Guide
10 Underrated Christmas Songs
10 Underrated Christmas Songs: Every year around this time, I find myself caught in the same cycle. “All I Want for Christmas Is You” comes on in the grocery store for what feels like the hundredth time, and I’m humming along despite myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mariah as much as the next person, but there’s this whole universe of incredible Christmas music that never seems to get its moment in the spotlight.
I’ve spent years digging through old records, streaming playlists, and those dusty CD collections my parents still keep in the basement. What I’ve discovered is that some of the most beautiful, heartfelt, and yes, even fun Christmas songs are the ones you’ll never hear blasting through the mall speakers. These tracks have soul, they have stories, and honestly, they deserve so much more recognition than they get.
So here are ten Christmas songs that I wish more people knew about. These aren’t your typical holiday hits, but they might just become your new favorites.
1. “Christmas in Hollis” by Run DMC (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Before you tell me that everyone knows this one, let me stop you right there. Sure, hip hop heads and people who grew up in the 80s might recognize it, but walk up to any random person today and ask them to name a Christmas rap song. Nine times out of ten, you’ll get a blank stare or maybe someone will mention a more recent track.
“Christmas in Hollis” came out in 1987, and it tells this perfect little story about someone finding a wallet, returning it to its owner, and getting rewarded just in time for Christmas. The beat is simple, the message is pure, and it captures something real about the holiday season that goes way beyond snow and reindeer. There’s no fancy production or auto tune here, just three guys from Queens telling a story about doing the right thing and getting a little holiday magic in return.
What gets me every time is how genuine it feels. This isn’t some corporate attempt to cash in on Christmas. It’s just a good story set to a beat that makes you want to nod your head. The fact that more people don’t blast this at their holiday parties is honestly a crime.
2. “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Okay, I know this song is huge in the UK and Ireland, but here in the States? Most people have never even heard of it. That needs to change because this might be the most honest Christmas song ever written.
It’s not pretty in the traditional sense. It’s rough around the edges, filled with regret and broken dreams, and the two singers are basically hurling insults at each other by the end. But underneath all that pain and disappointment, there’s this desperate kind of love that makes your chest tight. The melody is haunting, the accordion gives it this melancholy Irish pub feeling, and the whole thing just feels more real than a dozen sugar coated carols about perfect families gathered around perfect trees.
This is a song about people who thought they’d have their lives together by now, who dreamed big and fell short, but who still have each other even when everything else has gone wrong. That’s Christmas for a lot of us, isn’t it? Not perfect, not Instagram worthy, but real and messy and somehow still worth celebrating.
3. “River” by Joni Mitchell (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Here’s the thing about Joni Mitchell: she never did anything by halves, and “River” might be her most emotionally devastating track. Yes, it’s technically a Christmas song. You can hear “Jingle Bells” woven into the piano melody. But this is about as far from “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” as you can possibly get.
The song is about heartbreak, about wanting to escape, about that specific kind of loneliness that seems to hit harder during the holidays when everyone around you is supposed to be joyful. “I wish I had a river I could skate away on,” she sings, and you can hear every ounce of pain in her voice. The piano is simple and beautiful, and the whole thing feels like sitting alone in a room watching snow fall while everyone else is at a party you couldn’t bear to attend.
Not every Christmas is happy, and not everyone feels festive when December rolls around. This song gives voice to that experience in a way that’s both heartbreaking and strangely comforting. Sometimes you need permission to not be okay during the holidays, and Joni gives you that.
4. “7 O’Clock News/Silent Night” by Simon & Garfunkel (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
This one will mess with your head. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel take one of the most peaceful, sacred Christmas carols ever written and overlay it with a news broadcast from 1966 reporting on death, violence, and political turmoil. As their angelic harmonies sing about sleeping in heavenly peace, you hear about casualties in Vietnam, civil rights struggles, and various tragedies.
It sounds like it shouldn’t work. It sounds like it should be jarring or preachy or heavy handed. Instead, it’s absolutely brilliant and devastating. The contrast between the gentle carol and the harsh reality of the news creates this cognitive dissonance that forces you to think about what the holiday actually means in a world full of suffering.
I first heard this during college, and I remember sitting in my dorm room just staring at the wall after it finished. It changed how I thought about Christmas music, about protest songs, about what art could do. This track came out almost 60 years ago, and it feels more relevant than ever.
5. “Christmas Song” by Dave Matthews Band (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Dave Matthews has this reputation for being that guy every college student in the late 90s loved, and sure, that’s part of his legacy. But “Christmas Song” shows a different side of the band. It’s gentle, contemplative, and filled with longing for simpler times and genuine connection.
The lyrics reflect on childhood memories, on time passing, on trying to hold onto what matters when everything keeps changing. “Love is what I’ll remember, love is what I got,” Matthews sings, and there’s something about his delivery that makes it feel like a confession rather than a statement. The acoustic guitar work is gorgeous, and the whole thing has this intimate, campfire quality that makes you want to just sit still and listen.
This isn’t a song you put on at a loud holiday party. This is for those quiet moments when you’re reflecting on the year that’s passed, thinking about the people you love, hoping you’ve done right by them. It doesn’t get played on the radio, but for the people who know it, it’s become an essential part of their holiday soundtrack.
6. “Please Come Home for Christmas” by Charles Brown (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Blues and Christmas don’t always mix, but when they do, something special happens. Charles Brown recorded this in 1960, and it’s dripping with lonely desperation in the best possible way. His voice sounds like velvet soaked in whiskey, and every word carries the weight of someone who’s been left behind during what’s supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.
