Everyone loves a good bit of relaxing music, and what could be better than a selection of highly chilled cover songs? To help you wind down after the stress of Christmas shopping, we have prepared a list of our favorites:

When you’ve had a tough day, you can retire in peace to your smoking parlor, light a cigar, mix an Old Fashioned and put on the smooth, smooth sounds of Paul Anka. He has a whole album of covers, but we rather like this rendition of the Oasis classic Wonderwall.

You’ve probably heard this song before – it was used to great effect in the Sony Bravia bouncing balls advert. In fact, you probably didn’t realize this was even a cover. It was originally done by a Swedish electro pop duo called The Knife, and their version is certainly pretty different. We like José’s distinctive ‘classical’ guitar style. We also discovered José himself is Swedish, so how about that?

Journey’s original is an enduring classic, but we can’t help loving Boyce Avenue’s take on the song. It feels almost ’sophisticated’ in its calm pacing, which is no slight against the original, but it sure does catch you by surprise.

We love this version of the Killer’s classic, and we aren’t entirely sure why. Maybe it’s the swooping strings, or just that voice – whatever the case, it’s a very original take on an already cool song – look out for the altered lyrics. Unfortunately, this one isn’t available from the US iTunes Store, but you could buy the CD here, or if you can, on iTunes from the UK store.

It would seem there’s something about Sweden, as Taken By Trees are our third artist from the land of meatballs. We like this song. We like it an awful lot in fact. It’s such a departure from the Guns N’ Roses original that it feels like it’s an entirely original song, and all the better for it. Enjoy!