Copious Notes' Top 10 Christian pop albums of 2006

When I look at this list to see if there's a common theme, the one that
hammers me is salt and light.
Christians are told to be in the mainstream, ministering and demonstrating
God's love. This list of my 10 favorite Christian pop albums includes six
acts with well-established mainstream followings. Two of them, Jonny Lang and Brian Littrell, are certifiable pop stars who came to the Christian
market.
What does this say? The line between faith-based and secular pop is growing fuzzier and fuzzier. And whether they are preaching to the choir or reaching out to the masses, as long as Christian  artists are dropping albums like these, they can be pretty proud of their work.
1. Jars of Clay, Good Monsters: Generally, I don't like joining the choir. I'm the Christian pop critic who has named Alathea and Andy Hunter No. 1s in previous years. With a steady chorus of praise for Good Monsters, I was trying to go in another direction. But the album, Jars of Clay's career best, is an undeniable ideological and artistic triumph. For six months, it's been in heavy rotation in my home and car, and the revelations of the music and lyrics just keep coming.
2. Underoath, Define the Great Line: The moment Spencer Chamberlain howls, "Wake up, wake up, my God!," you know this is going to be a torrential album. But the pleasant surprise is how tight, musical and focused it is. Every track is delivered with force and clarity as Underoath transcends its genre to make hardcore art.
3. Hyper Static Union, Lifegiver: We give you two debuts on this list -- three, if you count Brian Littrell's solo bow. Hyper Static Union's first effort floated to the top because of its buoyant spirit and diverse sound. Listening to it, you sometimes think you've put another disc on, these guys move around so much. It's great for that, and despite several great tunes on Good Monsters, Sunny Days is my song of the year.
4. Jonny Lang, Turn Around: When young Jonny Lang decided to come to the Christian market, you knew he would bring some guitar playing worthy of the genre that gave us Phil Keaggy. But he did so much more, creating a rousing, gospel and blues disc that is also a strong personal statement of faith. If you're down, I strongly recommend a combination of Hyper Static Union and Jonny Lang, and call us when you stop dancing.
5. Mutemath, Mutemath: Earthsuit was interesting, but Paul Meany has something really special with this act. Though this is the band's debut album, through an EP and tireless touring, a lot of people were already
familiar with Mutemath’s ethereal pop rock and energetic live shows. More should listen now.
6. Brian Littrell, Welcome Home: On the outside, this may have looked easy: The pop superstar comes to the modest Christian market. But Christian pop fans can smell insincerity, so coming in, Littrell needed to make a genuine effort. The Lexington native went above and beyond with a disc that reflected his Baptist roots and old-school contemporary Christian music passion. Two of Littrell's originals on the album fit beautifully into the Flight 5191 memorial in September. Clearly, this Backstreet Boy has a future on Christian pop's Main Street.
7. Pillar, The Reckoning: It's been great watching these guys grow. A standard bearer for rap-based hardcore, the quartet (with an added guitarist, now) delivered its best disc to date by not slaving to genre
expectations. The result is Pillar's most stylistic and topically diverse disc ever.
8. Ginny Owens, Bring Us Peace: This is a first, putting a Christmas album on the Top 10. Usually, Christmas discs are fairly perfunctory efforts, but Owens came up with some wonderful stuff, including an entertaining break-up song and stirring arrangements of several classics.
9. Switchfoot, Oh! Gravity: These guys have become the most keen observers of faith in modern culture. The new disc is grittier and reveals the roots of a lot of Switchfoot¹s sound, beyond their San Diego surfer roots.
10. Skillet, Comatose: Christian rock¹s big brothers and sisters, Skillet
once again communicates an innate sense for the concerns of modern teens. Those are thoughts they relay with grandiose arrangements, though it is nice to have a few songs reflecting where the band has come from.