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Top 50 On the Way
I will be returning to the countdown soon. I am trying to add something special to several of the Top 50 reviews and it is taking a bit longer than anticipated. Hopefully, this will be worth it.
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CCM's 500 Best Albums Of All Time 
Although I’m sure we will all love whatever you are adding, it is totally ‘worth it’ just the way it is.
I just explained to Shawn what will be “added” and I believe he should be retracting his statement 🙂
So what exactly was added to the top 50, now that it’s all out there?
If you look at numbers 50-1 the reviews are longer and contain actual interview information (for those that responded). I asked several of the Top 50 artists to comment on that album, the recording and writing process and the events surrounding the release and support of the album. Earlier ones relied exclusively on my memory or thoughts…I wanted more of the artists insight on the Top 50. some artists did not respond.
It’s the fifties – where’s my rocket pack?
Sorry
No worries Dave, I have been trying to listen to each album as it hits the list, so this gives me a chance to catch up. Keep up the great work and thanks for your efforts.
Here’s my guess for what remains: 7 Lost Dogs-members-related albums, 8 albums from Heard, Knott, Taylor, Peacock, Cockburn, Phillips projects, 6 albums from uniquely 80’s artists, 9 albums from general rock or hard rock artists, 1 ska album, 4 distinctly CCM albums, 12 other albums from the 70’s, and 3 other albums from the 90’s. All this depends in part on how you categorize specific artists, but I have a good guess at the top 50, just not in a particular order.
Larry Norman – 3 albums
Seventy Sevens – 3-4 albums
Daniel Amos 3-4 albums
Randy Stonehill 1 album
Mark Heard 2-3 albums
Lost Dogs 1-2 albums
Adam Again 1-2 albums
Michael Knott et al 2-3 albums
Bruce Cockburn 1 album
The Call 1-2 albums
A Keith Green album or two
DC Talk 1-2 cds
Tonio K – 1 more
Steve Taylor 1-2
Rez Band 1-2
Degarmo and Key 1-2
U2 2-4?
Love Song – 2?
Leslie/Sam Phillips 2
Swirling Eddies 2
Dylan 2
David Edwards 1
Altar Boys 1
Prodigal
The Choir
The Front
Peacock
Stryper?
I am cheating by looking at the other website
And of course – SonSeed at number 1! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-NOZU2iPA8
Needs some VoL!
you are so right (slaps head)
I am actually starting to like SonSeed – they have an odd appeal.
I hope to see Spock’s Beard-Snow, Transatlantic – The Whirlwind and Neal Morse – Sola Scriptura in your Top 10 (and Snow on number 1!)
No need to retract. It was a compliment! …..implying that the blog is great now, which it is. But, far be it from any of us to say no to the goodies that will proceed henceforth!
Can’t wait to see what the last 50 are. Great list overall so far, a great history lesson and cool seeing stuff I have and/or am interested in getting.
I am so excited. I really look forward to see your TOP50! Let’s see there’s got to be at least…
To Hell With the Devil
Colours
For Him Who Has Ears to Hear
Only Visiting This Planet
Dry Bones Dance
Victims of the Age
Slow Train Coming
Horrendous Disc
Welcome to Paradise
Lead Me On
The Turning
etc…
Secretly I hope there would be “Upon This Rock”, “In Another Land” and “Alarma!”. Oh, there’s so many great albums still to see. 🙂
All but 2 🙂
Well, you said that only a lady who recorded under two names would have more entries than Julie Miller who has had 3 already and could conceivably have two more (but probably just one). That would leave two or 3 more for Ms. Phillips. I see three easy, actually. but that’s just me : )
I spent a bit of time perusing this list. At times the list focuses on notable albums in the history of “CCM” then alternately lays claim to albums that seem anything but “CCM”. Quite a few of the artists I suspect would take issue with such classification.
