OK last-minute shoppers

I love music, as many of you know.

Every year I add a couple new Christmas music CDs to my collection. I wanted to list my favorites, in case you're out there shopping for someone and aren't quite sure what's good. It's such a disappointment to buy a CD and have it turn out to be lame. These selections are definitely not lame, and a must for any holiday collection.

1) "A Charlie Brown Christmas," Vince Guaraldi Trio. Maybe it's a generational thing, but the sweet voices and the jazzy instrumentals that evoke memories of the Charlie Brown Christmas classic really make me grin. This is my favorite.

2) "Home for Christmas," Amy Grant. Amy's "Breath of Heaven" is heavenly, and the other songs are nicely arranged. With her gentle and not-overpowering voice, it's really easy to listen to every song on the album.

3) "The Christmas Song," Nat King Cole. This Capitol Records classic is remastered, dated 1986 and the sounds and instrumentation are timeless. It wouldn't be Christmas without Nat's rendition of "The Christmas Song."

4) "The Gift," Collin Raye. OK, Collin is country, but the sounds on this album aren't. Collin has a gorgeous voice and each song is well done. My favorite is "It Could Happen Again," a ballad about soldiers in World War II putting down their arms on Christmas Eve and celebrating together Christ's birth.

5) "Christmas in the Aire," Mannheim Steamroller. I know some people don't like Mannheim, but Chip's Christmas arrangements are really amazing to listen to, and Christmas would be missing something without any Mannheim Steamroller playing in the background.

6) "The Nutcracker," Tchaikovsky, performed by the Berlin Symphony Orchestra.

7) "Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.

8) "Classical Christmas Collection," performed by Berlin Symphony Orchestra, including Handel's "Messiah" (selections).

9) "Miracles," Kenny G. Whatever. I like it. Slow instrumentals, playing in the background, are my favorite Christmas sounds.

10) "A Christmas to Remember," Amy Grant. Not as good as her earlier Christmas album, but the title track and several other original or new selections make this one worth getting.

I'm always interested in new suggestions so let me know what you like. Especially classic and traditional compilations.