A Very Merry List of Holiday Releases (2022 Edition – Updated)
Pauseandplay.com has gathered up a list of upcoming Christmas and other holiday releases. It’s never too early, right? 🙂
You can shop for these holiday titles and more at our Amazon Storefront.
Oct. 28
NEIL DIAMOND
“A Neil Diamond Christmas” (24-track compilation of songs from his four Christmas albums; curated by Diamond and remastered by his longtime engineer Bernie Becker; Hear here; Read here; Double Vinyl; Target-Exclusive Opaque Gold Vinyl; Capitol / UMe) » BUY NOW 
PENTATONIX
“Holidays Around the World” (coincides with their Disney+ special “Pentatonix: Around the World for the Holidays”; producer: Jon Levine; new single: “Prayers for the World”; Download; Apple Music; On Tour; RCA) » BUY NOW
VARIOUS ARTISTS
“NOW That’s What I Call Christmas” (four CDs, 85 songs; Triple Red Vinyl; Amazon UK; Sony Music / EMI) » BUY NOW
Nov. 4
ALICIA KEYS
“Santa Baby” (a mixture of covers and originals; first single: “December Back 2 June”; Target-Exclusive CD, with holiday card; Alicia Key Records) » BUY NOW
KIDZ BOP KIDS
“KIDZ BOP Christmas” (25 songs; KIDZ BOP) » BUY NOW
MANTOVANI & HIS ORCHESTRA
“Christmas Classics” (15 songs; Red Vinyl; Goldenlane / Cleopatra) » BUY NOW
THE MIRACLES
“A Soulful Christmas” (2001 compilation; Red Vinyl; Goldenlane / Cleopatra) » BUY NOW
SWITCHFOOT
“this is our Christmas album” (covers of holiday classics, plus five new original songs; On Tour; Fantasy / Concord)
Nov. 11
LOUIS ARMSTRONG
“Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule” (first collection of his Christmas songs, plus the previously unreleased Armstrong recording of the classic holiday poem, “A Visit from St. Nicholas,” set to newly recorded music by Sullivan Fortner; See here; Read here; Red Vinyl; Picture Disc out Nov. 4; Download; Verve / UMe) » BUY NOW
THE BEACH BOYS
“Ultimate Christmas” (1998 compilation; 26 tracks; Universal Japan) » BUY NOW
CARPENTERS
“Christmas Portrait” (1978 album; their first Christmas LP) » BUY NOW
“An Old-Fashioned Christmas” (1984 compilation; 14 songs; Universal Japan) » BUY NOW
STEVE LAWRENCE & EYDIE GORMÉ
“That Holiday Feeling! (Expanded and Remastered Edition)” (1964 album; with eight bonus tracks; Real Gone Music) » BUY NOW
MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER
“Christmas in the Aire [Vinyl]” (1995 album; American Gramaphone) » BUY NOW
NELSON
“A Nelson Family Christmas” (all-new Christmas collection by three generations of the Nelson family; featuring 14 yuletide favorites by Gunnar and Matthew Nelson, including “This Christmas” with Carnie and Wendy Wilson, plus two Christmas songs by Ricky Nelson and a rendition of “Jingle Bells” by Ozzie & Harriet; See here; Download; UMe) » BUY NOW
THE PLATTERS
“Christmas With The Platters” (1963 album; 13 songs; Universal Japan) » BUY NOW
SMOKEY ROBINSON & THE MIRACLES
“20th Century Masters: The Best of Smokey Robinson & The Miracles – The Christmas Collection” (1999 compilation; Universal Japan) » BUY NOW
JOSS STONE
“Merry Christmas, Love [Vinyl]” (new single: “What Christmas Means to Me”; Hear here; CD out Oct. 21; Download released on Sept. 30; Apple Music; On Tour; S-Curve) » BUY NOW
DONNA SUMMER
“Christmas Spirit” (1984 album; Universal Japan) » BUY NOW
B.J. THOMAS
“Christmas Is Coming Home (Expanded Edition)” (1997 album; with six bonus tracks; Real Gone Music) » BUY NOW
VARIOUS ARTISTS
“Christmas in the City” (15-song Motown compilation from 1993; Universal Japan) » BUY NOW
VARIOUS ARTISTS
“The Greatest Christmas Songs of the 21st Century [Vinyl]” (Green and White Vinyl; 39 songs; Music on Vinyl) » BUY NOW
WEEZER
“Christmas with Weezer” (six-song EP from 2008; Universal Japan) » BUY NOW
Nov. 18
RAY CHARLES
“The Spirit of Christmas [Vinyl]” (1985 album, with the Raelettes and guest Freddie Hubbard; Tangerine) » BUY NOW
