The Worst Holiday Albums of the Last 20 Years

It seems these days that every musical artist who has a career spanning two albums or more is coerced into putting out a Christmas record. It's a surefire way to drive some record sales and, if you're lucky, become a part of all-Christmas radio station playlists for years and years to come.

But sometimes things go poorly. And that's what we look at today. The Chicago Tribune has compiled a list of 12 of the worst holiday albums of the last 20 years. I'm proud to say I don't have any of these in my collection:

Scott Weiland, "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" (Rhino, 2011). Trying earnestly to croon holiday classics such as "White Christmas" and the title track, the Stone Temple Pilots frontman sounds like an alien intruder who wandered into a Norman Rockwell painting.

Whitney Houston, "One Wish: The Holiday Album" (Arista, 2003). For this set, Houston seemed intent on shoehorning more notes into each syllable than Mariah Carey (who deserves an entry of her own, but there's only so much space), resulting in an orgy of melismatics that often obliterates the spirit of these holiday tunes.

 

Also making the list are offerings from Kenny G, Kenny Chesney, and Afroman. To knock the taste of bad Christmas music out of your mouth, here's a couple of my favorites from Marah and Nick Lowe: