The Best Christmas Music Channels on Roku

November 21, 2022 - 17:00 -- RokuGuide

The Best Christmas Music Channels on Roku

If it's Christmas music you want, Roku has it! Here are our favorite Roku channels for Christmas music for the 2022 holiday season.

Soma FMSomaFM

Our perennial favorite for Christmas music is the listener-supported and DJ-programmed SomaFM, which has five live-stream holiday music stations:

  • Christmas Lounge streams laid-back holiday vibes with "chilled holiday grooves and classic winter lounge tracks" that are family-safe. You'll find an eclectic seasonal playlist with tracks such as Sleigh Ride by Ella Fitzgerald from the Merry Mixmas album, All I Want For Christmas by Nat King Cole, from the same album, and Frank Sinatra singing the classic I'll Be Home For Christmas (If Only In My Dreams).

  • If that's a bit too mellow for your taste, Christmas Rocks! is an indie/alternative holiday rock channel with artists that include Piney Gir (A Cheery Christmas from the album XO for the Holidays Vol 3), Sleeping At Last (Happy Xmas (War Is Over) from Christmas Collection 2013), and Parmesans (Christmas Time Is Here from The Bay Bridged Holiday Compilation).
  • Xmas in Frisko is a "wacky and eclectic holiday mix, not for the easily offended" that this year is playing Didn't I Get This Last Year by Bob Rivers Comedy Corp, Sleigh Ride Winter Wonderland by Mexicali Brass, and Medley: Here We Come A Carolin by New Christy Minstrels.
  • Jolly Ol' Soul, meanwhile, brings some soulful holiday music from the likes of Ray Ray & His Red Ryders (Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas), Jimmy Smith (The Christmas Song), and Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans (The Bells of St. Mary).

  • Department Store Christmas, is billed as "Holiday Elevator Music from a more innocent time." However, the music is a step above the tinny canned background music you might expect. Examples include The Living Strings playing Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass with Jingle Bell Rock, London Philharmonic Orchestra with Gloria In Excelsus Dio, and Philadelphia Brass Ensemble performing Good Christian Men Rejoice.

TuneIn

TuneInOn TuneIn, go to "Browse" from the top menu bar, select "Music", then scroll down to Holiday Music under the "Explore" heading. You'll find five great TuneIn stations available: (descriptions courtesy of TuneIn):

  • Holiday Hits - "Santa's sleigh gets a new coat of paint on Holiday Hits, playing fresh seasonal jams from stars like Ariana Grande, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson, alongside modern classics from Mariah Carey, Wham! and more!"
  • Holiday Standards - "Soak in the sentimental vibes of the season with all the classic holiday standards you know and love, performed by legends like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Tony Bennett."
  • Classical Holiday - "Give your holiday music a grander scale with our sweeping selection of symphonic Christmas classics—arranged just for the season. Hear everything from ballet and operatic standbys, like Tchaikovsky’s iconic Nutcracker, or bring a bit of class with holiday masterworks from all of the greats."
  • Country Christmas - "The holidays are here! Add a little twang to your tinsel with new and classic Christmas hits performed by country music stars like Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton and more."
  • Holiday Jazz - "Spice up your holiday season with soothing sounds from the jazz legends of yesterday and today, including classic Christmas standards by Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Vince Guaraldi—all streaming on Holiday Jazz."
  • Under these featured TuneIn channels you'll find "Festive Frequencies" with over a dozen other stations like Christmas Spa, Gospel Christmas, and K-LOVE Christmas Radio.

    iHeart

    iHeartRadioiHeart has several holiday playlists featured on the Roku app's home screen:

    • North Pole Radio - Holiday Favorites hosted by Santa.
    • iHeart Christmas - Christmas favorites
    • iHeart Christmas Classics
    • Tu Navidad - Enjoy the best Latin Christmas songs.
    • iHeart Christmas Country Country Christmas music.
    • Christmas Jazz - Holiday Jazz from the past and present.
    • Curated By: Dolly Parton - Dolly's picks for the Holiday.

    You'll find these and many more holiday channels on iHeart by selecting "Browse" from the left-hand menu bar, selecting "Playlists", and then going to the Holiday genre. You'll find all of your favorites from past Christmases.

    Pandora

    PandoraYou'll find a lot of variety on Pandora, with 53 Holiday stations. From the Pandora home screen, go to "Browse" and select "Holiday". These are the top ten by number of listeners at the time of our review:

    • Christmas - 70 million listeners at the time of our review, compared to 18 million for #2).
    • Today's Christmas Radio
    • Christmas Traditional
    • Classical Christmas
    • Country Christmas
    • R&B and Pop Holidays
    • Holiday Hits
    • Rockin Holidays
    • Family Christmas
    • 90s Christmas

    Scroll further down the list and you'll find niche stations like Caribbean Christmas, Bluegrass Christmas, Navidad Columbiana, Americana Christmas, Christmas Rappin', and Holiday Workout.

    Those are our top recommendations for streaming holiday music on Roku. Check out our Roku Christmas Channels list for all holiday-specific channels. A complete list of Roku music channels can be found here.