Craig & Christian Music

2018 was a year of transitions in CCM. For the first time I can remember, I've included FOUR EP's on my year end list and one double album! In fact, my #2 album of the year is Tenth Avenue North's The Things We've Been Afraid to Say  which probably would have been #1 had it been a full-length record. But in the end, Rend Collective makes their first appearance on my year-end chart (and at #1!) with their phenomenal album Good News . There isn't a bas song in this bunch and I can imagine singing about half of these every Sunday morning for years to come... I just wish they had the same promoters as Chris Tomlin or Hillsong to get their music out there and onto worship set-lists and radio! 1. Rend Collective- Good News 2. Tenth Avenue North- The Things We've Been Afraid To Say EP 3. Lauren Daigle- Look Up Child 4. for King & Country- Burn the Ships 5. Blanca- Shattered 6. Francesca Battistelli- Own It 7. Audrey Assad- E

2017 wasn't exactly a banner year for CCM which is probably why it took me so long to publish this list but there were three particular albums that stood out as classics: Mandisa's magnum opus Out of the Dark  and MercyMe's surprisingly upbeat Lifer   were full of emotion, biblical truth and hooks but it was Nichole Nordeman's comeback full-length album Every Mile Mattered  that blew me away! Filled with nostalgia and wisdom, Nichole reflects upon her past while never losing sight of eternity and the Gospel. "Dear Me" is worth the price of the album alone but the whole album speaks truth into hard and often impossible situations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and Romans 8:28. Now that you've had over a year to listen through 2017's CCM albums, what do you think of my list? 1. Nichole Nordeman- Every Mile Mattered 2. Mandisa- Out of the Dark [Deluxe Edition] 3. MercyMe- Lifer 4. Tauren Wells- Hills & Valleys [Deluxe Edi