Jay’s Top 7 of 2005: A 20-Year Musical Rewind
My journey into the world of Christian music began in June 2003, shortly after I gave my life to Christ. Since music has always been an integral part of my identity, those first couple of years exploring the vast expanse of Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) were defining for my early walk with Christ. My musical tastes have always been eclectic, ranging from classical and jazz to pop and all the way to heavy metal. You really can’t pigeonhole the type of music you’d find on my vast playlists; it’s a hodgepodge of everything imaginable.
Because of this, narrowing down my favorite Christian albums and songs has always been a difficult task. If you’re like me, you’ve heard countless amazing songs from many great artists over the years, right? I always compare it to being asked, “who is your favorite kid”? That’s a tough one, especially since I have six amazing kids.
So, for today’s list, I’m narrowing the parameters. I’m focusing on a year that represented my first full immersion into everything CCM had to offer. Join me as I fire up my ‘music time machine’ and jump back 20 years to 2005 to revisit my Top 7 albums from that year.
You might be wondering, “Why a Top 7 and not a Top 10 or Top 5?” The answer is simple: To me, 7 is God’s number, so it feels right. After I’m done, I want you to post your own Top 7 from 2005 in the comments. I’m curious to see if any of my favorites are also yours. So, what are we waiting for? Let’s jump back to 2005!
The Countdown Begins
By 2005, I was about a year into running the website I had launched in 2004, Christian Music Review (the site that is now TCE). By the end of that year, I had listened to some incredibly amazing albums. A few of the records on this list are even in my Top Christian Albums of All Time. For each entry, I’ll give you the album and my favorite song from it. So, which albums made my Top 7? Let’s get started!
#7: Jars of Clay Redemption Songs
(Released: March 22, 2005 – Sony/Provident)
Okay, I know Jars of Clay has gotten some flack over the years, especially for lead singer Dan Haseltine’s controversial comments. But there is no mistaking the sheer talent, delivery, and impact of their music. By the time they released Redemption Songs in 2005, they had already been making music for over a decade, and this album was just special. It featured some of the most uplifting hymns of all time, including many obscure numbers, with the band adding their own personal touch to the arrangements.
This record stayed in my CD player for a long time after its release, second only to their later album, Good Monsters. It was hard to narrow it down to just one favorite track, so I settled on two. First was their version of “I’ll Fly Away” featuring Ashley Cleveland. Though covered by countless artists, their composition was, in my opinion, one of the catchiest and most uplifting I’ve ever heard for this particular hymn. My other favorite was “Nothing But The Blood”. The fact that Jars was covering this was cool enough, so what could make it even better? How about adding the soulful vocals along with the funny outtake conversations of the Blind Boys of Alabama? Such an incredibly amazing and beautiful song!
#6: Kutless Strong Tower
(Released: March 1, 2005 – BEC Recordings)
I first heard Kutless shortly after their 2004 record, Sea of Faces, was released. As a big fan of the Seattle grunge scene before finding Jesus, the Portland, OR-based Kutless was a natural fit for my musical tastes. After months of enjoying their debut and sophomore records, the band released their third album, Strong Tower, in the spring of 2005. What caught me off guard was how the band had successfully brought together two genres: praise and worship and rock.
I believe the title track was the first song I heard before getting a pre-release copy from BEC Recordings. As I listened to the rest of the album, I was impressed with how well it flowed and how the combination of genres just worked. Songs like “Better Is One Day”, “Strong Tower”, “Word of God Speak” and “We Fall Down” became instant favorites.
So, what’s my top track from Strong Tower? This is tough, as it was a solid record from beginning to end. But one song that stood out was the band’s cover of Petra’s “Take Me In”. Petra’s original is a great song with a great message, but Kutless managed to do something that doesn’t always happen with covers – they made it better! I still love to jam to this song whenever it comes on.
(Coincidentally, as I was finishing this list, I caught up with Jon Micah Sumrall from Kutless to talk about the 20th anniversary of Strong Tower, which you can listen to at https://bit.ly/4545oZE!)
#5: The Afters I Wish We All Could Win
(Released: February 22, 2005 – INO Records)
At #5 is a debut record that remains one of my favorites, even 20 years later. Growing up on hard and alternative rock, my introduction to The Afters was their single “Beautiful Love”, which immediately caught my attention. As I listened to their music, I couldn’t help but get lost in it. The album’s soaring melodies, catchy hooks, and uplifting message served as a huge encouragement for me.
