Best: Carol of the Bells
Worst: Any novelty song, especially, as has been mentioned, the Reindeer that Croaked Mamaw by Treading Heavily Over Her Body Until It Lay Lifeless.
Honorable mention for Best (because it’s not a song, but a collection): The Beatles Christmas Album. The Beatles - Wikipedia’_Christmas_Album
Absolute worst : dogs barking “Jingle bells”-wonder why i haven’t heard it?
Best: Fairytale Of New York - The Pogues feat: Kirsty McColl
Worst: Fairytale OF New York - Ronan Keating
Best:
Rocking Around the Christmas Tree
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Christmas Wrapping (Rapping?)
I like it too - however, I would always pick Eartha Kitt’s version first. It was so purrrrrfect.
This is where I would try to come up with something witty about it being played at decibels only dogs can hear . . . .but y’know, I need more caffeine or something because it won’t come out funny enough.
so just pretend, please. [insert witty dog pitch comment here]
Yes. The woman may be a veritable mummy now, but she was sex personified in the 50s and 60s.
Those who say “Grandma Got Run Over” is the worst must not have heard “Goin’ on a Date with Santa” by the same guy.
Christmas. Bah Humbug.
Gun to my head and I gotta pick something:
Christmas in Dixie with honorable mention to Thistlehair the Christmas Bear for favorites.
Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and the Jingle Bell dog thing both exemplify epic suckitude.
I heard a song today at the doctor’s office that is going to give Christmas Shoes a run for its money.
It’s Faith Hill’s A Baby Changes Everything which, even if you get the cleverness of the title (Jesus is born and everything changes) is just a depressing song about a teenage mother (yes, probably Mary but still…)
It’s just really jarring to hear on a playlist smashed between “Santa Baby” and “Jingle Bell Rock.”
Jesus Christ, indeed.
Possibly my favorite Christmas recording ever is a version of “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” performed by Jerry Chamberlain, Sharon McCall, Riki Michelle, and Derri Daugherty (from this obscure Christmas CD).
I wish it could be Christmas Everyday by Wizard is the best.
Runners up include, but not limited to;
Zat you Santa Clause by Louis Armstrong
12 Days of Christmas by Reliant K
A Fairy tale of New York (pogues, there are no other versions)
Worst
Mary’s Boy Child sung by Charlotte Church
Grandma got Run Over by a Reindeer sung by the other people in the car you are trapped inside of.
You know when you’re watching Cops and they put the handcuffed bad guy in the back of the car and he continues to bash his own head into the side window? Yeah, that would be me.
I don’t think I can pick out the worst, but my new favorite is Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Alice Cooper et al.
I like a bunch:
“Little Drummer Boy/Peace on Earth”, Crosby & Bowie
“Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12-24”, Savatage/Trans-Siberian Orchestra
“The Christmas Song”, Nat King Cole
“O Tannenbaum”, Johnny Mathis (the version he sings in German)
“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, Gene Autry
For an enjoyable tangent, how about “Backdoor Santa” by Clarence Carter?
As for worst Christmas tune … Barbra Streisand’s bizarre scat version of “Jingle Bells” is a strong contender.
Badum-bum-bum! 
My sister and I listened to this album all the time when we were little. A few years back my Mom found a copy on CD. I still love listening to it. The Christmas season does not officially begin for me until I hear John Denver and the Muppets!
I don’t know if I have a “favorite” Christmas carol, because I like so many of them, but one of my new guilty pleasures is the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack by the Vince Guaraldi Trio. There’s just something about those old songs that always brings a smile to my face.
As others have already said, the worst Christmas song of all time is The Christmas Shoes. It’s the one song that will make me change the station.
Indeed. She was Sister Janet Mead. It was quite ‘hip’ for a time to sing her version at mass instead of the plainchant version. But it didn’t last long. I haven’t heard it in years.
I love so many Chrismas songs - it would be hard to list them all.
The worst for me would be a tie between Feliz Navidad & the unbearably smug “Its the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”
Worst version of a normally wonderful song is Stevie Nicks singing “Silent Night.”
Another category - so bad its good! “Blue Christmas” by Elvis.
Just off to put on my Christmas CDs now!
An early Christmas present for all of those who have never heard The Christmas Shoes (or possibly an early lump of coal in your stocking).
I strongly recommend that you turn off your speakers before you click on this link. Only after you have experienced the horror that is the lyric to this abomination should you risk listening to it. There. That ought to insulate me from charges of crimes against humanity.