The piano is simple and effective, the arrangement is sparse, and Brown’s pleading vocal delivery cuts right through you. “Bells will be ringing the sad, sad news,” he sings, and you believe every word. This is one of those songs where less is absolutely more. There’s no big production, no string section trying to manipulate your emotions. Just a man at a piano, missing someone terribly, and hoping against hope they’ll come home.
Eagles covered this song later, and while their version is fine, it doesn’t have the raw emotional power of Brown’s original. Sometimes you need to hear heartbreak straight, no chaser, and that’s exactly what this delivers.
7. “Christmas Must Be Tonight” by Robbie Robertson (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Robbie Robertson, best known for his work with The Band, wrote this gospel tinged meditation on the nativity story that approaches the Christmas narrative from a completely different angle. Instead of focusing on joy and celebration, it dwells on the mystery and wonder of that night in Bethlehem, on the cosmic significance of what was happening in that stable.
The music swells and builds, gospel singers provide backing vocals that give you actual chills, and Robertson’s voice carries this sense of awe and reverence that never tips over into being preachy. There’s something almost cinematic about it, like you’re watching the story unfold on a massive screen.
What I love about this song is that it treats the Christmas story as genuinely strange and miraculous rather than as something cute or sentimental. It reminds you that this was supposed to be world changing, reality bending stuff, not just another pleasant holiday celebration. Whether you’re religious or not, there’s something powerful about engaging with that sense of wonder.
8. “Zat You, Santa Claus?” by Louis Armstrong (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Louis Armstrong could make anything sound good, but this playful little number from 1953 is pure joy in audio form. It’s got this spooky, tongue in cheek vibe where Satchmo is hearing noises on Christmas Eve and wondering if it’s Santa Claus or something more sinister. The whole thing is done with a wink and a smile, and Armstrong’s gravelly voice sells every line.
The production has this vintage quality that immediately transports you back to a different era, and there’s something about the combination of Christmas themes with this slightly eerie atmosphere that just works. It’s fun without being silly, nostalgic without being cloying, and Armstrong’s trumpet playing is, as always, absolutely sublime.
This is the kind of song that makes you want to dim the lights, pour some hot chocolate (or something stronger), and just soak in the atmosphere. It’s got personality for days, and it reminds you that Christmas music doesn’t always have to be earnest or emotional. Sometimes it can just be a really good time.
9. “Angel” by Sarah McLachlan (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Sarah McLachlan has this gift for writing songs that sound like prayers, and “Angel” is no exception. While it wasn’t written specifically as a Christmas song, it’s become one in the hearts of many listeners because of its themes of peace, comfort, and escape from a difficult world.
The piano opening is instantly recognizable to anyone who’s heard it, and McLachlan’s voice floats over the arrangement like something not quite of this earth. “You’re in the arms of the angel,” she sings, and there’s such tenderness in her delivery that it almost hurts. The song offers solace to anyone who’s struggling, who needs to believe that somewhere there’s peace waiting for them.
During the holidays, when emotions run high and many people are dealing with loss, loneliness, or hardship, this song provides a different kind of comfort than your typical Christmas fare. It acknowledges pain while offering hope, and it does so with such grace and beauty that it’s become a staple for many people’s December playlists even if it never gets mentioned alongside traditional carols.
10. “Christmas Wrapping” by The Waitresses (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
Let’s end on a high note, shall we? “Christmas Wrapping” is the most fun you can have with a Christmas song that isn’t “Jingle Bell Rock.” Released in 1981, it’s this perfectly crafted new wave track about missing connection after connection with someone you’re interested in throughout the year, only to finally run into them on Christmas Eve at the supermarket.
The energy is infectious, the lyrics are clever and conversational, and the whole thing just makes you want to dance around your kitchen while you’re cooking Christmas dinner. Lead singer Patty Donahue delivers the story-song with personality and charm, and the production is pure early 80s perfection.
What makes this song special is how it captures that specific feeling of holiday chaos, last minute shopping, being exhausted and overwhelmed, but then having one moment of unexpected joy that makes it all worthwhile. It’s relatable in a way that songs about sleigh rides and winter wonderlands sometimes aren’t. This is what Christmas actually looks like for a lot of us: messy, hectic, imperfect, but ultimately worth it.
The Beauty of the B-Side (10 Underrated Christmas Songs)
These ten songs represent just a fraction of the incredible Christmas music that exists beyond the standard rotation. Each one offers something different, whether it’s emotional honesty, musical innovation, or just a fresh perspective on what the season can mean.
The funny thing about underrated songs is that they often become even more special to the people who discover them. There’s something about finding a track that speaks to you, that no one else seems to know about, that makes it feel like your own secret. It’s like having a favorite local restaurant that tourists never find, or knowing a hiking trail that doesn’t appear in any guidebooks.
So this year, maybe take a break from the usual suspects. Give these songs a listen. Let Joni break your heart. Let Louis make you smile. Let The Pogues remind you that Christmas is complicated and that’s okay. Let Sarah McLachlan give you some peace.
Because at the end of the day, the best Christmas music isn’t necessarily the stuff that everyone knows. Sometimes it’s the song that finds you at exactly the right moment, that speaks to exactly what you’re feeling, that makes you think about the holidays in a new way.
And maybe, just maybe, one of these underrated gems will become part of your own holiday tradition. Something you put on every year, something that makes December feel like December for you, something that other people will eventually discover because you couldn’t help but share it.
That’s how the best songs spread, after all. Not through radio programming or corporate playlists, but through one person telling another, “Hey, you’ve got to hear this.”
- 10 Underrated Christmas Songs That Deserve More Love - November 26, 2025
- Why We Pretend to Like Important Albums - September 22, 2025
- GrooveGalore MuziK Just Dropped An Unexpected Cover | Music News - September 5, 2025