#4: Pro Pain by Mars Ill-This disc has to be one of 2005's most controversial discs, which sounds strange to say about a disc released on a Christian label. However, Pro Pain, which was slated for a July release, never actually officially hit shelves because of label issues with one of the samples used on the disc. That being said, the disc did get shipped out to a few stores, and a few extremely lucky people were able to get their hands on a copy of this disc. Being one of those people, I can say that Mars Ill will undoubtedly have one of 2006's top discs as well (The release is now slated for January 2006). This disc is yet another indication that Christian hip hop has made great strides in 2005. The disc is great on every level. Tracks like Sound Off and Saturday Night Special are just great to listen to. When Heaven Scrapes The Pavement is an excellent use of song to share a testimony. I Is is great for it's ability to create a great hip hop track by simply going through and talking about what the typical hip hop track does lyrically. This disc is solid throughout. The men of Mars Ill created a disc worthy praise in both the year is was supposed to be released and the year it will actually be released.
#3: Never Take Friendship Personal by Anberlin-Underrated. This is what Anberlin was entering 2005. Blueprints For The Black Market was a superb disc that could often get lost because the "big names" were gettting all the attention. However, the release of Never Take Friendship Personal made Anberlin much harder to ignore, and rightfully so. In the alt-rock realm, there is no doubt that this disc was the cream of the crop. The hard, edgy title track sent the disc on it's way through a ride of great track after great track. The hint-of-pop A Day Late became a relatively popular video, while Paperthin Hymn and (The Symphony Of) Blase' became popular on Christian radio (With Paperthin Hymn looking to make a run in the mainstream market). The disc is filled with excellent and creative tracks from the darker style of The Feel Good Drag to the more upbeat stylings of songs like Time & Confusion. Never Take Friendship Personal was an early favorite to be 2005's best disc. Nevertheless, it closes out the year as one of the year's Top 3, and that is certainly nothing to scoff at.
#2: A Collision by David Crowder Band-Consistently one of the best worship leaders out there, David Crowder Band has constantly created inventive music that is catchy. On A Collision, they did so in four separate parts and 73 minutes. One of the year's longest releases, it was well worth every second. This disc contains infectious yet thoughtful melodies, creative music both on full songs and during the interludes, and some of the best worship songs to come out all year. It even contains a backyard barbeque hoedown in the middle of the disc! I Saw The Light shows exactly how varied the songs of David Crowder can be. There's nothing quite like a hoedown and classic Hank Williams, Sr. track right in the middle of a disc. But every track on this disc was superb, from the opening with Come And Listen and Here Is Our King to the end with The Lark Ascending. Each track was a listening experience all it's own. And that is what made this disc such a listening pleasure.
Honorable Mentions
#25-#21
#20-#16
#15-#11
#10-#6
#5-#2
#1
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