Sarah McLachlan's "Wintersong"

Wintersong sounds just like one would expect a Christmas album from Sarah McLachlan to sound: spare instrumentation, ethereal atmosphere, and haunting vocals. Plenty of holiday wistfulness. It makes great background music, but there is one standout track. "The First Noel/Mary Mary," in which she combines reverberating vocals in her famous style, several holiday classics, beautiful pop, some folk, a little bit of eastern instrumentation and an unexpected drum break, lifts the heart in the best way.