We’re giving each other songs for the holidays.

Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

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Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

We’re giving each other songs for the holidays.

Paul Ellis/AFP via Getty Images

When it comes to music, December is overflowing with gifts. For example, just look at what you’ve gotten from NPR Music this month: You’ve unwrapped our package of the best albums of the year. You’ve picked through our list of the best songs to find the ones with the gooey hip-hop center or the crunchy jazz filling or the smooth rock and roll coating. Maybe you’ve even had a cup of hot chocolate while listening to Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson get snowed in at the Tiny Desk during the latest All Songs Considered holiday special.

But we aren’t done with the presents! And this time, we’re giving … to each other! On this episode of All Songs, the members of NPR Music’s team get into a sort of chain-letter, Secret Santa-type gift exchange. The rules are simple: Pick a song from 2024 specifically for one of your colleagues, who then has to pick a song for someone else, and so on, until the gift train comes full circle. What songs did we pick? How well do we really know each other’s taste? You’ll have to listen to hear the surprise, just like we did.