rebelling against low expectations

What kind of music do you listen to?

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COURTNEY WRITES: What music do you listen to?

I’ve been looking for some new songs, and I’d love to know what you guys like. It doesn’t necessarily have to be “Christian” music but it needs to be clean. Anything from Sovereign Grace to Twenty-One Pilots is welcome.


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  • Hey there Courtney! =)
    I love, Love, LOVE music! And I listen to all varieties and genres…though I avoid profane and dirty songs….
    I’m not sure what genres, decades, and styles you like, but as for Christian; here’s some artists and some of my favorite songs by them. =)
    -Matt Maher- Lord I Need You; Hold us Together; All the People Said Amen. -Casting Crowns- Courageous; Your Love is Extravagant; Spirit Wind; Jesus Friend of Sinner; (and LOTs of others!
    -TobyMac is great if you’re into more rap/popish stuff…!- Speak Life; Favorite Song; Made to Love; Lose My Soul
    -Anthem Lights!!!- Can’t Get Over You; I Wanna Know You Like That; K-Love Fan Awards Mashup (they are a crossover band and do lots of mashups)
    -MercyMe- Greater; I Can Only Imagine; Spoken For; Move; Shake
    -Mandisa- Good Morning; Overcomer
    -Jamie Grace- Hold Me; You Lead
    -Francesca Battistelli- I’m Letting Go; Angel by Your Side; Free To Be Me There’s a song called “Hope Can Change Everything” which is a collaboration of Christian artists…
    (I’m a little out of touch with what’s “new” because I’ve been out of
    the U.S. for 7 months now. Sadly, I’m more out of touch with the
    Christian music than anything cuz it’s not publicized as much online and
    things…. =P )
    —Everyone’s definition of “clean” is a little different, but here’s some other pretty clean secular songs that I enjoy. (Some old, some new…you may know some of them) =)
    “Thinking Out Loud” Ed Sheeran.
    “Style” Taylor Swift
    “Rude” MAGIC
    “Something in the Water” Carrie Underwood
    “All American Girl” Carrie Underwood
    Shania Twain has quite a few fun songs! =D (Any Man of Mine & Man I Feel Like a Woman are some of my favs)
    “Man In the Mirror” Michael Jackson
    “Best Day of My Life” American Authors
    “Owl City is a good band..! (also a crossover)
    “I Don’t Dance” Lee Brice
    “Marry Me” Jason Derulo
    “Lean on Me” Michael Bolton
    “Bless the Broken Road” Rascal Flatts
    “Life is a Highway” Rascal Flats (this song is on the movie Cars)
    “Mayberry” Rascal Flatts
    “Long Black Train” Josh Turner
    “Why Don’t We Just Dance” Josh Turner
    “Shut Up and Dance” Walk the Moon
    “Wagon Wheel” Darius Rucker
    “I’m Yours” Jason Mraz
    “You Raise Me Up” Josh Groban (he just does my favorite cover…tons of people sing it)
    “One Of the Guys” Kellie Pickler
    “Small Town Girl” Kellie Pickler
    Peter Hollens is an AWESOME singer! He does covers of LOTS of songs and records himself over creating like a one man all acapella band! It’s super cool!!!

