Happy hip hop holidays! Here's some fresh, festive beats to brighten your spirits on Christmas day, brought to you by Cove BlackBelt of Essential Vitamins Crew, along with the best selection of home-grown hip hop that Buffalo has to offer: L-Biz, Frank Cross aka Scrooge, Legal the Lifesaver, Clark Griswald, Jay MF G, Linus Van Pelt, Goodman Brown, Lucy Van Pelt, Specill K, Mic Excel, Scroeder, DJ Optimus Prime, and the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Everyone's got his or her favorite Christmas carols; for some, it's John Lennon's and Yoko Ono's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)"; for others, it's David Bowie's and Bing Crosby's "Peace on Earth/Little Drummer Boy"; for still others, it's a slew of other Christmas classics, from "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" to "Feliz Navidad." Who could blame you for picking one of the above? They're all great songs.

But my favorite Christmas music will always be A Charlie Brown Christmas, the Vince Guaraldi Trio's album for the yearly Peanuts Christmas special. There's just something about Guaraldi's piano playing that gets me every time around this time of year. His jazzy takes on old Christmas standards like "What Child is This?" and "O Tannenbaum" calm my soul. I'm not often the type to do something like sit by the fire, drink hot chocolate, and enjoy a quiet night by the Christmas tree, but if A Charlie Brown Christmas is playing in the background, that's what I'd like to be doing.

The album's highlight is "Christmas Time is Here" (YouTube clip of the vocal version below; there's also a great six-minute instrumental version). When I hear it, I can't help but picture the little Peanuts characters with their heads lifted to the sky, eyes closed, and mouths wide open, as they yelp, "Christmas Time is Here! Happiness and Cheer!" It really captures the innocent, childlike spirit of Christmas, and when I hear it, even if it's 10 degrees outside, all is right in the world.