Holiday music starts pouring out of the radio around Halloween these days.

Cheery enough, perhaps, but it also runs the danger of making us sick of the songs we should love. At some point it’s too much. But here are five songs (and five specific versions) that never get old.

5. “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” by the Temptations – The story of Santa’s reindeer finally getting the job of a lifetime is good no matter who’s singing it. But the Temptations bring deep soul to the song, along with great harmonies. Just try not to sing along. (Check out “A Motown Christmas” for more great music.)

4. “Run Rudolph Run” by Chuck Berry – Rudolph surprisingly lends his story to a lot of good holiday songs. In this one, the singer tells Rudolph that “out of all the reindeer, you know you’re the mastermind.” Berry didn’t write the song but he could have – it rocks just like his best work. Dave Edmunds does a nice version, too.

3. “Christmas Wrapping” by the Waitresses – The best New Wave holiday song (and maybe the only?). It’s the story of a woman planning to sit out Christmas – until, on Christmas Eve, she runs into the guy in the supermarket she’s been trying to go out with all year. It’s delightful and it sounds like nothing else. And yes, the title is a pun.

2. “Sleigh Ride” by the Ronettes – Possibly the best song on the best Christmas album ever, Phil Spector’s “A Christmas Gift for You.” There are no bad versions of this song – it’s that great. But the energy, the harmonies and the excitement the Ronettes bring to it make this version the one to seek out. Don’t miss out on the rest of the album, either.

1. “Linus and Lucy” – It’s not Christmas without watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” and it wouldn’t be “A Charlie Brown Christmas” without the Vince Guaraldi Trio’s fantastic soundtrack. The rolling piano in this song clues us in that it’s the holiday season again, but really, all the songs from the special are outstanding.