On the first day of Christmas, my true love sent to me.

Think about it: if your true love actually sent you all the gifts described in that English Christmas carol, would you really appreciate it? Sure, maybe a Partridge in a Pear Tree, Turtle Doves and some French Hens would be interesting. But Ten Lords-a-leaping, Eleven Pipers Piping and Twelve Drummers Drumming would surely drive you insane.

Ultimately, the true gift of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is the music itself. In the spirit of the song and the season, we’ve compiled our own list of albums — a baker’s dozen of 13, in fact — to suggest as gifts. (They’re a lot more pleasant to listen to, if you ask us.) And, even if you don’t have a true love to give it to, you can always listen to them yourself.

1. Jackson 5

“The Jackson 5 Christmas Album” (1970)

Once upon a time, this was the pop culture marker that the yuletide season had begun — and it was time to start thinking of what to give on Christmas day to include with the love. 

2. Sufjan Stevens

“Songs for Christmas” (2006)

If The Beatles “White Album” were a Christmas album it would probably sound like this. All ragged glory and sleigh-bells, you don’t have to be a hipster (much) to appreciate this collection of covers and originals, but it surely go well with your Lomo camera as well as your cute toy vinyl set.

3. Vince Guaraldi

“A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965)

Good grief! One suspects that this is the soundtrack of not quite Christmas past but rather maybe of one you never actually had one at all: all windswept pavements, bobbing for apples and red-haired girls. The spell the music casts though remains as potent as the thought of your most beloved pet.

4. South Park

“Mr. Hankey’s Christmas Classics” (1999)

What’s Christmas without a few laughs — even if it is a little blasphemous? They are animated cartoons, after all. And it must be pointed out that a good number celebrate Easter (i.e. the birth of Our Lord and Savior) with a giant bunny rabbit who goes around hiding chocolate eggs for our kids to find.

5. Aimee Mann

“One More Drifter in the Snow” (2006)

Aimee Mann proves herself to be the successor of Karen Carpenter‘s melancholic legacy. “Winter must be cold for those with no warm memories,” says Deborah Kerr in the quintessential chick-flick, An Affair To Remember (and referenced, decades later, in the quintessential rom-com, Sleepless in Seattle.) Here, Mann sings the way that one line is supposed to feel.

6. Beach Boys

“The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album” (1964)

For those with a bad case of the holiday blues, this might work better than anti-depressants or alcohol to ease the burden of all that needless merrymaking. On second thought, it might just make everything worse. 

7. Eraserheads

“Fruitcake” (1996)

At the height of their fame, the Eheads did what all great bands usually do: make a Christmas album. Fortunately, the Fab Four not only delivered the goods — but cooked one that was deliciously Filipino as well.

8. Tony Bennett

“Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album” (1968)

Tony Bennett is a classic. On record, he remains the coolest cat around, cooing and crooning Christmas and serving up a cocktail of an LP. (Blame the alliteration overly utilized in that last sentence on Bennett’s considerable charms.)

9. Leonard Bernstein conducting The New York Philharmonic

“Handel: Messiah” (1956)

Conducted by Bernstein, this rendition was controversial because it is composed of only two sections: Christmas and Easter. He writes in the liner notes: “This version of Messiah, then, is offered in the spirit of deep love for the music and reverence for its textual significance, combined with the joy of a fresh approach.” Hallelujah!

10. Various Artists

“A Very Special Christmas Vol. 1” (1987)

What’s most impressive about this album is not just the impressive roster of artists who contribute to it — including U2, Madonna, Sting, The Eurythmics and Run DMC — but rather that it’s actually quite good. For once, rock stars manage to celebrate in song something other than themselves. The follow-up featured Bon Jovi.

11. Hannah + Gabi

“Haha…Yes” (2010)

This isn’t technically a Christmas album but it sure sounds like one: all cozy and cute under-the-blanket-covers kind of stuff. Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to this one. According to singer and songwriter, Mikey Amistoso, “It’ll surely warm your hearts this Christmas.”

12. Belle and Sebastian

“Radio 1 Peel Session Christmas Special” (2002)

Recorded live, Glasgow’s Belle and Sebastian did a set of traditional carols, covers and some of their own stuff for the legendary DJ, John Peel. The aural equivalent of comfort food, washed down by a shot of whisky to keep away the cold.

13. Mabuhay Singers

“Pasko sa Pilipinas” (1999)

Surely, the warmth of human voices singing in harmony and in Filipino rather than the threat of hell in any language would be a better way in making this world a little less colder. No wonder that many atheists enjoy listening to this album. Some even declare it divine. Now, isn’t that nothing short of a miracle?