You can’t have the holidays without the music.

And these days, streaming seems to be the way to get in the festive spirit. But with so many services out there, how’s an eager ear to choose? And which one has the best holiday channels and playlists? Let’s take a look.

First, something to keep in mind: By forking over some green, your options greatly increase (SiriusXM and Apple Music, anyone?). However, for this exercise we’re gonna focus on the bigger services with freebie streams.

Because we’ve got a lot more presents to buy.

Spotify

It feels wrong to start anywhere else but Spotify. (Not sure why exactly, but yet …) This service has no shortage of holiday playlists — user-generated or from Spotify itself — to keep your festive mood strong. You get six skips per hour.

Stations of note:

• “Disney Christmas” — Just what the title says, this lineup has everything from the obvious (“We Wish You A Merry Christmas” from The Muppets) to the stretching-it-a-bit (“Let it Go” from “Frozen”). But it gets bonus points for including Phineas and Ferb cuts.

• “Instrumental Christmas Hymns” — Nearly three hours of traditional carols (from “What Child is This” to “Carol of the Bells”), this is classic Christmas at its most refined.

• “Punk Christmas” — When you can get yuletide feels via The Reverend Horton Heat, The Misfits or Bad Religion, you’ve done well.

• “Sad Christmas Classics” — It might just be the perfect playlist to close out 2020. The nearly two-hour mix of “melancholy Christmas favorites” spans from Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas” to The Pogues’ “Fairytale of New York” (if you’ve heard it, you know).

Pandora

This streaming experience is all about the likes. Pick a tune you know you like and let Pandora do the rest. You get six skips per hour per station (12 total per day).

Stations of note:

• “Christmas Traditional” or “Oldies Christmas” — Missing grandma’s house this season? Hit play on these stations and let Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby and Brenda Lee take you right back. You’ll be smelling those baking cookies within minutes.

• “A Funky Gospel Christmas” — Whether it’s James Fortune & FIYA doing “Christmas Time” or Vanessa Williams’ rendition of “Joy to the World,” you’ll be filled with the reason for the season.

• “Classic Country Christmas” — Want some down-home, twangy tracks to tune up your holiday? Randy Travis, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson should get the job done for ya.

• “New Holiday” — Who says Christmas songs need to be 50 years old to be enjoyable? Here’s a station with the latest holiday tracks from current artists. Ingrid Michaelson, Pentatonix, Ariana Grande, John Legend and Lauren Daigle are among those with new yuletide music.

iHeartRadio

With so many commercial radio stations going to an all-out Christmas format this time of year, iHeart is the best place to go if you’re up for that kind of thing. But, iHeart has playlists and theme stations as well. You get six skips per hour per station (15 total per day). Start with “iHeartChristmas” and work out from there.

Stations of note:

• “Christmas Mix & Variety” — If you don’t care which decade or music genre your holiday tunes come from, this is the station for you. It’s all classic tracks, but you’ll go from Pentatonix to Mitch Miller to Darius Rucker to Otis Redding. Careful you don’t get Christmas whiplash.

• “Caribbean Christmas” — From Dub to dancehall, this channel proves there’s no holiday song a steel drum can’t make better. Listeners can hear Ini Kamoze’s “All I Want For Christmas” or Yellowman doing “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.”]

• “North Pole Radio” — For a decidedly upbeat mood, tune in here and catch some positive vibes from songs like “The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)” and the whimsical“I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.”

• “Curated by: Trans-Siberian Orchestra” — Maybe you love lasers and pyrotechnics with your Christmas tunes. Well, lucky you, TSO has pulled together a playlist you’re sure to appreciate. Besides their own tunes, the band pulls in songs from AC/DC, The Kinks, Queen and Cheap Trick.

AccuRadio

AccuRadio’s calling card is that it’s “curated by human beings, not algorithms.” That, and it’s totally free. With an overwhelming number of holiday channels to choose from — and unlimited skips on each — you’ll actually have a hard time settling on just one.

Stations of note:

• “Christmas Party” — A mix of ’80s to current holiday tracks. Bryan Adams’ “Run Rudolph Run” transitioned into Ariana Grande’s “Santa Tell Me” and then to Dan + Shay’s “Take Me Home for Christmas.”

• “Wait, THEY Made a Christmas Record?” — One of most unique holiday channels, this collection features artists you’d never peg singing the Christmas spirit. Artists include Johnny Cash, The Band, Los Straitjackets and RuPaul.

• “The Carols Catalogue” — Long-loved recordings and new versions of tradition tracks like “Greensleeves” and “Joy to the World.”

• “Smooth Hanukkah” — Christmas isn’t the only holiday this season. Those celebrating the Jewish holiday can hear a jazz take on tracks like “Sabbath Prayer,” “Shalom Aleichem/Breakin’ up Christmas” or “Mi Yimalel.”

• One Song Radio — AccuRadio has a dozen channels that feature various versions of a specific song. Yep, you can listen to “White Christmas” done by everyone from Bing Crosby (of course) to Anne Murray to Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen.

LiveXLive

Formerly Slacker Radio (and really still Slacker-powered), this service lets you listen to ready-made stations and create your own. You can skip up to 6 songs per hour with ads every five to seven songs.

Stations of note:

• “Holiday Deep Dive” — Don’t hold the misleading station name against it, this has the lineup of Christmas standards from Andy Williams and Perry Como to The Carpenters and Dean Martin. The deepest this dive gets is perhaps the Spice Girls doing “Sleigh Ride.”

• “The Twenty: Bah Humbug” — Described as “songs about holiday fatigue,” this limited playlist puts the fun in dysfunctional. Your host Red drops some reality onto the commercial-excess scene with tracks like “The Night Santa Went Crazy” by Weird Al Yankovic and “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!” by Sufjan Stevens. Bah Humbug, indeed!

• “Eclectic Holiday” — Here’s a collection of some not-so-traditional holiday songs that mixes in some classic rock, some jazz, and some alternative. Examples include James Brown’s “Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto,” Brian Setzer’s “Santa Drives a Hot Rod” and The Smithereens’ “Waking Up on Christmas Morning.”

• “Twisted Christmas Stories” — Maybe music ain’t your bag. If not, hit play on this lineup of stories behind your favorite holiday traditions. But beware, these aren’t the sweet Rankin & Bass tales. These are more a world tour of freakish festivities.

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