For the holidays, why not enjoy your favorite women musicians on these single- and multi-artist albums?
1. Ultimate Power of a Diva's Christmas
From Joan Baez to Pat Benatar, from Emmylou Harris to Carnie Wilson, from Donna Lewis to Everything But the Girl, a 2-disc collection of Christmas standards. I'm sad that this is (at this writing) out of print, but if you can find it in a store that sells used CDs, it's still my favorite on this list.
2. Women of Christmas in the Garden of Lilith
The same as volume 1 of the set above, artists on this disc include Joan Baez, Emmylou Harris, Judy Collins, Karla Bonoff, Christine McVie, Victoria Williams, Jill Sobule, Nicolette Larson, Juliana Hatfield, Donna Lewis, Linda Eber and Deborah Gibson. (NOT from the Lilith Fair tours.) Also out of print -- you'll want to keep an eye out for a used copy.
3. A Holiday Carole
A 2011 recording including mostly Christmas and winter songs, with "Chanukah Prayer" and "New Year's Day" as well. (There are some additional songs on the Amazon MP3 version.) A few of the songs aren't ones I think of as Christmas but work well in this context.4. In the Heart of Winter
Pianist Robin Spielberg with Christmas and winter solstice favorites. Her haunting, peaceful solo piano pieces are more gentle arrangements than usual for some well-known tunes.5. Mistletoe and Wine: A Seasonal Collection
A Mediaeval Baebes take on Christmas, Yule, and Winter. Two songs are new; the others are from previous albums, not necessarily on a winter holiday theme.6. 12 Songs of Christmas
Etta James does the vocals on this album, which includes a lot of standards and her signature "Merry Christmas Baby."7. Cool Yule
Bette Midler's 2006 holiday album, in a jazzy/pop style. Includes Christmas songs, more on the secular side except for "O Come, O Come Emmanuel," plus some for winter and New Years Eve, and "From a Distance" for some holiday hope.8. Come Darkness Come Light: Songs of Christmas
Mary Chapin Carpenter sings a few traditional Christmas songs -- and some new ones she's written just for this album.9. And Winter Came ...
Enya's haunting New Age/Celtic impressionist style is applied to some traditional and some original material.10. American Chanukah: Songs of Chanukah and Peace
Robin Spielberg, on solo piano, plays traditional, contemporary and original pieces commemorating Hanukkah and peace, for the troubled Middle East and for the world.