Holiday albums have existed since at least 1945, when Bing Crosby released “Merry Christmas,” a collection of 8 Christmas songs for Decca Records. Since then, countless popular music artists have released full holiday albums to share their love of the sounds of the season… or simply to satisfy a record contract, or pay their mortgages. It’s a Christmas miracle! There have been dozens of iconic holiday albums released since Bing’s nearly 80 years ago. And now, the Great Pop Culture Debate podcast wants to determine: what IS the best holiday album of all time? Holiday albums discussed include those released by Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin, Bing Crosby, Kelly Clarkson, Andy Williams, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Vince Guaraldi Trio, John Denver, Jackson 5, Carpenters, Kacey Musgraves, Amy Grant, and others.

Join Eric Rezsnyak, Derek Mekita, Jake Pitochelli, and Jonny Minogue as they debate 16 of their favorite holiday albums, ultimately naming the best of all time.

Want to play along at home? Download the listener bracket and see if your picks match up with ours!

Did your favorite not make the bracket? Become a Patreon supporter of the podcast and see if we discussed it in our warm-up devoted to our favorite holiday albums that just missed out on the competition.

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Round 1 Match-Ups:

Match-Up 1: "Merry Christmas" by Mariah Carey (1) vs. "A John Waters Christmas" (4)

Match-Up 2: "This Christmas" by Aretha Franklin (3) vs. "White Christmas" by Bing Crosby (2)

Match-Up 3: "Wrapped in Red" by Kelly Clarkson (1) vs. "The Andy Williams Christmas Album" by Andy Williams (4)

Match-Up 4: "The Christmas Attic" by Trans-Siberian Orchestra (3) vs. "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by Vince Guaraldi Trio (2)

Match-Up 5: "A Very Special Christmas" by Various Artists (1) vs. "Rocky Mountain Christmas" by John Denver (4)

Match-Up 6: "A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector" (3) vs. "The Jackson 5 Christmas Album" by Jackson 5 (2)

Match-Up 7: "Christmas Portrait" by Carpenters (1) vs. "Kylie Christmas" by Kylie Minogue (4)

Match-Up 8: "The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show" (3) vs. "Home for Christmas" by Amy Grant (2)

Want to listen to selections from all the nominated holiday albums? We made a playlist for you.

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Finally, if you want to have a say in what episodes we tackle next, vote in our Topic Polls! And we would love to have you pick your faves in the polls currently open for your votes!

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EPISODE CREDITS

Host: Eric Rezsnyak

Panel: Derek Mekita, Jake Pitochelli, Jonny Minogue

Producer: Curtis Creekmore

Editor: Jeffery Perry