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Michael W. Smith & Friends, “The Spirit of Christmas” 3 and 1/2 star (out of four), Sparrow Records   Song selections: Fourteen holiday classics with a creative twist. The album features sings by nine famous guests including Martina McBride, Vince Gill, Lady Antebellum and Bono, to name a few. Ear candy: “What Child Is This” with Martina McBride and “Almost There” with Amy Grant are two of the best duets on the album. Lumps of coal: “The Darkest Midnight,” a spoken-word track by Bono, just doesn’t seem to fit, and it’s a little startling when it falls into rotation.Listen to it: When you’re in the mood for new versions of some of your holiday favorites. The production value is high and Smith’s talented friends help make the album a great listen. It also includes some amazing orchestrations from the renowned London Symphony Orchestra.   Jaime Green

Sandi Patty, “The Spirit of Christmas” 3 stars (out of four), Reflections  Song selections: Thirteen Christmas favorites plus “The Little Things,” an original tune written by the Christian music star.Ear candy: “Mary, Did You Know?” “Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep” and “Auld Lang Syne” are three of the best on the album.Lumps of coal: There are no real duds on the album. Patti’s voice is just too good to let that happen. Listen to it: The song arrangements aren’t anything new, but they let Patty’s powerful and timeless voice shine. Sandi will be performing songs from the album at Central Community Church in Wichita on Dec. 16. Jaime Green

LeAnn Rimes, “One Christmas, Chapter 1”3 stars (out of four), Iconic Entertainment Records Song selections: A blend of six traditional and not-so-traditional Christmas songs presented in a variety of formats and arrangements.Ear candy: “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” is a fun and spirited fusion of rock, country, hip hop and jazz, while Rime’s presentation of the timeless “Silent Night, Holy Night” is fresh – and beautiful.Lumps of coal: “Blue Christmas” really feels like a blue Christmas.Listen to it: Once you get past some of the unconventional arrangements, you realize it’s Rime’s powerful voice that shines. Jerry Siebenmark

Darius Rucker, “Home for the Holidays”3 stars (out of four), Universal Nashville  Song selections: A dozen seasonal songs by the Artist Formerly Known as Hootie, now an award-winning country singer-songwriter. Ear candy: Rucker’s crystal-clear baritone voice is hard to beat on classic holiday tunes, particularly the orchestral “O Come, All Ye Faithful” and the acoustic “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.” A playful duet with Sheryl Crow on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” is the highlight of the album.Lumps of coal: The two original songs – “What God Wants for Christmas” and “Candy Cane Christmas” – are chock full of kitschy cliches and not much else, as if Rucker brainstormed the word “Christmas” and turned the list into lyrics. Tinsel twinkling: check. Sleigh bells ringing: check. Holly, Santa Claus, angel on a tree: check, check, check. Listen to it: At any holiday get-together, and not just with country music fans.  Suzanne Perez Tobias

Sara Evans, “At Christmas”2 and 1/2 stars (out of four), RCA Records Song selections: Country songbird Sara Evans offers countrified recordings of 10 Christmas tunes, including one original “At Christmas” and classics including “Winter Wonderland” and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”Ear candy: Evans is best on traditional classics that aren’t overly souped up with banjo or steel guitar, including an upbeat “O Holy Night” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”Lumps of coal: The album feels quickly slapped together, and some of the tracks are downright annoying, ya’ll. Her version of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” makes the song’s repetition painfully apparent, though it’s saved by the fact that her young daughters sing along. Also, her original, “At Christmas,” is overly folksy.Listen to it: When you’re hit with a hankerin‘ for some holiday two-steppin’. Denise Neil

Various artists, “Christmas with Nashville”3 stars (out of four), Big Machine Records   Song selections: Twelve traditional Christmas tunes sung by the cast of the ABC series “Nashville.” Ear candy:“Merry Christmas Baby” features jazzy piano and guitar solos that mix well with Aubrey Peeple’s sultry voice. Clare Bowen’s sweet, “Santa Baby” will keep you jolly this holiday season.  Lump of coal:Connie Britton’s voice doesn’t fit the usual grouchy tone of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.” Listen to it:Fans of the show will enjoy listening to their favorite actors sing in a variety of styles.  Lynette Abitz 

