That unholy trinity alone should sell you on the disc, but that's just the tip of the hard-rocking talent assembled here. Lemmy takes the lead on Chuck Berry's 'Run Rudolph Run' as Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) back him up. Nothing (and nobody) says 'happy holidays' quite like Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister - a fact that appears to be the impetus behind this collection of metal-ized Christmas songs. We Wish You a Metal Xmas and a Headbanging New Year (Armoury Records) Ledisi's new songs won't necessarily make it into the modern Christmas canon, but her take on the Motown chestnut 'Give Love on Christmas Day' is worth hearing, as is her duet with Keb' Mo' on 'Please Come Home for Christmas.' Her brand of soul is more neo than retro, and on It's Christmas, she works through a mix of originals and low-lit classics. New Orleans-born soul singer Ledisi lost to Amy Winehouse at the 2008 Grammy Awards for Best New Artist, but this collection (and Winehouse's appetite for destruction) might prove Ledisi a strong contender for the title of Soul Queen.

Some tinker with the classics and some remain reverent to the spirit of the season, but all are worth a spin. Here are a few of the best Christmas albums released this year. Either way, each year artists mine the rich cache of holiday songs for themed albums, while adding a few originals of their own to the mix. Of course, almost all of these Christmas songs are great for kids, especially when you're baking cookies or wrapping presents together.Some music fans will insist the art form of the Christmas album achieved perfection with Vince Guaraldi's score to A Charlie Brown Christmas others will argue for the supremacy of A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. And there are plenty of R&B and religious-based numbers as well. We have some of the most popular country jingles centered around Christmastime, including the best holiday hits from Dolly Parton. We've got classics (think traditional numbers like ' The 12 Days of Christmas' and 'Jingle Bells'), as well as modern Christmas songs from Mariah Carey, Michael Bublé, Kelly Clarkson and more. We've put together the ultimate Christmas playlist, including all of your favorite merry holiday tunes. If you happen to be one of those people who can’t wait to belt out the best Christmas songs of all time, have we got a treat for you. But if we're being honest, listening to Christmas carols on repeat starts way before December 25. There are very few holidays where a great playlist is needed to make your day more fun.

The best holiday albums non religious