top 20

recently i was asked to write my top 20 christian album releases of 2012.
so here they are, in no particular order (because let's be honest, i can't decide who gets first in this race):

·      Paper Route- “The Peace of Wild Things”= One of those albums that is straight-up captivating.

·      Future of Forestry- “Young Man Follow EP”= I was tardy to the party with Future of Forestry but I am a fan now because of this EP.

·      The Classic Crime- “Phoenix”= Crafty writing and driven beats garner this release a spot in the top 20.  And ‘Glass Houses’ has a sing-a-long part!

·      The Wedding- “No Direction”= Their first full-length in years, it was worth the wait.

·      NEEDTOBREATHE- “Keep Your Eyes Open EP: Songs from The Reckoning Sessions”= I love their recordings, I love them live, so obviously I would love a live recording.

·      Capital Kings- “I Feel So Alive”= It’s fun. And dancey.

·      Stomptown Revival- “Stomptown Revival EP”= It has harmonica, I mean come on.

·      Brandon Heath- “Blue Mountain”= The first track, ‘The Harvester,’ is what got this album on the list.

·      Write This Down- “Lost Weekend”= Such a solid sophomore release, gritty and raw and perfectly imperfect.

·      Britt Nicole- “Gold” = She sounds a little more grown-up, and a little more polished. And she got Lecrae to join her on a track, don’t worry, it works.

·      Anberlin- “Vital”= Stephen Christian and Co. are really good at hitting the nail on the head.

·      Owl City- “The Midsummer Station”= With the summer anthem ‘Good Time’ and unexpected songs like ‘Silhouette’ it nabs a spot.

·      Summertime Dropouts- “Rewind”= A sparkling new band with a sparkling new pop-punk summer soundtrack.

·      Love Out Loud- “Catch Me If You Can” = If Owl City, Family Force 5, and Relient K got together and had a baby it would be this album.

·      Benjamin Dunn and the Animal Orchestra- “Fable”= Unabashedly Christian, not a drop of cheesy.

·      Heath McNease- “The Weight of Glory”= Making an album inspired by the works of C.S. Lewis could go horribly wrong or horribly right, in this case it was the latter.

·      From Indian Lakes- “Able Bodies”= I just like these fellas.

·      Josh Anderson- “All the Little Things”=He’s like a rough Jon Foreman, I’m for it.

·      Dave Barnes- “Stories To Tell” =Sometimes you just want a solid pop album from a talented singer-songwiter.

·      Honorable mention: House of Heroes- “Cold Hard Want” = I have heard so many great things about this album but have yet to really spend time with it, my fault. 

here's to a 2013 filled with great jams!

xo