When I got the pre-release copy in early 2005, I was about to get married and was dealing with a lot of nervousness and anxiety over simple things. I was asking myself things like, “could I be a good husband to my soon-to-be wife”? and “Could I be a leader she could look up to and follow?” This record was a huge blessing, and anthems like
“Beautiful Love”, “Love Lead Me On” and “You” gave me the fuel I needed to hit the ground running into my marriage. My favorite song? It’s funny, because as much of a rock fan as I am, my favorite track is a slower ballad called, “Love Will Make You Beautiful”.
#4: Third Day Wherever You Are
(Released: November 1, 2005 – Sony/Provident)
The album at #4 comes from the band that truly served as my entry into the world of CCM. My late friend Greg Clifton is the reason Third Day is one of my all-time favorite Christian bands. To this day, I can listen to any of their records and just get totally immersed in their music. After Greg’s indie band covered their song “Consuming Fire”, I delved into the Offerings II record and was hooked!
By the time Wherever You came out in late 2005, I was already a massive fan. I remember getting an early copy from their label, Essential Records, and being blown away by songs like “Cry Out To Jesus”, “Eagles”, “Mountain of God” and “Tunnel”. It was another one of those records I could listen to from beginning to end and served as a great follow-up to their 2004 album, Wire. While I loved all those tracks, one song left me convicted and wanting to serve Jesus even more: “Carry My Cross”, which is still one of my favorite Third Day songs.
#3: Disciple Disciple
(Released: June 7, 2005 – INO Records)
I’ve been a fan of hard rock and metal for as long as I can remember. When I got a pre-release copy of the album at #3, it showed me that you can mosh, headbang, and praise Jesus all at the same time! An interesting fact about Disciple’s self-titled record is that it wasn’t originally self-titled. When I received an advance copy in the spring of 2005 from INO Records (now Fairtrade), it was called Rise Up.
From the blistering opening track, “The Wait Is Over”, I was absolutely hooked! In fact, after listening through the whole record, my first thought was, “Whoa! What did I just listen to?” I had no idea Christian music could sound like that! Before I gave my life to Christ, some of my favorite groups were Metallica, Alice in Chains, and Creed—pretty much any band with loud, distorted guitars, screaming vocals, and a sense of resistance to authority. So, when I discovered this record by Disciple, I was absolutely blown away!
There were so many great songs here, including “Rise Up”, “Shinedown”, “Tribute”, and “Into Black”. My favorite song from the album? It has to be the first one I ever heard, the one that had me hooked from the very beginning: “The Wait Is Over”!
Disciple remains one of my favorite rock bands to this day. I attended my first Disciple show in Tampa, FL, in the summer of 2005, and they did not disappoint! Kevin Young and company not only melt faces at shows across the country but are unashamed to tell people about the love of Jesus every chance they get.
#2: Casting Crowns Lifesong
(Released: August 30, 2005 – Sony/Provident)
We’ve arrived at #2, and this band is one of the most successful CCM groups, period. When Casting Crowns released their self-titled debut in late 2003, they immediately captured my attention with songs like “If We Are The Body”, “Who Am I?”, and the smash-hit, “Voice of Truth”. Naturally, I wondered if they could top that with their second record. Would they hit it out of the park or suffer a sophomore slump?
With Lifesong, they didn’t just hit a moonshot; they cemented themselves as one of the biggest and most successful groups in CCM. For me, there wasn’t a bad song on this record. Of course, the title track soared up the charts, but it was the next song and the story behind it that really hit me in the feels as it blew up on Christian radio. The song “Praise You in This Storm” took Christian radio by storm (no pun intended). By the time listeners’ tears stopped falling in response to its heartbreaking message, which was inspired by a Casting Crowns fan whose daughter battled and lost her life to cancer and its aftermath, it was clear we had a new juggernaut in Christian music. The whole record is fantastic and, 20 years later, still one of the greatest of all time, in my opinion.
My favorite track? “Set Me Free”. I don’t know what it is about that song, but it has a haunting soundtrack with an even more powerful message.
Honorable Mentions
Before we get to my number one album of 2005, I’d like to mention a few other albums that encouraged, inspired, and had me singing along!
In no particular order:
Bart Millard Hymned No. 1
Superchick Beauty From Pain
Newsong Rescue: Live Worship
BarlowGirl Another Journal Entry
Thousand Foot Krutch The Art of Breaking
Switchfoot Nothing is Sound
Stellar Kart All Gas. No Brake.
#1: Todd Agnew Reflection of Something
