the nights you’re questioning everything but still whisper a prayer.

8. White Christmas – Bing Crosby
   Nostalgia is so heavy it almost hurts. Missing a version of life that doesn’t exist anymore.

9. I Won’t Be Home for Christmas – Blink-182
   When you’re angry-sad, not delicate-sad.

10. Silent Night
    The loneliest song when you really sit with it.

My Thoughts 

Christmas music is a memory. It’s grief. It’s joy. It’s repetition and ritual and emotional muscle memory. Whether you’re blasting Mariah, crying to The Pogues, or pretending you don’t care at all... these songs survive because they feel like something.

Being sad at Christmas doesn’t make you ungrateful. It makes you honest. Some seasons aren’t about joy... they’re about survival, reflection, and getting through the night with your heart intact.

Light the candle. Play the songs. Feel it fully.
You don’t owe anyone cheer.

And that’s really the whole point.

xoxo,

Ashley Adeniran

Frequently Asked Questions About Christmas Music

What is the most popular Christmas song of all time?
All I Want for Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey remains the most dominant modern Christmas song, consistently returning to number one every December.

What are good Christmas songs for when you feel sad?
Songs like Last Christmas, Fairytale of New York, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, and Silent Night resonate deeply during emotional or lonely holidays.

Are sad Christmas songs normal?
Yes. Many people experience grief, nostalgia, or loneliness during the holidays, and sad Christmas music helps process those feelings rather than suppress them.