The Year's Best Albums

2006

Nov 13, 2006

Drum roll, please . . . Announcing, for your listening pleasure, Suite 101's List of the Year's Best Albums, from the past sonic year, November 2005 to November 2006.

Anytime you try to assemble a list of the Year’s Best Albums, you’re headed into a quagmire of the infamous miry clay. Music can only be appreciated subjectively; our best is another listener’s auditory agony. They say tomato, we say rock and roll.

In light of that beginning premise, we’ve tried to consider a few factors in crafting this, Suite’s first Year’s Best List. Sound is the obvious first element, but quite near to it in our minds is the issue of intent: what is the album’s purpose, and has the artist achieved it in an engaging way. Some projects are more message-driven than others, but as believers our every action inherently expresses some measure of message. The artists on our list represent a wide variety of intentions; some are overt worship albums geared to the Christian community, others reach more of the mainstream with lyrics that provoke and/or contain potent thought. Both are valued here for their artful presentation, as well as others that express the heart’s deep longings and the spirit’s journey. And after wrestling for weeks to get the List down to the ten best, we finally decided to let ourselves off the hook, and offer twelve, an even dozen. So with those caveats behind us, we move ahead bravely into the Suite List of the Year’s Best Albums. (Where’s that drum roll?):

With his usual portion of eloquence, intelligence, and most of all, heart, Webb challenges us, and himself, to consider our motives and actions in light of Christ’s higher call. His sincerity as on point as his artistic instincts, he offers “Mockingbird” on his website to download completely free of charge in order to provoke thoughtful conversation concerning the issues addressed on the album: poverty, war, and life ethics. Bravo, brother.

The epitome of the Roaring Lamb, Lang takes this, his most personal album yet, to the world’s stage, where he is warmly welcomed for his exuberantly brilliant music. “Turn Around” features tightly-crafted songs, superb guest artists, and his usual stunning blues guitar chops. His vocals on this album are his best yet, and he’s not shy about his new-found joy in the Lord, expressed here with irresistible soulfulness. A must have for both blues-lovers and God-lovers.

Always noteworthy, the brilliance of this pioneering band has not diminished even slightly during their tenure as worship leaders for a generation. “Mission Bell” is as sonically adventurous as “Cutting Edge” with an equally epic tone. Calling the church to take up its role in serving the world, its bold centerpiece is the challenging and moving “Our God Reigns.” Stunning both musically and spiritually, “Mission Bell” is impossible to ignore.

Prodigy Leeland Mooring writes some of the year’s most creative and inspiring tracks . . . while still in high school! Richly textured and creatively melodic, “Sound of Melodies” seems to open the heavens with its searing power. It’s hard to imagine what this guy will be creating even ten years from now. We only know we want a front row seat.

When crafting an album to challenge listeners to a life of purposeful devotion, it would be easy to fall into clichés. Joel manages to miss every one on this thoughtful, well-executed album of songs directive in tone, yet ambient in sound. An intelligent balance of focus and art, very nicely done.

Think Blues Traveler meets Jesus. Popping with creativity, Jimmy Needham brings a fresh sound, passionate focus, and a highly-charged energy to “Speak.” Each track rife with surprises, Needham holds nothing back in terms of boldness, either in terms of originality or message. Fresh as your morning Starbucks.

Each of the five pieces in this symphonic folk/rock band is talented in the extreme, and their sound is eclectic and original. For their buoyant rhythms, poetic arrangements, and honest worship, this band deserves a LOT more recognition than they’re getting now.

Nobody else is bringing the electrifying energy to a live performance like this super-charged group of funkified worshippers. Exhilarating and on point Scripturally, this off-the-chain album will leave you weak in the knees.

Another commentator with biting wit and clever writing, Arends delivers her insightful message in music brave enough to face down giants, sweet enough to inspire them to consider change. Hers is a power that glows with an inner beauty.

Another creative artist making deep inroads into the day’s culture with his thoughtful poetic sound. I find his music to be almost hypnotic in its power to captivate, a lovely and valuable trait in a developing pop icon like Kearney.

The unique vocal and musical arrangements are matched by intelligent lyrics and clear vertical focus. The album’s craftsmanship alone would make it stand out, but its heart puts it over the top.

Papa’s worship-driven songs contain a quality of fervency unparalleled. Scripture-saturated and delivered with an irresistible sincerity, his songs reach deep into your heart to remind you of God’s loveliness.

The problem with a list such as this one is the ones you had to reluctantly lay aside. In a lame attempt to urge you to look in their direction, we divulge that the projects of Jars of Clay, Andrew Osenga, Songs of the Voice, Liquid, Micah Dalton, Maeve, Sarah Kelly, Red Umbrella, and The Afters were all strong contenders. 2006 has been a banner year in Christian music. We have much to enjoy and give thanks for.

The copyright of the article The Year's Best Albums in Christian Music is owned by Kevan Breitinger. Permission to republish The Year's Best Albums in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.