Best and worst Christmas songs

'Winter Wonderland'

The best: Reverend Horton Heat (from "We Three Kings: Christmas Favorites")
Compared to Heat’s usual psychobilly freakouts, his 2005 Christmas album is positively subdued. But even when the good Reverend cozies up to kitsch on his twangy version of “Winter Wonderland,” his rough-edged guitar lines will still put a little “Wiggle Stick” in your eggnog.

The worst: Stryper (from "Monster Ballads Xmas")
Listen, we love headbanging versions of holiday classics as much as the next hesher, and the rest of “Monster Ballads Xmas” features fine contributions from such unsavory characters as Skid Row, Faster Pussycat and Warrant’s Jani Lane. But when these hair metal has-beens try to dirty up “Winter Wonderland,” they sound like a Vegas lounge act that just discovered drop-D tuning.

Also performed by: Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Ashanti, Goldfrapp, Barry Manilow, Brad Paisley, Dean Martin, Sugarland, Elvis Presley, Eurythmics, Frank Sinatra, Jewel, Phantom Planet, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Ringo Starr, Cyndi Lauper, Radiohead.