I don’t want to speak for the author, but all of the albums in this list present a Christian worldview, lyrically, although some are more subtle than others. Bands like Midnight Oil, World Party, Paramour and U2 may not consider themselves “Christian” bands, Some bands (like Creed) may even object to the label, but they have all at one time or another publicly stated that their songwriting is influenced by their Christian faith.
One of the things I love about this list is that it is broad enough to include bands like Collective Soul, World Party, and Daughtry. These are all great albums, suitable for the Christian listener and I, for one, am glad that they are included on this list.
I agree with what you say Topeka Ray and, ultimately, it is David’s list and he can formulate it any way he chooses. This has been a huge undertaking and encouragement to the small band of believers who have found this blog and are enjoying the fellowship and scholastic debate after each entry. Personally, I would have omitted the “mainstream” albums simply because the list title is “CCM” and Simply Minds and World Party and the like are simply NOT “CCM” bands (see what I did there?). But, that is certainly not a hill to die on IMO.
I guess it all depends on how you define “CCM,” Shawn. By my very narrow definition, CCM is ONLY mainstream radio friendly adult contemporary music specifically targeted to the Christian market. Early Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, Wayne Watson, and Sandi Patti are good examples. Bands like Stryper (Christian heavy metal), Skillet (Christian alt. rock), Lights (Christian techno) and Lone Justice (Christian cow punk) to me aren’t CCM.
Using David’s much broader definition that CCM is ANY contemporary music, regardless of style or record label, with Christian themes, allows for a much wider variety of music to be included (which I LOVE because I listen to just about everything from the last 45 years.)
I also enjoy “discovering” that a mainstream artist has a Christian world view. While I knew most of the artists on this list were Christian, I was surprised to see Midnight Oil and World Party included. I imagine more casual listeners who HAVEN’T been Dee Jays on and off for over 30 years would find many more “surprises” on this list. I love telling my friends, “Hey, did you know ‘so-and-so’ is a Christian band? Look at their lyrics …”
Maybe “CCM” isn’t the best title for this kind of list, but I wouldn’t narrow the scope at all. Too many great albums would be left out if he did!
OK…I guess i should respond with all of you talking behind my back right in front of me.
CCM is a misnomer. The name itself means absolutely nothing and I have raged against it since I first became directly involved with it. It is a sub-classification of music that attempts to define (and in many cases, demean) music created with a Biblical Worldview. Most often it is used to define the music created by particular music labels or companies that have been relegated to this musical ghetto.
My use of the term was to try and smash the stereotype of what is presupposed by the classification. I was also hoping to lure potential “googlers” in with the popular term in hopes of expanding the musical of many, introducing new or forgotten worthy artists and to educate those who would ignore the genre based on their preconceptions as to what makes up the classification.
Shawn is right and that it is my list, but it has also become the list (or fodder) of many like-minded fans who had also desired to see CCM expand beyond its own self-created borders.
That is BRILLIANT! It’s almost scary how much you and I think alike. 🙂
Most of what we hear today on “Christian,” “Family-friendly,” and “Positive” radio stations is generic sounding, safe shallow Chistianese drivel. The more cutting edge Christian artists rarely find a receptive radio format. I think it’s sad that many of these artists feel like they have to downplay their spirituality in order to find an audience.
That’s exactly why I love this list. In addition to the albums that were just musically outstanding, so many of the entries pushed the boundaries of what was defined as CCM at the time of their releases. It has always seemed like Christian music was 10 years behind what secular artists were doing and if it wasn’t for many of the artists on this list everything we listen to now would still sound like the Imperials or Don Francisco.
Not that I don’t love both those artists, but it’s not 1977 anymore. A lot of today’s Christian crossover bands (Skillet, Switchfoot, Anberlin and others) are blurring the lines between Christian and secular music, and thus, expanding the audience and reaching more listeners with the Gospel message. While some will argue that that message is so watered down that it won’t have any effect on unsaved listeners, it at least opens the door and provides another avenue for us believers to share our faith with people who enjoy the same kind of music.
I think I’m starting to ramble. Great work David. Keep breaking down those barriers.
