Are there only twenty good Christmas songs? I’m starting to get that idea.

Last year I made a Christmas mix for my friends that included all the tracks below. This year I’m trying to turn it into a tradition, but I’m having trouble finding good Christmas music that I haven’t already used. At least not without tapping further into Sufjan’s and Mindy Smith’s Christmas albums than I already have. That would be a bit lopsided a mix, don’t you think?

Maybe I should have saved a few for this year. Anyone know any good Christmas songs on par with these ones?

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Here’s the breakdown of what I listened to last month that made me happy. Songza made linking ridiculously easy.

Also, December is going to be a dead month for new music. Guess what that means? More meaningless end-of-year lists! Hooray! Expect several of these from me, just like last year.

1. Sigur Rós – “Í Gær” (Hvarf/Heim)
2. Ray Charles – “What’d I Say” (20 Golden Classics)
3. Bright Eyes – “If The Brakeman Turns My Way” (Cassadaga)
4. Neko Case – “Hold On, Hold On” (Fox Confessor Brings The Flood)
5. Alison Krauss & Union Station – “New Favorite” (New Favorite)
6. Jóhann Jóhannsson – “Part 1 – IBM 1401 Processing Unit” (IBM 1401, a User’s Manual)
7. Damien Rice – “Eskimo” (O)
8. Stars – “Your Ex-Lover Is Dead” (Set Yourself On Fire)
9. Stars – “Set Yourself On Fire” (Set Yourself On Fire)
10. The Dillinger Escape Plan – “Nong Eye Gong” (Ire Works)
11. Opeth – “Ghost Of Perdition” (Ghost Reveries)
12. Jakob – “Pneumonic” (Solace)
13. Daft Punk – “Around The World / Harder Better Faster Stronger” (Alive 2007)
14. Feist – “My Moon My Man” (The Reminder)
15. Burial – “Archangel” (Untrue)
16. Bright Eyes – “Lua” (I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning)
17. Regina Spektor – “Music Box” (Begin To Hope)
18. Ryan Adams – “Pearls On A String” (Easy Tiger)