    Hope these help some! =D

  • Music is one of my loves, so I listen to music just about all the time. I won’t even both to keep this short then… But just for the record, anything by Andrew Peterson, Nichole Nordeman, and Chris Tomlin are great.
    I’d recommend looking up these:
    1.) Andrew Peterson’s “In the Night”
    2.) Nichole Nordeman’s “Fool For You”
    3.) Chris Tomlin’s “Indescribable”
    4.) Sanctus Real’s “Whatever You’re Doing”
    5.) Remedy Drive’s “All Along”
    6.) Hawk Nelson’s “Every Beat of My Broken Heart” and “Drops in The Ocean”
    7.) Colton Dixon’s “Through All of It”
    8.) Casting Crown’s “Courageous” and “The Altar And The Door”
    9.) Audio Adrenaline’s “Kings And Queens”
    10.) Big Daddy Weave’s “What Life Would Be Like”
    11.) Mark Schultz’s “Letters From War” (I LOOOVE this one…) and “He Is”
    12.) Tenth Avenue North’s “By Your Side” (They have other good ones, too.)
    13.) MercyMe’s “Only You Remain” and “Free”. Actually, all of the songs on their “Generous Mr. Lovewell” album.
    While I enjoy listening to mostly Christian music, I do admit to listening to a few choice secular songs every now and then. Try U2’s “Songs of Innocence” album. I don’t listen to a whole lot of secular stuff, but I also like Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song”. I also love 80s pop (which, some can be dirty, but those wouldn’t be the ones I would recommend obviously – I listen to songs like “Beat It”, “You Spin Me Round”, and “Take On Me”). But I mostly listen to Christian music (which technically gets classified as “rock”, although I wouldn’t call it that personally…). Anyway, there are some of my favorites!

  • Oh, my…. this could get long. So, I listen to a lot of Christian music, which I’ll just say right off the bat that Andrew Peterson has the best out there today, imho :). Just sayin’. But I also listen to Shane and Shane, Leeland, We are They, the Getty’s, Galkin Evangelistic Team (for a little slower more traditional music), Matt Redman, and occasional single songs, such as “Worn” by Tenth Avenue North or “Whatever You’re Doing” by Sanctus Real and “No Longer Slave” by Jonathan David.

    Then I listen to a good bit of instrumental, particularly David Nevue and Dan Gibson, but also R.C. Nakai, some Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer, the Last of the Mohicans soundtrack, the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack, and The Last Samurai soundtrack.

    I also like some 80-90’s pop, so “Eye of the Tiger” and “Beat It” are two I listen to occasionally. The 80’s-90’s also gave some great Christian music in the shape of Michael Card and my favorite artist ever, Rich Mullins. So there’s still plenty to choose from from those years.

    I also listening to a smattering of Country Western, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Kenny Rogers, the Highwaymen, etc. Honestly, this was a taste I acquired from my dad more than it was something I really just enjoy their music. Their music more just brings back good memories.

    Also, the Fiddler on the Roof and the Phantom of the Opera soundtracks are two that I listen to semi-frequently since they bring back good memories from my family’s past. But I would recommend them as well. Hope that was long enough for you!

  • Right now some of my favorites include:

    *Anthem Lights
    *Owl City
    *Lauren Daigle

    *Aaron Gillespie
    *Chris August
    *Building 429
    *Capital Kings

    This is liable to change in the next 45 minutes when I discover some other amazing artist, but that’s just right off the top of my head.

  • Oh boy, this could be a long comment 😉

    Okay, so I LOVE music. I can appreciate anything that’s well done and clean, but for the most part I listen to Christian. (And classical… it’s so old-fashioned sounding, but c’mon, classical music is an art form in itself! Piano Guys, anyone?)

    My favorite songs change frequently, but here are some that are really good 🙂
    1-“Start Over” by Royal Tailor (actually anything by Royal Tailor… they are my favorite band!)
    2-“Worn”, and “You are More” by Tenth Avenue North
    3-“Drops in the Ocean”, “Crazy Love”, and “Eggshells” by Hawk Nelson
    4-“Overwhelmed” by Big Daddy Weave
    5-“Love Feels Like” by D.C. Talk

    I could go on, but I have to go study. *walks off with all sorts of songs stuck in head*

  • My current top 10 which will probably have changed by the time I hit “post” haha.

    1.The Weight of Living pt. 1 by Bastille

    2.Qui-Gon’s Funeral by John Williams

    3.Throne Room and End Title by John Williams

    4.Laughter Lines by Bastille

    5.Budapest by George Ezra

    6.Pictures at an Exhibition Suite (orchestrated by Ravel) by Modest
    Mussorgsky, esp. the first Promenade and Bydlo

    7.Anything from Carmen by Georges Bizet

    8. Linus and Lucy by Vince Guaraldi

    9.Heroic Polonaise by Frederic Chopin (it’s a plus that I can play it haha)

    10.Anything else by John Williams

    Honorable mentions: Jerry Goldsmith, the Gettys, Danse Macabre and Bacchanal by Saint-Saens, many more things that I can’t think of.

