The library’s music collection is one of its biggest secrets.  It takes two forms, a very large collection of thousands of CDs as well as access to Freegal online which has over 7 million songs for download.  Freegal limits downloads to three per library cardholder per week, but it has plenty of selections from independent artists to the best of major labels such as Columbia.

 

At this time of the year, there is growing interest in Christmas music.  The CD collection in this genre is well over 250 CD’s including classics by such artists as Josh Groban, Michael Buble, Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Chicago, Andy Williams, and Bing Crosby.

 

There are also selections from a very diverse group of artists. Amy Grant offers a Christmas recording entitled “Tennessee Christmas” including such selections as “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “Christmas Don’t Be Late,” and “White Christmas.”  Sarah McLachlan gives her fans a treat with “Wonderland” of mostly traditional Christmas songs such as “Away in a Manger,” and “Angels We Have Heard on High.”  Popular artists Jordan Smith, Kacey Musgraves, Straight No Chaser, Loretta Lynn, Jackie Evancho, The Oak Ridge Boys, and Rascal Flatts all have holiday CDs.

 

Pentatonix helped establish their fame with their Christmas music including “A Pentatonix Christmas” featuring “Hallelujah,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”  For those who may have a large collection of Christmas CDs, “Now That’s What I Call Merry Christmas” contains 20 famous songs on one CD to make your holiday music selections a lot easier.  It includes all-time favorites such as Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song,” Andy Williams’ “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Gene Autry’s “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” Jose Feliciano’s “Feliz Navidad” and Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas.”

 

Several older collections provide a nice variety of holiday music including “Holidays Rule” with songs from fun, The Civil Wars, Paul McCartney, Holly Golightly and The Head and the Heart.  Another is “A Merry Christmas” with selections from popular artists of the fifties and sixties including Perry Como, Julie Andrews, Doris Day and Andy Williams.  

 

“The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs” is a chance to listen to holiday classics and originals by some of today’s big names such as KT Tunstall and Katy Perry.  Or you might want to sample Los Lonely Boys’ “Christmas Spirit,” Loreena McKennitt’s “A Midwinter Night’s Dream,” Harry Connick Jr’s “What a Night,” Enya’s “And Winter Came,” Al Jarreau’s “Christmas,” Kristin Chenoweth’s “A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas” or Yo-Yo Ma’s “Songs of Joy and Peace.”

 

The library’s holiday collection is a nice mixture of new and older selections that add new memories and refresh old ones.