I agree with all that has been said here. I adhere to this definition of Dave’s: the music created by particular music labels or companies that have been relegated to this musical ghetto. If I did Dave’s list I would have called it Christian albums not CCM albums.
One could easily make a shorter list with only artists like Midnight Oil, Michael McDermott, The Hold Steady or The Cold War Kids or Marvin Gaye for that matter. What’s Goin’ On is inherently gospel oriented…….. but it would be very easy to poke holes in several artists due to questions of the seriousness of their devotion etc. Prince wrote several songs that wouldn’t be out of place on a gospel record but he isn’t going to make this list. I personally don’t see much difference between he and Jim Kerr or Karl Wallinger or The Indigo Girls, who did an interview with CCM Mag about their Catholic beliefs when they first came out. For me….that line is just too hard to draw and so the classification of “Made or distributed by Christian labels” is an easy way for me to delineate.
Posting anytime soon?? You don’t have to do a write-up on the last fifty at once. ha ha
Won’t we all be surprised to findout that Justin Bieber is number one. hehe
“Shawn is right and that it is my list, but it has also become the list (or fodder) of many like-minded fans who had also desired to see CCM expand beyond its own self-created borders.”
Maybe I’m wrong but I would hardly consider people expressing their opinion on the placing of albums on the list, placing of an album on the list at all, or the semantics of the album naming using it as fodder.
I’m gonna leave it at that cause I don’t want to discourage you. I came to this list looking to broaden my musical pallette in regards to music with christian oriented lyrics and values so it serves it’s purpose for me. Sure some choices leave me scratching my head, and I’ve still yet to decide what I think of the 70’s choices (cause I’m not real familar with what was “the standard” back then.
But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed going throw each album in the list, listening to it, reading an insiders description of what was going on at that time. So I pretty much defer to you’re opinion in that your album collection is far larger than mine would ever be.
Just going through this list alone will give me months of stuff to think about and a good many more albums to possibly track down and purchase in some form or another.
Thank you. Looking forward to the rest of the list.
There was a time, however brief, in the `70’s where music classifications were dismantled and top-40 radio stations played pretty much anything. Good music was just considered good music. A southern rock song would be followed by an R&B song, which would be followed by a country song, then a soft rock song might be played. Heck, songs like “Home Where I Belong” by BJ Thomas and “Jesus Is Just Alright” by Arthur Reid have been recorded/covered over the years by many different artists and played on gospel and top-40 radio stations alike. So thanks, low5point, for this list. I hope it helps prove that good music (good bands/artists) are worthy of radio play, no matter what “type” of music they’re labeled. I think a lot of people have missed out on some great music, simply because “CCM” was used to label/define the music.
I didn’t read that line the same way you did Chili. I thought Dave was being really inclusive of his readers and implying that their need to have a list that helped expand the idea of CCM beyond that of assembly line market driven product, to genuine, artistically minded musical expression was a big part of why this blog has been successful.
This.
The fodder expression has to do with how much discussion has been created by the diversity of artistic expressions included…as in “fodder for discussion”
I would expect and hope to find more Petra albums in the top 50. After all Beyond Belief has yet to appear and the majority of Petra fans along with critics believe that it was their best album. I am also hoping Wake-up Call finds it way on the list. To me Wake-Up call may be Petra’s best album, the beats, tempo, hooks and song structures vary from song to song and it’s impossible to confuse one song with another. Although most petra albums are that way. The rock songs are heavy, crunchy and tough. The ballads are uplifting and very spiritual. I may be biased though cause I would probably put the majority of Petra’s albums in the top 50. The only complaint I have about Petra’s music is that sometimes the rock songs have more keyboard than I would like. But they are still great songs with the keyboard, the keyboard just makes them a little softer and gives them less edge.
I love Petra! Unseen Power, Wake-Up Call, No Doubt and Petra Praise 2:We Need Jesus are my personal favorites.
I would guess most readers of this blog would not have Petra in their personal top 50. Too much of a 80’s band. Maybe I am wrong.
