The 2024 Holiday Music That Doesn't Suck Playlist

Welcome, friends. Come in, pour yourself a glass of nog, and pull up a chair by the fire. It's that special time of year again. A time when I pull together the very best holiday music that truly doesn't suck, and present it to you, my loyal listeners, free of charge. All I ask in return is that you take a few minutes and read the liner notes that for some reason [Ed. note: the reason is eggnog] take me hours to write.

This year took a turn recently, and I haven't really recovered. I doubt any of us have. Still, it had a lot of wonderful things too: many visits with friends old and new; some great live music; more horror movies than you can shake a pointed stick at; a family trip to Costa Rica; an anniversary trip to Montreal with my lovely wife; and of course, that unforgivably boring Pop Tarts movie.

But enough about 2024. It's time for...

Horrifying font, isn't it?

▶ Before we begin the festivities, if you're one those sickos who uses music streaming apps, here's this year's playlist on Spotify and Apple Music. ◀ 

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The 2023 Holiday Music That Doesn't Suck Playlist

Is it December already? This year went fast, probably because it was filled with change for me. After nearly 15 years in New York City (and after only 10 years of talking about it), we finally moved up to the Hudson Valley, where I’m now sitting in my office looking out the window behind my desk at trees and sky. I also started my second year of being in business on my own, and built a new brand for my coaching and training business. And I finally released my first album with my band, The Archivists. And then released a Halloween EP a month later.

I also took a trip to Iceland, saw a lot of my family and friends, watched a lot of horror movies, listened to a lot of music, went for a lot of bike rides, and drank a lot of really good beer. All in all, not a bad year.

Anyway, you’re not here for my holiday card. You’re here for…

Look at this horrifying AI-generated Santa! Why are there wires coming out of his head??

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The 2022 Holiday Music That Doesn't Suck Playlist

Singing Santa says: it's playlist time!

Happy holiday times, friends and lovers of holiday music that doesn’t suck! It’s that time again. Time for me to down glass after glass of eggnog while I write clever annotations that no one will read for a playlist that I’ve put way too much time into, starting of course last December, with all the tracks that didn’t fit into last year’s playlist.

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The 2021 Holiday Music That Doesn't Suck Playlist - Naughty & Nice Edition!

Welcome back, fellow lovers of great Christmas music, happening Hanukkah tunes, and holiday music that doesn't suck. How was your year? I have mixed feelings about mine: while the world seems to be sliding ever faster into destruction and autocracy, it was actually a pretty good year for me personally. So today, I'm choosing to focus on the positive, because a little positivity can be really helpful when times get tough.

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The 2020 Holiday Music That Doesn't Suck Playlist

Hello, fellow holiday music freaks. It's that time again... time for me to get drunk on my homemade eggnog, try to forget most of 2020, and post this year's Holiday Music that Doesn't Suck playlist. This was a... special year in many ways. Many horrible, horrible ways. But there were some silver linings: [Editor's note: fill in some silver linings here if you ever think of any], and of course the fact that this year you get not one but two 2020 holiday playlists from your old pal Jordan Claus! So pour yourself a glass of something warming, sit back, and relax as you enjoy a plethora of palatable painkillers in the form of a playlist. See you next year! 

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