RODNEY CROWELL
“Christmas Everywhere [Vinyl]” (Christmas Tree Green Vinyl; 2018 album; New West) » BUY NOW
GLORIA ESTEFAN, EMILY ESTEFAN & SASHA ESTEFAN-COPPOLA
“Estefan Family Christmas” (Sony Music Latin) » BUY NOW
LOREENA McKENNITT
“Under a Winter’s Moon” (recorded live during a series of seasonal concerts in a historic church sanctuary around the time of the solstice in December 2021, with Canadian Indigenous actor Tom Jackson, actor Cedric Smith and Ojibway artist and flautist Jeffrey “Red” George; See/Read here; Quinlan Road / UMe) » BUY NOW
ANDRÉ RIEU
“Silver Bells” (CD + DVD, recorded live in the Dutch violinist’s hometown Maastricht, with his Johan Straussn Orchestra; Download; Decca) » BUY NOW
THE SMITHEREENS
“Christmas With The Smithereens [Vinyl]” (2007 album; Tollie / Sunset Blvd.) » BUY NOW
VARIOUS ARTISTS
“Christmas Around the World” (28-song compilation, circa 1949-1966, featuring Stanley Brothers, The Lennon Sisters, Jan and Dean, Hank Locklin, Red Foley, Ernest Tubb, et al; Atomicat) » BUY NOW
VARIOUS ARTISTS
“Christmas: The Ultimate Collection [Vinyl]” (Red Vinyl; 18-song set, featuring Wham!, Mariah Carey, Andy Williams, José Feliciano, Dolly Parton & Kenny Rogers, Gene Autry, The Ronettes, et al; Sony Music) » BUY NOW
Nov. 25
CLIFF RICHARD
“Christmas With Cliff” (his first holiday-themed album in 19 years features 10 covers and three original songs; producers: Sam Hollander, Chris Walden; Red Vinyl; Amazon UK-Exclusive White Vinyl; EastWest) » BUY NOW
BUCK OWENS AND HIS BUCKAROOS
“Christmas With Buck Owens And His Buckaroos [Vinyl]” (1965 album) » BUY NOW
“Christmas Shopping [Vinyl]” (1968 album; Sundazed Music) » BUY NOW
Dec. 2
ANDREA CORR
“The Christmas Album” (guests: Ronnie Wood, Donal Lunny, Mairtin O’Connor, Zoe Conway; Vinyl; Amazon UK; Atlantic) » BUY NOW
DAVID FOSTER & KATHARINE McPHEE
“Christmas Songs” (Loma Vista Recordings / Concord) » BUY NOW
VINCE GUARALDI TRIO
“A Charlie Brown Christmas (Super Deluxe Edition)” (four-CD, one-Blu-ray audio box set features 50 never-before-heard outtakes from five recording sessions, plus a new 2022 stereo mix of the original 1965 album from the original two- and three-track sources by Grammy-winning engineer Paul Blakemore; housed in a 59-page hardcover book; Hear here; See here; CD Deluxe Edition, with 13 unreleased outtakes, released on Nov. 4; Double Vinyl, with 13 unreleased outtakes, released on Oct. 14; Gold Foil Edition; Super Deluxe Digital Edition released on Oct. 14; Apple Music; Merch; Craft Recordings / Concord) » BUY NOW
HANSON
“Finally It’s Christmas [Vinyl]” (2017 album; On Tour; BMG Rights Management) » BUY NOW
Dec. 16
ELTON JOHN
“Step Into Christmas [Vinyl]” (Red 10″ Vinyl; 1973 single, with the original B-side, “Ho! Ho! Ho! [Who’d Be a Turkey at Christmas],” and three bonus tracks; See here; Farewell Yellow Brick Road: The Final Tour; Merch; Mercury / UMe) » BUY NOW
Best-Selling Christmas Albums of All Time
(source: Billboard)
1. Elvis’ Christmas Album / Elvis Presley ~ 10,000,000 copies
2. Miracles: The Holiday Album / Kenny G ~ 7,370,000
3. The Christmas Song / Nat King Cole ~ 6,000,000
4. Mannheim Steamroller Christmas / Mannheim Steamroller ~ 6,000,000
5. A Fresh Aire Christmas / Mannheim Steamroller ~ 6,000,000
6. Noël / Josh Groban ~ 5,890,000
7. Merry Christmas / Mariah Carey ~ 5,500,000
8. These Are Special Times / Celine Dion ~ 5,440,000
9. A Christmas Album / Barbra Streisand ~ 5,370,000
10. Merry Christmas / Johnny Mathis ~ 5,240,000
About the Author
Gerry Galipault Gerry Galipault debuted Pause & Play online in October 1997. Since then, it has become the definitive place for CD-release dates — with a worldwide audience.
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