Okay, so some of you are still saying, "So what? Big sales doesn't mean the disc is anything special." And I agree with you. But not in this instance. Why is the Jesus Freak 10th Anniversary so special? Because this is the most influential Christian disc ever. Maybe that's just my opinion, but I am sticking to that opinion with everything I've got until another disc comes around and proves me wrong (Which is highly unlikely at this point in the game).
The thing about Jesus Freak is that it opened every door you can think of for current Christian acts (And a lot of mainstream acts as well). The disc won awards in droves. The subsequent tour sold insanely well. And it propelled dc Talk to icon status.
Jesus Freak opened dc Talk up to Hot AC radio in the Christian and maisntream realms. Until that time, dc Talk was big in the Christian realm (They even won a Grammy for Free At Last), but they weren't huge. This disc made them huge. In the mainstream, the single Between You And Me became a Top 40 hit. They became quite popular. In fact, the first concert I saw them play was at the Planet 96.3 Holiday Hootenanny in 1998. Six or seven bands/artists were lined up, and dc Talk was the second band mentioned on the lineup (Right behind Goo Goo Dolls, a band certainly having huge success at the time).
Jesus Freak was also the disc that got dc Talk their deal with Virgin Records, which in turn gave big exposure to the next disc, Supernatural, which in turn debuted at #4 on the Billboard Hot 200 (The highest debut for a Christian disc ever until Switchfoot's Nothing Is Sound debuted at #3 just a few months ago).
Also, Jesus Freak was the disc that not only opened, but broke down the door for Christian rock acts. Before Jesus Freak, there were three or four big name rock acts in Christian music (And two that I am thinking of have since turned very pop and disappointed a lot of fans). But look around the Christian realm now. Thousand Foot Krutch, Falling Up, Relient K, Switchfoot, Underoath...these are just a few names that hasve become big in the Christian realm in recent years (And four out of the five have also enjoyed some sort of mainstream success). Without Jesus Freak, it is unlikely that these bands would have nearly as much acceptance in either the Christian or mainstream realms.
Finally, for me personally, this is the most influential disc in my collection because, well, it's the disc that turned me on to dc Talk. I still prefer Supernatural to Jesus Freak by a hair, but without Jesus Freak, I would never have bought my favorite disc. Without purchasing that, I would never have become the music freak I am today. Without Jesus Freak, I would be a completely different person. I would never be able to tell you the difference in Underoath screamo and Project 86 hard rock (With a heavy mix of screams built in). I would have never introduced myself to so many different bands, because I would not have been buying compilation discs just because dc Talk was included on them (Even though I had the songs on three other compilation discs as well). I would have never dropped what currently stands around $6000 on CDs. And, most importantly, I would never have had such a passion for music as a whole and likely would not have been interested in singing.
Music is my life. Without Jesus Freak, that simply would not be the case. On a more general scale, without Jesus Freak, a lot of people's lives would have been a lot different, most definitely for the worse. With all of that said, I just want to say one time: Thank you, Kevin, Mike, Toby, and everyone involved, for creating such a masterpiece.