This holiday powerhouse might be the best rock ’n’ roll Christmas album ever.  

In 1963, Phil Spector matched force-of-nature artists like The Ronettes, The Crystals, and Darlene Love with classic holiday tunes and his Wall of Sound production. He hired Jack Nitzsche for the lilting arrangements and The Wrecking Crew for musical backing. The results still stun—from the rousing R&B version of “White Christmas” to the rockingly radicalized “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” to the giddily sexy “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” The album’s centrepiece is a blistering-hot version of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” which could heat up even the coldest of nights.