The Biggest & Best Holiday Songs of All Time: Breaking Down Billboard’s Christmas Lists

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it’s  officially time to listen to — and debate about — Christmas music.

In the past week, Billboard has published two major lists of festive music: The Greatest of All Time Holiday 100 Songs chart, based on the first 10 years of our Holiday 100 tally, plus the 100 Best Christmas Songs of All Time: Staff List, based on a staffwide vote from Billboard editors. On the new Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, Katie & Keith are taking a closer look at these two lists — specifically, we’re comparing the top 10s of each list.

Listen below, and you might be surprised by what the top tiers of each list has in common — or what they don’t.

Also on the show, we’ve got chart news on how Adele’s 30 debuts atop the Billboard 200 albums chart with the biggest week of the year for any album — and has immediately become the biggest-selling album of 2021 — plus how the British singer/songwriter doubles up in the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, as “Easy on Me” returns to No. 1 and album cut “Oh My God” debuts in the top five. Plus, it’s starting to get Christmasy on the charts, as a flurry of holiday favorites re-enter — or climb — the Hot 100. Could Mariah Carey’s evergreen classic “All I Want for Christmas Is You” return to No. 1 again this year?

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard’s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and senior director of Billboard charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)