    What can I say? I have strange musical tastes. =P

  • Ok, so I have a weird assortment of music I enjoy. I mostly listen to Christian music because it is often times the most up-lifting and encouraging, so when I am discouraged or having a hard day then one of the things that brings me the most comfort is to listen to encouraging music.
    So here are a few bands that I enjoy
    -Rend Collective (I love their song My Lighthouse)
    -The Sons of Korah
    -Fernando Ortega
    -Casting Crowns
    -Jars of Clay
    -Need to Breath
    -Caedmon’s Call
    -The Grey Havens (really awesome music! If you like C.S. Lewis or LOTR then you will probably like them)
    I also like some oldies music like, stuff you have never heard of probably. 😉

  • My top two bands:
    FIREFLIGHT (listen to the songs For Those Who Wait and You Decide)
    KING AND COUNTRY (listen to Matter & Run Wild, Live Free)
    These two bands have put a new twist on Christian music and I love them. If you haven’t ever heard their stuff, you might really want to check it out!

  • OH MY GOODNESS!! CAN’T WAIT TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION, but I don’t have time at the moment. STAY TUNED!!……………. 😉

  • I don’t like “fluffy” Christian music that has wayyy too much repetition and the words just don’t speak to the character of God. I like convicting and raw Christian music. I love love love Andrew Peterson and Steven Curtis Chapman.
    I’m disappointed that some Christian bands are all about making happy, sugar-coated music that encourages us to find strength in ourselves…and throw a little God in there.
    That’s not how worship should be. It is our eyes focused completely on God’s perfect strength and not on ourselves. It can also show our frustrations and vulnerability towards God. Which is why I like Andrew Peterson so much! My favorites include “Come Back Soon”, “the Reckoning”, “Holy is the Lord” and “Hosanna”, “After the Last Tear Falls”
    I listen to secular music too. Coldplay, Sam Smith and One Republic are pretty great:)

  • I usually don’t listen to music every day, and when I do I go through phases of different kinds of Christian music. I like ‘When It’s All Been Said and Done’ by Don Moen and a lot of old hymns sung by different groups (like ‘Just As I Am’ ‘What Wondrous Love is This’ ‘Rescue the Perishing’ ‘Will the Circle Be Unbroken’ ‘Will There Be Any Stars’), and ‘In The Garden’ by George Beverly Shea =vD Also, I’ve found that Scripture which is sung proves to be very uplifting, but I don’t know where you would find that (someone gave it to me; ‘Scripture Melodies – Fear Not’).

  • Most of the churches I have been at do Sovereign Grace and the Gettys a lot. I like to listen to Kari Jobe and Meredith Andrews. They’re contemporary christian but they aren’t shallow like a lot of contemporary christian music that’s popular these days. Right now my favorite songs are “Soar” and Pieces” both by Meredith Andrews.

  • Honestly, I have a wide range of music preferences. 116 Clique, Mumford and Sons, Of Monsters and Men, For King and Country, SayWeCanFly, Skillet, I Prevail, etc. Some of the above use some language and content that is not compatible with a Christian worldview, but are real talented and get very deep.

  • Tom O’Dell is very good. Some others are Owl City, Mariah Peterson, Kerrie Robert, 33 Miles (Country), Josh Wilson, Jamie Grace &1 Girl Nation (Both for maybe younger teens),Fransesca Battistelli, Britt Nicole, Addison Road, Audrey Aussad, Royal Tailor, Jeremy Camp. I personally love all of these. They are a vey wide range of styles.

    Does anyone know of any clean music that isn’t nessecarily Christian? I’ve been trying to expand my music library.

    • Twenty-one Pilots!! They are Christians so that flows into their music even though they don’t talk about God constantly. They use uke in the place of guitar and have a really neat sound. Some of the songs talk about stuff you don’t want to hear all the time, but they have great lyrics and make me think a lot. I love their album Blurryface. You should check it out!

