7 great Google Play Music holiday playlists to make the season even better
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, and you know what that means: break out the Christmas music!! There's so much out there to listen to, but if you don't have your own curated holiday mixtape, check out these public playlist on Google Play Music!
You gotta kick it off with the classics, and this aptly-named Holiday Party Playlist is a real "Now That's What I Call Christmas Music". From Andy Williams and Bing Crosby to Michael Buble and Lady Antebellum, this playlist will hype up your holiday cheer and your nostalgia. Break out the eggnog and double the bourbon!
Holiday Party Playlist by Michael Schultz
Holiday music isn't just big band beauties and intimate piano ballads; there's holiday music for each and every genre, but none will pep up a party quite like Holiday Soul Music. Otis Redding, Jackson 5, and Mary J Blige, this shuffle will bring some soul back to a sometimes soulless holiday bustle.
Holiday Soul Music by Jeremy Haney
This mix, simply titled Christmas, brings some new life to the classic Holiday fare with Glee, Pentatonix, and Leslie Odom Jr. alongside the standards. It's got life and shine to it, and we could use some fresh energy this Christmas after a long, exhausting year.
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Happy Holidays is a shorter playlist, but it's got the holiday spirit through and through. It's a quick shot in the arm, just to pep you up as you try to navigate the ridiculously crowded stores, or rush to get your home presentable before company comes up. Keep it downloaded for the car while you're stuck in traffic when everyone makes their mad dash home.
There's soul, there's orchestra, there's classical, and then there's pop holiday music. Now, scoff if you must, but this station is perfect for those who roll their eyes when someone puts on Andy Williams' Happy Holidays for the one billionth time, or folks who hear Mannheim Steamroller and get flashbacks to being snowed in with their parents and nothing to do during the holidays. This station has a couple of the more recent standards, such as Josh Groban's Noel album and Michael Buble's Christmas, and also features newer holiday albums from Sia, fun, Hansen, and Pentatonix.
This is the station to go to if you want holiday cheer without cliche.
All I Want For Christmas is Pop by Google Play Music
With so much holiday music out there, it's easy for much of it to get lost, and while there are hundreds of holiday classics that we pull out every year, most of them are performed by male singers. That's a shame because there are stunning holiday albums by female artists of every decade and style, and Google is showcasing them in their Ladies of Christmas radio station. From Eartha Kitt to Peggy Lee, from Idina Menzel to Kristin Chenoweth, this station is beautiful and bright.
Ladies of Christmas by Google Play Music
I'm huge on Christmas music, so it should come as no surprise that I've got a Christmas mixtape that can go for hours and hours. Unfortunately, some of my favorite tracks on here aren't in the Play Music streaming library so they won't come across, but I add to this mix every year and it never fails to get a smile on my face. There's a little something for everyone, from cartoons to classics to carols old and new.
Because after all, we could all use A Little Holiday Cheer.
Ara Wagoner was a staff writer at Android Central. She themes phones and pokes YouTube Music with a stick. When she's not writing about cases, Chromebooks, or customization, she's wandering around Walt Disney World. If you see her without headphones, RUN. You can follow her on Twitter at @arawagco.