It’s Dec., and you know what that means: It’s time to get hyped for the Holidays, and what better way to get hyped than to bust down to some Holliday tunes. To get myself a little excited for the season, I thought it’d be fun to listen to some classics, as well as some newer holiday bangers, and see how they compare to one another. To do so, I listened to a fistful of The East Vision Staff’s favorite Holiday songs and listed the top 10. Before we get started, I have a few caveats.

I’m only using the songs added by the East Vision staff, which was only 16. So I’m not using a super-comprehensive list of 100 classics.  Also, these songs are primarily for Christmas specifically. There are a few songs more geared towards “The Holidays,” but unfortunately there just aren’t a lot of songs focusing on other Holidays, due to the extreme popularity of Christmas. 

10. “Baby it’s Cold Outside” – Idina Menzel and Michael Bublé

This song is pretty good, and it’s really carried by the amazing singing. My biggest issues with it are that it doesn’t really put me in much of a mood, and it can feel kind of creepy. To be honest, if this wasn’t such a classic, and if the singing wasn’t so good, I probably wouldn’t like this song at all.

9. “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” – Tyler the Creator

This first song was made for the Grinch movie by Illumination. And while it serves that purpose, and is a really good song to boot, it doesn’t get me into a Holiday vibe. It’s still really good, and outside of not being great for the Holidays, my only complaint is that it’s too short.

8. “Mistletoe” – Justin Bieber

Justin Bieber actually has a lot of Holiday songs, but a lot of them are misses. I’m not really sure if this is his best, but it’s the best quality and sort of gets me into the Holidays. My problem is just that I really don’t like the banjo, it really clashes against the Holiday vibe he’s going for.

7. “A Holly Jolly Christmas” – Burl Ives

The line “Have a Holly Jolly Christmas” is iconic enough on its own to carry this song. Otherwise, though the song is pretty good. It’s nothing super spectacular, it just has some seriously good Holiday-themed lyrics. It’s a bit lower just because of how good the other songs here on out are.

6. “Santa Tell Me” – Ariana Grande

I originally planned to put this higher, but it hasn’t quite reached that level of being a “Classic” for me. Still, Ariana has some fire vocals, and the instrumentals and lyrics really put me in the mood to dance around in the snow. There’s a lot to like about this song.

5. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” – Brenda Lee

This song has like three instruments, and that’s all it needs, this song slaps. The vocals and the lyrics kind of carry this song, but its simplicity makes these elements shine so it works. This song also just sounds like a holiday party, it’s great.

4. “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” – Andy Williams

The singing is a really big part of this song. There’s actually a lot of melody and rhythm with the singing which makes it a lot more fun. While the instrumental isn’t a huge part of the song, it’s still pretty intricate and there are some fun moments.

3. “Feliz Navidad” – José Feliciano

This song is classic, it’s not very complex and it relies so much on its repetition. But that’s what makes it so good. The song could go on forever and ever and I would neither notice nor mind whatsoever. This is a real banger.

2. “The Christmas Song” – Nat King Cole

Another heavily Christmas themed song, but this song is just nostalgic. It’s simple and lowkey, but man it just hits. The thought of the chestnuts roasting on the open fire, the slightly cold weather. It all just sounds so cozy and makes me wish I was there right now. And that I could stay in the Holiday season forever.

1. “All I want for Christmas is You” – Mariah Carey

Not only among the songs I have available, but among every Holiday song ever, this is it. This is the best there is. Mariah Carey is the uncontested Queen of the Holidays, purely because of this one song. It has it all, a banging instrumental, fire singing, and a lyrical theme all about the Holiday season. On top of that, this song really prioritizes people and relationships over presents and objects. It’s the perfect anti-consumerism song to bring the Holiday spirit in full blast.