Sunday, April 20, 2008

My Top Albums & Songs Of All Time [11/20/07]

One of my partners in this website likes to look at statistics. I have not made that a front-and-center area yet. I will though. I am realizing how important it is to look at the details.

Jimmy and I have known each other for almost 17 years now. I remember sitting down with him to make a list of my "all time top 20 songs of Christian rock". Stuff like this generally comes easy for me.

I used to DJ back in my undergraduate days and with another friend of mine at an independent AM station over 10 years ago. It was fun. I could listen to an album or CD and pick out the single or two that should be on the radio. Then, I would look at the charts, and more often than not, I was right on the mark.

Not to say I know anything. I just know what I like, which tends to be a wide open pasture as far as the eye can see. If talented musicians know their craft and take it seriously, it is a no-brainer. Good quality music is noticed, most times with more than a passing glance.

Missing from the following list are some of the big, often overkilled artists within Christendom. I won't just place an album solely based on its' historical significance. A few are not even "Christian" from the limited perspective that constitutes "Christian rock". For that matter, I do not personally think there is such a thing as Christian music, rock, CCM,...whatever you want to call it. This is why I put quotation marks around "Christian rock". You cannot play a Christian note on a guitar or saxophone. There can be an anointing, but that is a whole other dragon to approach.

So, now that I have gotten that out in the open, here are my lists. Mind you, these represent my own personal tastes.

TOP 30 ALBUMS/CD's (in no particular order):

the violet burning - Strength
Bloomsday - The Day The Colours Dies
Adam Again - 10 Songs By...
The Choir - Circle Slide
AD - Art Of The State
U2 - The Joshua Tree
U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
Daniel Amos - Alarma
Michael McDermott - self-titled
Lies Damned Lies - The Human Dress
Iona - The Book Of Kells
V.O.L. - Killing Floor
Undercover - Balance Of Power
The 77's - Sticks And Stones
The 77's - Pray Naked
Jerusalem - Warrior
Daniel Band - On Rock
the violet burning - I Am A Stranger In This Place
Lyrix - Songs From The Earth
Michael Knott - Rocket And A Bomb
Sleeping At Last - Ghosts
Saxon Shore - The Exquisite Death Of Saxon Shore
Resurrection Band - Colours
Mastedon - It's A Jungle Out There
Steve Taylor - I Predict 1990
LSU - Grace Shaker
King's X - Gretchen Goes To Nebraska
Curious Fools - {read}
The Autumns - The Angel Pool
Ark Angel - Warrior

Top 50 Songs (in no particular order)
the violet burning - There Is No One Like You
Resurrection Band - Colours
The Choir - Gripped
Ark Angel - Morning's Anthem
Over The Rhine - Give Me Strength
The Prayer Chain - Whirlpool
the violet burning - Song Of The Harlot
Andy McCarroll & Moral Support - Sin
Adam Again - River On Fire
Undercover - The Way Of The Rose
The Call - Let The Day Begin
The Call - I Still Believe (The Great Design)
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - All You Do Is Talk
LeRoux - Roll Away The Stone
Hothouse Flowers - Isn't It Amazing
Iona - Kells
Bloomsday - Song Of Five
Curious Fools - Pull
DOX - Aim For The Heart
Common Children - Blue Raft
LSU - Christ Saves
Jerusalem - Constantly Changing
Stavesacre - At The Moment
the violet burning - As I Am
The 77's - This Is The Way Love Is
The Choir - Restore My Soul
Adam Again - Who Can Hold Us
LSU - Blame
Undercover - So Wonderful
Daniel Amos - Sanctuary
The 77's - Kites Without Strings
Resurrection Band - The Struggle
The Prayer Chain - Never Enough
Daniel Amos - I'm Sorry
AD - The Fury
Vector - The Shore
Iona - Revelation
Jughead - Be Like You
Lies Damned Lies - Have Mercy
Loudflower - Everyone But Me
Mastedon - Right Hand
King's X - The Difference
Jacobstone - Beauty Vines
Saxon Shore - Silence Lends A Face To The Soul
Sleeping At Last - A Skeleton Of Something More
Stavesacre - Gold And Silver
U2 - Crumbs From Your Table
U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
King's X - Moanjam
the violet burning - Gorgeous

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