I think More Power To Ya and Not of This World might crack my personal top 50 – but mostly because I thought they were a quantum leap in quality back when they came out. I rarely listen anymore.
i would hope most readers of this blog would not have a condecending view of an 80’s band like petra. i think thru this list dave has shown us all that we should look at an artist or album w/ an open mind and not necessarily rule something out based on a perception. artists and albums don’t have to be cool or edgy to make dave’s list. He’s the antithesis of the Jack Black character from “High Fidelity”. i love that he can appreciate don francisco, vengance rising, andre crouch, the alarm, benny hester, gospel gangsta’s and a whole host of others regardless of the differences in style. i have been turned on to several artists i had never listened to before from this list, and i’ve also checked out some that didn’t do a thing for me. This is an unbelievable undertaking….so Dave, in the woyds of st thomas aquinas ” we really appreciate it”!
More Power To Ya = 113
Beat The System = 177
Back To The Streets = 493
Perhaps another Petra album or two will make the top 50
If you can put a band like the Simple Minds in your Top 500, I think there must be also place for Spock’s Beard-Snow and Transatlantic-The Whirlwind. Both albums with a born-again mister Neal Morse. But we shall see what your Top 50 will bring. And I saw also Sufjan Stevens with Illinoise in the list, maybe Sufjan Stevens is on the way? And of course Johnny Cash, a born-again christian who says about himself: “I am not a christian artist, I am an artist who is a christian.” The Man Comes Around would be a beautiful choice. And is U2 a christian band? Maybe during their first three albums. But I can’t explain to others, why they recorded “Sympathy for the devil” during their Rattle and Hum tour.
I don’t see much difference in U2 covering Sypmathy and Cash doing Delia’s Gone or Folsom Prison, for that matter. it’s pretty clear Cash didn’t espouse or encourage the actions depicted in the songs…they were used to convey strong emotions and feelings….which is what an artist does. i think U2 was acknowledging their predicessors as they also recorded covers of Dylan and the Beatles on that same tour. i wholeheartedly agree and think Cash could show up w/ Man Comes Around but i would love to see Unchained. while i don’t love the song title Sympathy is one of the catchiest songs ever! wooooh, wooooh!
Saviour Machine opened their Cornerstone 2011 set with “Sympathy for the Devil”. It’s all in the context, I guess. I’m not familiar with their material, and couldn’t catch a lot of the lyrics in the songs that followed, but I’m assuming it all made sense in the end. It was definitely very moving, and got my brain working.
For Sufjan Stevens, I meant maybe Seven Swans is on the way? A beautiful album with many references to his christian belief.
Judging from the original, top 50 list, I would assume that there will be no more Petra coming up.
I agree with Snow needing to be somewhere in the top 500. Whirlwind,… not so much. Good album to be sure, but very few releases are placed so soon after release. It usually takes time to gain some historical perspective. For me, the Transatlantic album is a little too bloated. Would like to see the songwriting tightened up a bit.
I’m assuming at this point that one of my favourite albums of all time, “Holes in the Floor of Heaven”, by Ric Alba, will not be making the list (prove me wrong, low5point!). This honest and timeless album has been in heavy rotation at my house for most of the last 20 years.
At the same time, before writing this, I skimmed over the “400”s, and all of the albums that I’m familiar with (and in the styles I enjoy) are very strong albums.
Anyway, for those unfamiliar with it, I guess it’s just one more album to investigate.