Various artists, “It’s Christmas on Mack Avenue”4 stars (out of four), Mack Avenue Records Song selections: A collection of modern jazz artists signed to the Detroit-based Mack Avenue label provide a dozen easy-on-the-ears holiday songs, some instrumental and some with jazz vocalists. It’s the label’s third holiday album.Ear candy: The horn-laden tracks range from snap-along jumpy to smooth and soulful. The best is “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which features a breathtaking jazz vocal performance by Grammy-nominated Cecile McLorn Salvant. And it’s hard not to smile as the musicians from the Christian McBride Trio rattle off the inner-city intersections they’d like St. Nick to visit in “Santa Claus, Go Straight to the Ghetto.” Also wonderful: A version of the Charlie Brown Christmas classic “Skating” from the Hot Club of Detroit.Lumps of coal: It’s a minor quibble, but the bells on “Carol of the Bells” by Warren Wolf are produced by a vibraphone that assaults the ears.Listen to it:In the background during your classy holiday cocktail or dinner party. Denise Neil

Dave Koz & Friends, “The 25th of December”3 stars (out of four), Concord Records Song selections: Twelve Christmas gems by American jazz saxophonist Dave Koz, who pairs as perfectly with vocalists such as Johnny Mathis, India Arie and BeBe Winans as cocoa does with candy canes.Ear candy: Koz opens his album with a vocal-free rendition of “The First Noel” that’s worth listening to at least twice. A fun, toe-tapping duet of “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” with fellow saxophonist Kenny G is one of the record’s highlights, and the upbeat, jazzy “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” — featuring vocals by Grammy award winning singer/songwriter India Arie and brass by Trombone Shorty — will make you want to grab your guy or gal for a swing around the Christmas tree.Lumps of coal: “Do You Hear What I Hear?” is missing the Latin flavor expected from ’80s pop star Gloria Estefan’s big “The Rhythm is Gonna Get You” voice. She comes across as bored in this rendition. The album’s title track, “The 25th of December” also is a disappointment.Listen to it:The CD offers a reasonably nice mix for a low-key holiday gathering or for an evening of snuggling fireside with your sweetheart. Either way, bring wine. Amy Renee Leiker

Seth MacFarlane, “Holiday For Swing”2 stars (out of four), Republic Records Song selections: A mix of traditional and lesser-known Christmas songs amped up to maximum 50s swing.Ear candy: “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” sung with Sara Bareilles, “Marshmallow World” and “Little Jack Frost Get Lost” play to MacFarlane’s vocal strengths.Lumps of coal: “I’ll be Home for Christmas” and “Moonlight in Vermont” have great arrangements, but MacFarlane’s phrasing is occasionally the equivalent of someone dropping a snowball down your shorts.Listen to it: Joel McNeely’s conducting and arrangements are the real reasons to get this album, they shimmer and pop with the best of the big bands. If you’re starting to get the winter blues, this album will erase them. Michael Roehrman

Pentatonix, “That’s Christmas to Me”4 stars (out of four), RCA Song selections: Eleven creative arrangements from the a cappella quintet that came to prominence in 2011, when it won the third season of NBC’s “The Sing-Off.”Ear candy: It’s no wonder the group’s breathtaking version of “Mary, Did You Know?” has gone viral on YouTube this season. A delightful mash-up of “Winter Wonderland” with Bobby McFerrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” is another winner, along with a beautifully harmonized “Sleigh Ride” and Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal.” Even the overplayed “Let It Go” gets a fresh twist.Lumps of coal: Nope. This one is blessedly coal-free.Listen to it: If you’re looking for something fresh and joyous this holiday season. Suzanne Perez Tobias 

Various artists, “Christmas at Downton Abbey”4 stars (out of four), Warner Bros. Song selections: “Christmas at Downton Abbey” brings back classic treatments of carols, including much of the Christmas canon on a double, 45-track CD. Four cast members from the PBS series (well, Kiri Te Kanawa was on one episode) contribute their vocals, though much of the CD is sung by the Choir of Kings College, Cambridge, and other singers.Ear candy: If are old enough to have listened to Firestone Christmas albums, you’ll feel their return at the beginning of this CD, as retro, bright and cool as a 1960s aluminum Christmas tree. Julian Ovenden (Charles Blake on the show) sings a lovely “O Holy Night,” and you’ll love having the recording of Jim Carter (Mr. Carson the butler) narrating “ ’Twas the Night Before Christmas.” The beautiful choir reaches stirring crescendos, especially on “Once in Royal David’s City,” “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” and “O Come, All Ye Faithful.”Lumps of coal: It’s fun to hear Elizabeth McGovern (countess of Grantham) sing, but she oddly clips her words on her two carols, even though that somehow contributes to the vintage sound of the recording. The CDs open with Parts One and Two of “The Downton Christmas Suite” — melodramatic, tense music that should be skipped.   

