c. 1998 Religion News Service

UNDATED _ It used to be easy to find Christmas albums in record stores: Go to the Bing Crosby section and look for that cover with the smiling crooner wearing the Santa Claus hat.

Now you practically need a sleigh of your own, not to mention the reindeer, to handle the deluge of seasonal discs flooding music stores.

At least 50 new releases are dedicated to holiday fare this season. There are country, classical and hip-hop discs, hard rock, soft rock, blues, New Age and even a reggae Christmas album.

Here are a few suggestions to narrow the field.

Some are brand-new and some are reissues. You’d be hard-pressed to find 10 better than these, listed in no particular order:

_ Martina McBride’s”White Christmas”(RCA) finds the country songbird spinning through 10 Christmas standards. A single listen to her breathtaking version of”O Holy Night”yields plenty of proof that her voice is perfect for this material.

_”Christmas With Babyface”(Epic) features award-winning producer Kenneth”Babyface”Edmonds stepping out from behind the boards to deliver a very smooth and soulful collection of traditional seasonal tracks.

_ Chuck Leavell’s”What’s in That Bag?”(Capricorn) includes a boogie-woogie version of”Joy to the World”(“Joy Boogie”) that helps make this a must-have. The Southern rocker, best known for his piano playing with the likes of the Allman Brothers and the Rolling Stones, even turns in a few standout originals on this album.

_”Yule B’ Swinging”(Hip-O) is an exceptional compilation of vintage holiday swing music, from the likes of Louis Prima, Louis Armstrong, Glenn Miller, Lionel Hampton, Les Brown and many more. It’s guaranteed to get any juke joint jumping.

_”A Christmas Heritage”(Koch) features a virtual supergroup of acoustic and bluegrass musicians such as Tim O’Brien, Alison Brown and Darol Anger, weaving wonder on 13 tracks that mix the traditional with thoroughly refreshing modern fare. The group, which is currently touring behind this album, offers a sparkling musical blend that is as dazzling as it is understated.

_ Etta James'”12 Songs of Christmas”(Private/Windham Hill) is an all-new recording featuring the blues belter tearing through gems like”Merry Christmas Baby,””Winter Wonderland”and”Jingle Bells.”It’ll rock your house.

_”The Beach Boys’ Ultimate Christmas”(Capitol) repackages their 1964 Christmas album with more than a dozen bonus tracks, most culled from a previously unreleased 1977 Christmas album. Rarities and radio interviews are also included on this vastly enhanced set that should thrill collectors and fans.

_ Shawn Colvin’s”Holiday Songs and Lullabies”(Columbia) captures the singer’s breathy voice in exceptional form on songs such as”In the Bleak Midwinter,””Love Came Down at Christmas”and”Silent Night.”The disc would have been even better had she not tossed a handful of distracting lullabies into the set.

_ Windham Hill’s”A Winter Solstice Reunion”is yet another seasonal triumph for the label best known for its New Age music. They are masters at creating an elegant mood and deliver the goods again here thanks to contributions from a cast that includes Liz Storie, Barbara Higbie, Nightnoise, George Winston and Alex DeGrassi.

_”The Voice of Christmas _ The Complete Decca Songbook”(MCA/Decca) expands on the classic Crosby Christmas album in first-rate fashion. This double-disc set includes 44 tracks recorded between 1935 and 1956, including the previously unreleased alternate version of Crosby’s”White Christmas”from 1942.

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The holiday album that will undoubtedly sell the most is Celine Dion’s”These Are Special Times”(550 Music/Epic). The Canadian superstar offers a mostly predictable set (“Ave Maria,””Blue Christmas,”etc.), though her maudlin version of John Lennon’s”Happy Xmas”is positively ghastly.

There are also gospel-flavored discs, like”Christmas With Shirley Caesar”(Epic); jazz, with Windham Hill’s collection”A Jazz Christmas”; and Celtic titles such as”Celtic Christmas IV”(Windham Hill) and”Noels Celtiques”(Green Linnet). Rhino’s”Natty and Nice _ A Reggae Christmas”offers seasonal tracks with a Jamaican beat, thanks to Toots and the Maytals, Ini Kamoze, Johnny Clarke and others.

Soul and rhythm and blues fans should thoroughly enjoy Brian McKight’s”Bethlehem”(Motown),”Jermaine Dupri Presents 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas”(So So Def) and Windham Hill’s ultra-smooth”The Colors of Christmas.”The last includes contributions from Philip Bailey, Roberta Flack, Jeffrey Osborne and Oleta Adams.

Capitalizing on the current return-to-swing craze is”Swingin’ Christmas”(Daddy-O), a hotshot collection featuring predominantly obscure contributors. Squirrel Nut Zippers is a red-hot band right now, but its”Christmas Caravan”(Mammoth) is an inconsistent disc filled with forgettable originals.

Familiar faces include Kenny Loggins, whose”December”(Columbia) is a whole lot more tolerable than most of his recent albums, and the perpetually twisted Cyndi Lauper, whose”Merry Christmas … Have a Nice Life”(Epic) offers such typically quirky fare as”Christmas Conga.”She also joins the list of artists recording”In the Bleak Midwinter,”which seems to be this season’s most ubiquitous song. Donny Osmond is back as well with a reissue of”Christmas at Home”(Sony/Legacy), which received only a limited release on a small label last year.

Country fans will enjoy both Vince Gill’s brand-new”Breath of Heaven”(MCA) and the reissue of the late Tammy Wynette’s”Christmas With Tammy Wynette”(Epic), which had been out of print for more than a decade.

A wild”Merry Axemas Vol. 2″(Epic) is a guitar slinger’s dream, with contributors including Neal Schon, Robin Trower, Al Di Meola and Ted Nugent, whose torrid”Deck the Halls”is worth the price all by itself.

DEA END O’HARE