Apple iTunes has an EXCELLENT 20 song holiday sampler available for free download from the iTunes store.  These songs are all DRM-free, so you don’t have to worry about being stuck with listening to them only on iPods.  They’re playable in almost any MP3 player on the market.  Check out this song list:

1. O Come All Ye Faithful (Amy Grant)
2. The First Noel (David Archuleta)
3. Silent Night (Sarah McLachlan)
4. Carol of the Bells / Jingle Bells (Barry Manilow)
5. It Snowed (Meaghan Smith)
6. Above the Northern Lights (Mannheim Steamroller)
7. Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Lady Antebellum)
8. We Three Kings (Toby Keith)
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (Rascal Flatts)
10. Silent Night (Wynonna)
11. Twelve Days of Christmas (Mexicani Marimba Band)
12. We Wish You a Merry Christmas (Weezer)
13. A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss) (Glasvegas)
14. Another Christmas Song (Stephen Colbert)
15. Greensleeves (Vince Guaraldi Trio)
16. Dream a Dream (Charlotte Church)
17. The Nutcracker, Op. 71, Act 2: Character Dances (Divertissement) – Dance of the Reed Pipes (Kirov Orchestra & Valery Gergiev)
18. Angels We Have Heard On High (Aretha Franklin)
19. O Holy Night (Musiq Soulchild)
20. Auld Lange Syne (The Lonesome Travelers)

That’s 20 great Christmas songs from top-notch musicians for zero dollars.  So if you don’t like them (though I know you will), you can always delete them, and the only thing lost is some bandwidth. The album reminds me of the earlier Very Special Christmas CDs – which is a good thing. Don’t forget to check out the insanity that is Stephen Colbert’s “Another Christmas Song.”

Download the free Apple iTunes Holiday Sampler (2009) here.

Amazon is listing it’s X5 Classical Christmas Music sampler album of mp3s for free. Over 20 minutes of classical holiday music including Tchaikovsky’s famous Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: III. March: Tempo di marcia viva as performed by the Bonn Classical Philharmonics.

Reviewers on Amazon rave about this free sampler album, calling it a “wonderful arrangement” and another saying she felt like she was “enjoying a live Christmas concert.”

Here’s the song list:

1. A Christmas Festival Overture (performed by Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra)
2. The Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a: Iii. March: Tempo Di Marcia Viva (performed by the Bonn Classical Philharmonics)
3. Concerto Grosso in G Minor, Op. 6:8, “christmas Concerto”: V. Allegro – Vi. Pastorale: Largo (performed by the Southwest German Chamber Orchestra)
4. Christmas Oratorio, Bwv 248: Chorale No. 64 in D Major: Nun Seid Ihr Wohl Gerochen (performed by Basel Brass Quintet)
5. The Messiah, Hwv 56: Hallelujah Chorus (performed by London Philharmonic Orchestra)

In any case, this mp3 album is free, so you can’t really go wrong! If you find it not to suit your taste, you can always delete it. Though, Deal Sergeant gave it a run-through and said “It’s better than a 10 mile jog through the Mohave!”

Download the free classical Christmas sampler here.

Available to a million customers, Amazon is offering a free $3 credit towards MP3s. Just be sure to enter the coupon code “MP34FREE” once you are on their page.

Head over there now to take advantage of this offer while it lasts… Use the credit today, since it only lasts through November 30th, and you’re sure to forget about it by then.

Well, kids, Christmas is right around the corner, and that could only mean one thing: time to stock up on Christmas sheet music for the pianist, flutist, trumpeter, trombonist, violinist, or tambourine player in your life. If it’s you who is the musician, then you are already familiar with what this time of year means: Loud annoying pleas and begging from the rest of your family to treat their ears to the delights of your musical craft.

Well if this year you have decided to give in to this whining, the Deal Sergeant applauds you and wants to help. It turns out that Musicnotes.com, one of the largest sheet music stores on the Internet, is having a huge sale on Christmas sheet music! So, all come, all ye faithful, head on over to Musicnotes.com for savings of up to 30% on all Christmas sheet music books now through November 30th. Musicians rejoice, cheap Christmas sheet music has arrived!

Many of the sheet music books also include the words (vocal track) so that you can form an ad hoc caroling troupe of family members. The Deal Sergeant recommends A Rockin Christmas (shown above), which includes 20 songs for piano/vocal/guitar including Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer, AND can be had for just $8.49! Another choice pick is A Charlie Brown Christmas sheet music for less than $13.