Some albums I wish would make it somewhere in the top 500, but it looks like there isn’t room left for them:
Switchfoot – The Beautiful Letdown
Jeremy Enigk – Return Of The Frog Queen
Grammatrain – Lonely House
Breakfast With Amy – Dad
Christafari – Gravity
One Bad Pig – I Scream Sunday
WhiteHeart – Freedom
Michael Card – The Life trilogy
Code Of Ethics – Code Of Ethics
Carolyn Arends – I Can Hear You
Kaiser/Mansfield – Trimmed And Burnin’
Greg X. Volz – The River Is Rising
Charmaine – Love Reality
Demon Hunter – The Triptych
Rick Wakeman – The Gospels
Rich Mullins – A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band
Ghoti Hook – Sumo Surprise
Two of them will. I will also have several posts listing why some albums did not make it. A few of those listed will be discussed. Some are simply because I do not own them, which is the case for a few on your list. Others were oversights, brain freezes and mistakes in cutting and pasting. The undertaking to simply list, catalog and order the list was monumnetal to say the least. In doing so, I discovered halfway thru that some titles were “lost” during transferring the information from excel to word and back. The titles I wish I would have included from your list – though mainly in the 300 to 500 area would be:
Breakfast With Amy – Dad
One Bad Pig – I Scream Sunday
WhiteHeart – Freedom
Code Of Ethics – Code Of Ethics
Carolyn Arends – I Can Hear You
Kaiser/Mansfield – Trimmed And Burnin’
Greg X. Volz – The River Is Rising
Ghoti Hook – Sumo Surprise
Of those, the two most glaring would be the two punk albums, OBP and GH
Well I’m gonna throw together my list based on my limited knowledge of CCM. Glad to run into someone with more indepth knowledge thus allow me to expand my tastes. Thanks. 🙂
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Ones I think will make the top 50
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DC Talk – Jesus Freak
Russ Taff – Russ Taff
Stryper – To Hell With The Devil
Carman – Coming On Strong (just joking wanted to see if anyone is paying attention 😛 )
Amy Grant – Lead Me On
Steve Taylor – Meltdown
Chagall Guevera – Chagall Guevera
D&K – No Turning Back
White Heart – Freedom
Rich Mullins – Either Liturgy or The World As Best As I Can Remember It Vol I
Switchfoot – The Beautiful Letdown
Randy Stonehill – Welcome To Paradise
Larry Norman – Only Visiting This Planet
U2 – Joshua Tree
Tonio K – Romeo Unchained
Leslie Phillips – The Turning
Bob Dylan – Slow Train Coming
Daniel Amos – Horrendous Disc
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Ones I would have liked to see make the list but I know will not because we are at the top 50
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Allies – “Long Way From Paradise”
Audio Adrenaline – Either “Lift” or “Bloom”
BeBe & CeCe – Heaven, although I prefer “Different Lifestyles”
Billy Sprague – “Torn Between Two Worlds”, a bit uneven but it really grew on me
Bryan Duncan – “Mercy Me” or “Blue Skys”
DeGarmo & Key – “D&K” or maybe “To Extremes”
David Meece – “Learning To Trust”
Petra – “Beyond Belief”
Debbie Boone – “Choose Life” solely because it probably freaked her fans out.. 😛
Delirious – “King Of Fools”
Geoff Moore – “A Place To Stand” or “Homerun”
Greg X Volz – “River Is Rising”
Imperials – “This Years Model”
Leon Patillo – “Live Experience”
Michael W. Smith – “Change Your World” or “Live Set” (Yeah I know probably too polished)
Morgan Cryar – “Pray In The USA” only causwe King’s X members were invollved with it. 😛
Paul Smith – “Live and Learn” or “No Frills”. Just thought I’d throw him in for kicks.
Relient K – One more album.. Maybe “Five Score and Seven Years Ago”
Rick Cua – “Wear Your Colours” and I’m kinda partial to “Midnight Sun” too.
Steven Curtis Chapman – either “For The Sake Of The Call” or “The Great Adventure”
Pillar – “For The Love Of The Game”
Third Day – You already got to good ones but I really like “Wire” alot.
Fred Hammond – Pages Of Life
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albums I would replaced with something else
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Newsboys – Love Liberty Disco with anything else (except their 1st three and the two praise albums). No matter how hard I try I just dont like that album.
Mylone LeFevre – replace with either “Crack The Sky” or “Face The Music”
Chilli, I think you are pretty right on with your guesses, except Dave mentioned already that he inadvertently left off Freedom by Whiteheart.
