2011 Music Awards
10. PARADOXX: Decade
2010, Alternative dance, Christian thematic
Received free from band in exchange for review
Amazon.com sales rank: 915,228
MP3 tracks at Amazon? No
Available at iTunes? No
Available at cdbaby.com for $11.97
The only reason this album is down this low is because I already had all the songs but one -- it’s a “best of” album. They did very well at choosing the best songs and sequencing them.
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9. THE ECHOING GREEN:
In Scarlet and Vile
2011, Alternative, Christian worldview
Bought new from Amazon for $13.51
Amazon.com sales rank: 141,913
MP3 tracks at Amazon? Yes
Available at iTunes? Yes
In objective terms, the album is strong and has memorable melodies. But I was disappointed that they dropped the electronics, and the lyrics are quite dark, as you might guess from the title.
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8. ANTHONY NEWMAN
Plays J.S. Bach
1972, Classical
Bought used at Amazon marketplace for $22.96
Amazon.com sales rank: [Rare]
MP3 tracks at Amazon? No
Available at iTunes? No
This is the album that made me a J.S. Bach fan back in 7th grade, but I never managed to get the album back then. Extremely rare -- so happy to get it this year.
7. VARIOUS ARTISTS: The Future Sound Of Worship, Vol. 1
2010, Dance, Christian thematic
Purchased new at venue for $10.00
Amazon.com sales rank: Not available as CD at Amazon
MP3 tracks at Amazon? Yes
Available at iTunes? Yes
I discovered ChristianDanceMusic.net this year, a website loaded with Christian dance music (though unfortunately only as downloads). This is a sample of the music available there.
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6. DAVID CROWDER BAND: Church Music
2009, Modern Rock, Christian praise & worship
Purchased new at BMG’s yourmusic.com for $4.99
Amazon.com sales rank: 5,631
MP3 tracks at Amazon? Yes
Available at iTunes? Yes
At first I wasn’t sure about this album, but now I think it’s my favorite of theirs. They’re the only church-worship-leader band that I like these days.
5. ANDY HUNTER: Collide
2011, Dance, Christian thematic/worldview
Got from iTunes, free with iTunes credits from American Express
Amazon.com sales rank: Not available on CD
MP3 tracks at Amazon? Yes
Available at iTunes? Yes
After Andy Hunter’s previous rather disappointing album, it’s great to have him back in full force again with driving electronic dance music. Perfect music, though I still wanted more lyrically.
4. DELTA-S: Voyage To Isis
2008, Futurepop, Christian thematic
Purchased used from Amazon marketplace for $17.97
Amazon.com sales rank: 1,013,845
MP3 tracks at Amazon? Yes
Available at iTunes? Yes
This is a hauntingly beautiful electronic masterpiece. It’s a coherent whole, like an opera. Top-notch music and recording, deeply moving lyrical themes...can I say “Masterpiece” again?
2. G-POWERED: Trust
2010, Dance, Christian thematic
Purchased new from the record label for $14.50
Amazon.com sales rank: 238,431
MP3 tracks at Amazon? Yes
Available at iTunes? Yes
Nearly a tie for #1. Melodic vocal trance music is by far my favorite style of music. This is the first Christian album I’ve ever heard in the genre. The lyrics are awesome too.
3. CHARMAINE: Love Reality
2010, Pop, Christian thematic
Purchased used at Amazon marketplace for $7.41
Amazon.com sales rank: 169,364
MP3 tracks at Amazon? Yes
Available at iTunes? Yes
Astounding rich production propels this pop delight into perfection. I savor every detail in this luxurious recording, and am moved by the melodies and performance.
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1. MISS ANGIE: Time And Space
2011, Pop, Christian thematic
Purchased new from Amazon for $10.21
Amazon.com sales rank: 109,989
MP3 at Amazon? No*
Available at iTunes? No*
*Currently only downloadable for free at
http://missangie.bandcamp.com/
Miss Angie is back!!! She was one of my favorite artists of the 1990s, then she disappeared...until now. A different style of music than before, but as fascinating as always.
Music Central is a sub-website of J Lee Harshbarger’s personal website. To visit other sub-websites, click the links below.
Note: Please see the web page “Annual Music Awards” for a complete description of the way the awards are chosen (qualifications to be on the list, criteria for ranking) and for what the various data here mean (i.e. lyrical theme categories, Amazon.com rankings, etc.). The list below contains only a brief synopsis of each album. For my full review of the album, click on the album cover picture. This page’s Amazon rankings are as of March 18, 2012.
ABOUT THE 2011 AWARDS
At last the tide turned, and for the first time since 2008, I had a full-time job in 2011, so finally I was able to start purchasing music more freely again.
Finding good Christian music continues to get more and more difficult every year. As the big music labels have deteriorated into only offering bland mass appeal music, and small labels have become more rare as the internet enables individual artists to distribute their own music, finding music now involves more persistent web searching and frankly, sometimes accidentally stumbling onto things. But the search was worth it -- all of the albums on my list this year are really good, all the way down to the last item on the list.