Listen to it: In order to let, in the words of “O Holy Night,” the soul feel its worth. Annie Calovich

Idina Menzel, “Holiday Wishes”4 stars (out of four), Warner Bros. Song selections: Twelve Christmas classics belted by the Broadway singer and actress who provided the voice of Elsa in “Frozen” (and got “Let it Go” stuck permanently in your kids’ heads).Ear candy: Menzel’s strong, clear voice is suited for anything. Her soaring high notes will give you goosebumps, and her acting skills help her sell the quieter songs, too. The best tracks are “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” a flirty, fun version performed with velvet-voiced Michael Buble, and a soulful cover of Joni Mitchell’s “River.”Lumps of coal: The album doesn’t have a bad song on it, but there should be a law that a voice as big as Menzel’s must record “O Holy Night” so we can savor that high note. She didn’t.Listen to it:When your kids finish watching “Frozen,” get in their “Frozen” jammies and begin hanging their “Frozen” ornaments on the tree. Denise Neil

Earth, Wind & Fire, “Holiday”3 stars (out of four), Legacy  Song selections: Children of the ’70s can play “Name That Earth Wind & Fire Tune Contained in This Christmas Carol” while listening to this upbeat, breezy take on the holiday classics by the R&B band of yesteryear. Ear candy: Who would expect to hear strains of “That’s the Way of the World” during “O Come, All Ye Faithful” or “Sing a Song” during “Sleigh Ride”? The frosty weather immediately warms up. “September” is reprised as “December”: “Do you remember/The 21st night of December?” and “Happy Feeling” becomes “Happy Season.” Most of the songs are catchy, happy listens. Lumps of coal: You won’t buy this CD for the quality of the vocals. Off-key “Every Day Is Like Christmas” brings joy only when the horns take over. And ETW surprisingly adds Asian to its long list of genres, performing a modern version of the traditional Japanese song “Snow.” It’s oddly appealing (try getting rid of this earworm) but jarringly out of sync with the rest of the album. Listen to it:When you need some aerobic exercise to balance out the eggnog and fudge, or when driving around town, let the CD provide an entertaining soundtrack to whatever you see happening out in the world. 

Annie Calovich

Mormon Tabernacle Choir, “Let the Season In”2 and 1/2 (out of four), Naxos of America, Inc. Song selections: Eighteen holiday songs featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Orchestra at Temple Square, with operatic soprano Deborah Voigt.Ear candy: The best tracks are ones you don’t hear on every other holiday album, including Bach’s stirring “Magnificat in D Major” and “A Russian Christmas Festivity,” which features excerpts from works by Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. John Rhys-Davies’ reading of the biblical Christmas story (Luke 2) is a delight as well.Lumps of coal: The sardonic “Twelve Days After Christmas,” written by Frederick Silver and made famous by Carol Burnett, who performed it on her television show in 1968, seems out of place amid the album’s more grandiose fare.Listen to it: With friends who appreciate rousing choral numbers and operatic versions of holiday tunes.  Suzanne Perez Tobias

Ellen DeGeneres, “Ellen’s The Only Holiday Album You’ll Ever Need – Volume I”2 and 1/2 (out of four), Target exclusive Song selections: Fourteen tracks by various artists spanning several decades and genres, compiled by comedian and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.Ear candy: Variety is this album’s forte. Songs include Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” the Waitresses’ “Christmas Wrapping,” Cyndi Lauper’s “Feels Like Christmas” and Lady Antebellum’s “Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!” The compilation even includes Kelly Clarkson’s “Underneath the Tree,” a break-out holiday single from last year.Lumps of coal: While the title is no doubt meant as a joke, buyers should note that the compilation doesn’t include any traditional religious hymns. Maybe those will appear on Volume II.Listen to it: If you like your holiday helpings of The Jackson 5 and Jose Feliciano with a side of Lady Gaga, Coldplay and Wham! Suzanne Perez Tobias

Jim Brickman, “On A Winter’s Night: The Songs and Spirit of Christmas”2 and 1/2 (out of four), Green Hill Song selections: Fourteen classic and contemporary holiday carols, plus a delightful bonus tune by pianist Jim Brickman. He invites singers or other instrumentalists to join on about half of the tracks.Ear candy: Country music icon Kenny Rogers’ distinctive voice shines on Brickman’s version of “That Silent Night” and a flute-piano duet on “Away in a Manager/Bring a Torch” delights. Although it’s decidedly void of Christmas references, the tribute “Clouds” is a wonderful addition to what would be an otherwise bargain-bin-worthy CD and is cheery enough to draw smiles from even the Grinchiest this holiday season.Lumps of coal: Holiday favorites “All I Want for Christmas Is You” and “Ol’ Saint Nick” feel sluggish and just aren’t magical without vocals. Likewise, “Blue Christmas” — probably most famously performed by rock-and-roll king Elvis Presley — loses meaning without a singer crooning over his absentee lover.Listen to it: At best, the CD should play on rotation with peppier albums against the backdrop of a bustling Christmas party. Or use its slow-paced songs to slip into that much-needed long winter’s nap. 

Amy Renee Leiker