I have some that I think will be left off the 500 altogether that I personally loved. Several Pierce Pettis releases, Through Flood and Fire and Field of Your Soul by Sparks, With Abandon – Chasing Furies, Come Join the Living World – Brent Bourgeois, One Deed – Tony Vincent, Don’t Look Now, its the Hallelujah Brothers – Phil & John, Sacred Desires – Mo Leverett, Center of the Earth – Nicholas Giaconia, Ministry of the Interior – Eh! Geoff Mann Band, Generation – Ben Okafor, Stations – Derek Lind, Wildwall – Malcom and Alwyn, The Last Battle – Mike Johnson, ben son, ben son, Beatrice – The Swoon……scads more.
Two of Shawn’s picks will be in the post of regrets and forgets
I think I got my Geoff Moore albums.. I was thinking either “Foundations” or “Pure and Simple” instead of “A Place To Stand”.
I also forgot to mention Maria McKee “You gotta sin to get saved” as being in the top 50.
I really like those Geoff Moore albums as well. His two best before Forefront pushed him in a more commercial direction.
Yeah I’d have to agree.. I first started on Geoff Moore with Friend Like U so it took me a while to work back to his older albums. Although I still get a kick out of the Evolution Redefined song. But the style change is definitely noticeable and I agree his older style suited him better. Although Homerun and Threads turned out to be pretty ok before he called it quits just not up to his earlier work.
I almost forgot about the Sparks. Still have one of those albums on tape. 🙂
Whoops I meant “Morgan Cryar – Fuel On The Fire”. Thatis the album that turned me onto King’s X once I found out that they were involved with it.
Here are some worthy additions to the top 500, even though most are quite mainstream CCM:
Bruce Carroll – The Great Exchange
Steven Curtis Chapman – More To This Life
Susan Ashton – Angels Of Mercy
Michelle Tumes – Listen
Geoff Moore & The Distance – Pure and Simple
Andrus, Blackwood, & Co. – Soldiers of the Light
4Him – The Message
Chris Rice – Deep Enough To Dream
Dallas Holm – His Last Days (includes ‘Rise Again’)
Jaci Velasquez – Heavenly Place
Chasen – That Was Then, This Is Now
Addison Road – Stories
FFH – I Want To Be Like You
PFR – Goldie’s Last Day
Everyday Sunday – Wake Up! Wake Up!
Kutless – Hearts of the Innocent
Petra – Beyond Belief
Wes King – Common Creed
Andy Hunter – Exodus
Sarah Masen – The Dreamlife of Angels
The Imperials – Let The Wind Blow
Audio Adrenaline – Bloom
Margaret Becker – Soul
Don Francisco – The Traveler
Rich Mullins – Never Picture Perfect (and 2 or 3 others)
Allies – Long Way From Paradise
Out Of The Grey – Gravity
The Lead – Burn This Record
Some metal albums are missing as well:
Red – Innocence & Instinct
Believer – Sanity Obscure
Saint – Time’s End
Vengeance Rising – Human Sacrifice
Messiah Prophet – Master of the Metal
Mastedon – It’s A Jungle Out There
And if you wanted to acknowledge worship music, you would include at least:
Phil Driscoll – I Exalt Thee
Sandi Patti – A Morning Like This
Twila Paris – Sanctuary
MercyMe – Almost There
Darlene Zschech – Shout To The Lord
Delirious – Cutting Edge
David Crowder Band – Church Music
Chris Tomlin – Arriving
Just my opinion, though.
Going back to the conversation about some of the mainstream bands making the list, I think that whether it’s Simple Minds, Collective Soul, or DA or Amy Grant or Keith Green, God used their music to ‘connect’ with someone at a particular time of their life. It’s this connection to certain albums that sometimes causes disagreements with what ended up in the Top 50 etc. I’m certainly enjoying list. Discovering some new music and re-discovering some old stuff too!