Music has always been at the core of my being. My dad always played the radio at home and in the car, and my mom got me involved in children’s choir when I was in kindergarten. Today, I help lead worship on my campus and at local churches. I also participate in Trinity Christian College’s Wind, Jazz and Honors ensembles. However, the journey to where we are today doesn’t occur overnight. Just as we grew physically, emotionally, and spiritually, we also grew musically. I’m taking a look back today at the albums that make me who I am.
Steven Curtis Chapman: "Speechless" (1999)
This is one of the first albums I remember listening to as a kid. My parents had a CD changer hooked up to our home stereo, and this was one of the albums that was regularly spun in it. Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith where also included in my regular diet of Contemporary Christian Music classics, but Steven Curtis Chapman was always the artist I enjoyed the most.
Favorite Tracks: Great Expectations, Be Still and Know, The Change, Dive
Chris Tomlin: "Arriving" (2004)
My parents bought me the album songbook for “Arriving” when I began playing guitar ten years ago. Needless to say, I would not be playing guitar and leading worship today without this album.
Favorite Tracks: How Great Is Our God, Indescribable, Your Grace Is Enough
Brandon Heath: "What If We" (2008)
I remember this album as the first CD someone gifted me. It was that first experience flipping through the album booklet and reading the artist's notes. After I listened through Brandon’s album many times, I knew I wanted to make music like this guy.
Favorite Tracks: Give Me Your Eyes, Wait and See, London, Love Never Fails
NeedToBreathe: "The Outsiders" (2009)
I bought this album on a whim because it was on sale for five bucks at the Family Christian Store. Best impulse buy I’ve ever made! Bear Rinehart’s vocals were unlike anything I’d heard before, and the southern rock influences latched on to my eardrums. This album was also my first dip into alternative rock music, although I didn’t know it at the time.
Favorite Tracks: The Outsiders, Valley of Tomorrow, Lay ‘Em Down, Something Beautiful
Coldplay: "Viva La Vida" (2008)
This album represents my middle school years, which is when I started exploring music beyond what I heard on Christian radio. I stumbled across ‘Clocks’ and ‘Speed of Sound’ in the family iTunes library and really enjoyed them. I checked out Mylo Xyloto and Viva La Vida CDs from my local library and brought them on summer vacation. I couldn’t believe I had been missing out on this band!
Favorite Tracks: Violet Hill, Strawberry Hill, Life in Technicolor ii, Death and All His Friends
Imagine Dragons: "Night Visions" (2012)
Imagine Dragons was a favorite for me and my friends in high school. I encountered them on YouTube right before their first album ‘Night Visions’ was released. It was the first group I felt I had discovered right before everyone else did.
Favorite Tracks: It’s Time, Demons, Amsterdam, Bleeding Out
Jar Of Cay: "Inland"
This album about trials and relationships hit me at just the right time in high school. This album reassured me that we all struggle through life, and that’s okay. What matters is that we press on in our relationships with each other, and be honest with ourselves about where we fall short.
Favorite Tracks: Fall Asleep, Inland, Left Undone, Reckless Forgiver, After the Fight
U2: "The Joshua Tree" (1987)
I rediscovered this classic in the weeks leading up to my freshman year at Trinity Christian College. My dad has told me that this was the album he listened to the most while studying in college. It seems only appropriate that I have a similar connection to Bono & co at this time in my life. It’s a goal of mine to write a song that could be considered as good as any of the tracks on this album.
Favorite Tracks: Where the Streets Have No Name, With or Without You, Running to Stand Still, Trip Through Your Wires
Let me know what albums have been most important to you on your journey!