    • Tori Kelly, Gardiner Sisters and Anthem Lights. All of these are Christians but they write a lot of clean songs about life and stuff. Check them out!!

    • Some of George Strait’s music, Chris de Burgh, Josh Groban, Tori Kelly, Adele if you’re picky with her music, Imagine Dragons some of their music.

    • Like Regan Seba pointed out, some of the artists mentioned have good songs and bad songs….so you just have to be choosy… =P Most artists have a few good songs!! So like he said, Adele has a few good ones (Someone like you is my fav). “Check Yes or No” and “Write this Down” are good George Strait songs…..
      Carrie Underwood has some good songs! (Something in the Water, All American Girl, Jesus Take the Wheel, Little Toy Guns)
      my other comment below lists some others.. 😉

  • Tori Kelly, Gardiner Sisters, Anthem Lights, Kari Jobe, Laura Story, Tenth Avenue North, Lauren Daigle. Highly Recommend all of these singers!!

  • Check out “Sky Sailing.” It’s the acoustic project of Adam Young, the guy behind Owl City. I love Owl City, but sometimes it gets kind of monotonous. Sky Sailing only released one album, but it’s beautiful and heartfelt. Check it out. The album is called “An Airplane Carried Me To Bed.” I also love Hawk Nelson (the new stuff) and Rend Collective.

    Also, I realize that this sounds pretty darn nerdy, but I listen to a ton of The Piano Guys. Granted, it’s instrumental, but their stuff is incredible.

  • REND COLLECTIVE!! Chris Tomlin, The Passion Band, Kristian Stanfill, Rivers and Robots (check them out!) Tobymac, Andy Mineo, Lecrae, Colton Dixon, Crowder, MercyMe…

  • Definitely Mumford and Sons, Of Monsters and Men, Andy Mineo, Lecrae, Coldplay, Josh Garrels, Andrew Peterson, The Last Bison, Jason Gray. This is really diverse but it is some of my favorite bands and musicians.

  • Both of my parents are professional musicians, and I grew up listening to composers like Mendelssohn, Bach, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, Vivaldi, Handel, etc. When I was older (thanks to youtube) I discovered the crazy plethora that composes the modern world of music. At first, I was shocked, and as it wore away I realized that while some music (in my experience, Indie Rock) had depth and beauty, most music lacks the raw emotion beneath melodic perfection, the INSANE harmonies and chord progressions, the wordless story that told narratives which call me. While I listen to many other musicians, these, the “greats” are my favorites.

  • Lauren Daigle, OneRepublic, Tori Kelly, Anthem Lights, Switchfoot, Gardiner Sisters, Jonathan Thulin, Coldplay, The Afters, TobyMac, 21 Pilots, I Am They… I also love some good instrumental piano (Piano Guys!), and I have a huge Spotify playlist of Christian Christmas music that is definitely enjoyed all the year round. (It’s never the wrong time of year to celebrate Jesus… riiight? :P)

  • Lecrae, Andy Mineo, TORI KELLY (my fave), Canon, Stevie Wonder, Jasmine Thompson, Alessia Cara, KB, Trip Lee (I LOVE hip-hop), Kierra Sheard, Leon Bridges, PENTATONIX, Mat Kearney, Sara Bareilles, Plumb, Hey Violet, Marina and the Diamonds, Rachel Platten, Social Club, Steve Aoki, Marz Ferrer, Laura Story, and Christina Grimmie. Not all of these people are Christians, and some of these people have bad songs, but they also have good songs as well.

  • Lauren Daigle, Jeremy Camp, Laura Story, Britt Nicole, Jamie Grace, Tobymac, Unspoken,Casting Crowns, David Crowder,Capital Kings, Chris Tomlin, Citizen Way, Danny Gokey, Francesca Battistelli, for King and Country, Hawk Nelson, Matt Redman, Moriah Peters, Newsboys, Third Day, Sanctus Real, Big Daddy Weave, Kristian Stanfill, MercyMe, Tenth Avenue North, and Building 429.

