Craig & Christian Music

Top Christian Albums of 2019 I have to be honest, I don't seek out newer CCM music as voraciously as I used to. For one, life is just too busy trying to balance marriage, parenting, church-life, work, and a never-ending list of side projects and ministries (check out my newest passion project Anthem Songs ). But mostly, I'm just not excited about too much of the music coming out of the CCM machine right now. In a word, it's boring.  Much of the CCM glut in 2019 was church collectives or "worship leaders" who have spent too much time trying to copy Ryan Tedder's mid-00's minimalist programmed production style or Hillsong United's "Oceans." I don't like anything coming out of Bethel Music (especially their doctrine), I don't enjoy Hip-Hop (I'm told CCM Hip Hop is pretty high quality but I just can't get into it), the CCM Pop/AC non-worship artists are taking 3-4 year breaks between album releases, and the new artists they are ...

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...

Casting   Crowns  Albums Ranked:    1. The Altar and the Door-  Song for song this is the best collection of CC songs on one album. The set was a bit brief (only 10 tracks including two covers) but every song was good. 2. Casting Crowns-  The high-points on this project include the best singles of CC's career but the back half of the album just felt a little under-baked (Glory/Life of Praise in particular) and this same issues remained with CC for several albums running. 3. Come to the Well-  The most well rounded record of CC's career that was well focused on the theme of the project and full of juicy lyrics to ponder for days. 4. The Very Next Thing-  Another solid record from CC that fits into the modern CCM landscape but kept the core of who they were as ministers and artists. 5. Lifesong-  A worthy sophomore album with a few truly excellent songs (Praise You In This Storm, In Me, Does Anybody Hear Her) but, despite sev...