SHOP TALK : Suggestions on Getting Enough Holiday Music : A variety of stores have CDs and tapes. Some have better prices, while others offer more selection.

Christmas music is inescapable this time of year. It produces an emotional response in almost anyone who hears it--provoking upset or, more often, getting us in a holiday mood.

Often, Muzak and radio provide enough tunes to do the trick. But if you find that you just can’t get enough of that audio Christmas, you might consider buying the music.

There are any number of ways to go about finding Christmas music. Of course, record stores will have some in stock. So will convenience stores, specialty stores and even grocery stores.

We suggest that before you set out on your shopping expedition, you determine which is more important: low prices or a large selection. You’re apt not to consistently get both at the same location. At stores like Target, for instance, the prices can be quite affordable, but the selection minimal.

At the Oxnard Target, the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton “Once Upon a Christmas” tape is going for $6.99, compared to $8.99 at the Ventura Sam Goody store. A Nat King Cole Christmas tape was $3.99 at Target and $4.99 at Sam Goody. The Barbra Streisand Christmas album goes for $4.99 at Target and $6.49 at Sam Goody. (Sam Goody was $2 cheaper with its Neil Diamond Christmas CD though, at $12.99.)

At Target, you’ll also find things like the “In America” and “A Classic Christmas” tapes from the Classics of Joy collection. These recordings have the usual holiday standards, but do not identify who recorded them--presumably they are the work of studio musicians. This may be fine, but you won’t know until you play the tape. At $4.99 (at the Oxnard Target), that might not be a gamble worth taking. After all, who would you rather have for $4.99, Barbra Streisand or a mystery musician?

Then there’s Target’s “Traditional Christmas” and “Season’s Greetings” tapes from the Heart to Heart series. They also offer holiday favorites by unknown performers. But here, the $1.99 price tag might be worth the risk.

Target may be the place to go price-wise, but choices tend to be more varied at record stores.

In the tapes section at Sam Goody’s, you’ve got the Jackson 5 Christmas at $6.49, the Caribbean Classics (reggae and calypso versions of traditional songs) for $3.99, Barry Manilow’s “Because It’s Christmas” for $9.99 and Neil Diamond for $7.99.

And don’t forget “A Partridge Family Christmas Card” for $9.99 and a “Polka Christmas” for $3.99. Nothing like “Jingle Bells” accordion-style.

The Christmas CD selection there is fairly robust, too. There’s John Prine at $15.99, Johnny Mathis for $11.99, Ray Charles at $11.99 and Sheri Lewis’ “Lamb Chop’s Nutcracker Suite” for $15.99.

The largest selection we came across, though, was at Ojai’s Blue Sky Music. The prices on common tapes and CDs were often higher than at the other places we checked (a Neil Diamond CD is $16.98), but some prices are indeed lower (Johnny Mathis’ “For Christmas” tape is $5.98, 50 cents lower than the nearest competitor).

But the draw is really Blue Sky’s selection. There is Billboard’s top Christmas songs, Billboard’s top country Christmas songs, Windham Hill’s Winter Solstice tapes I-IV, David Benoit’s “Christmas Time,” Luciano Pavarotti and the National Philharmonic, a “Christmas With Zamfir” (don’t laugh, the pan flute might be quite appropriate for the holidays), Dr. Demento’s novelty Christmas compilation--”Bummed Out Christmas!”, featuring various artists performing such songs as “Santa Got a DWI” and “Who Took the Merry Out of Christmas,” and “An Ojai Christmas” by local guitarist Alan Thornhill. The latter goes for $12.98.

If your Christmas music needs are really specific, you might want to check out shops like the Disney store at The Oaks mall in Thousand Oaks, where a regular Mickey and Minnie tape of 18 traditional fun songs is $8.98.

Or if you want something of a more religious nature, you could try shops like Ventura’s Valley Book & Bible. The store sells singles of “O, Holy Night,” “Silent Night” and other songs, with demos on one side and performances on the other, for $8.98.

While you are at Valley Book & Bible, you may want to meet all your holiday music needs with a tape titled “For Unto Y’All a Country Christmas.” It’s $10.98.

Leo Smith is a regular contributor to Ventura County Life. Write to him at 5200 Valentine Road, Suite 140, Ventura 93003, or send faxes to 658-5576.