  • Country:
    George Strait(In particular When the Credits Roll, How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls, Heartland, Check Yes or No, and I Cross My Heart), Trace Adkins(gotta be picky with his music), some Garth Brooks, and a few other songs like Riding with Private Malone, A Soldiers Memoir, and The House That Built Me.

    Pop:

    I love Adele, even though she’s not always clean, Imagine Dragons, anything by Josh Groban(in particular You Raise Me Up, which is currently in my top five favorite songs), and Tori Kelly, and OneRepublic.

    90’s Irish Rock:

    Chris De Burgh(in particular Keeper of the Keys, Don’t Pay the Ferryman, The Leader, The Vision, What About Me, Say Goodbye to it All, Fatal Hesitation)

    Irish folk:
    The Fields of Athenry
    Golden Jubilee
    Will Ye Go Lassie, Go?

    Soundtrack:
    The Music Man
    The Phantom of the Opera
    Fiddler on the Roof(That’s a great one- it has a lot of depth as well as great music. Watch the movie)
    Wicked
    The Prince of Egypt
    The Sound of Music

    Christian:
    Anything by Casting Crowns, Steven Curtis Chapman, Point of Grace, Christ Tomlin, or Sidewalk Prophets. I also like For King and Country, and I really like Hawk Nelson’s song Drops in the Ocean.

    Classical: Schumann’s Concertpiece for Four Horns and Orchestra, Op. 86, any variations on Carmen, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 In C Minor, and Sarah Chang and Sandra River’s album Debut.

    To fall asleep to:
    Kenny Loggins album Return To Pooh Corner. I have great memories of this album… It gives me nostalgic feelings whenever I listen to it.
    Okay, now that I’ve overwhelmed you and I’ve got Drops in the Ocean running through my head I’ll sign off. I could do more, but I don’t think I can remember it all, and I kind of want to read everyone else’s comments. Hope you find some good music out of all our comments. 😀

  • I love worship music. New Life Worship, Hillsong, Bethel Music and Worship Mob. There is a new song by Jordan Feliz called the River. It is pretty catchy! I also like Lecrae and Andy Mineo, Rhend Collective, Tenth Avenue North, The Piano Guys, Lindsey Stirling, etc.

  • One of my favourite musicians is Steven Curtis Chapman. His songs have catchy tunes and great words, sometimes based specifically on a verse of Scripture. Also, a lot of old hymns have beautiful words and sometimes singable tunes.
    Some of his might be a bit young, but do look up Colin Buchanan. He has some great songs, lots of memory verses and often a sense of humour!!!

  • Oh I just remembered!! Courtney, if you enjoy piano solos, Jim Brickman is AMAZING! I LOVE his music..!!! I can play a few of his songs and I really FEEL them…..They are nice songs to relax to… =)

      • I can play “Angel Eyes” and “Rocket to the Moon”. Tbh, those two at least, aren’t that hard…They sound a LOT more complex than they are!!!! But for me, his music just TOUCHES my heart when I play….Like, other composers like Mozart of Bach or Pachelbel or someone like that; I can maybe play a piece or two, but it’s not as passionate or “musical” but more “technical” if taht makes sense….So Jim Brickman is kind of “my pianist” so to speak! lol!!! But I’m not that good at most composers’ music though… =P

  • Well, I’m an aspiring music artist myself, so music is my life 😛 My list is SOOOO long, so I’ll just keep it to the highlights.

    CCM: I’m honestly not a fan of this genre too much, mainly because of overused tunes and lyrics, but I do enjoy Rend Collective, Phil Wickham and tobyMac 🙂

    EDM: This is probably my favorite genre, and this may be a long list lol. Hillsong Young and Free, Capital Kings, David Thulin, Executive Decision, and Unikron all make good Christian dance music. Instrumental EDM favs would be Ramses B., Blackmill, Aven, and Drakonic. Hope thats at least gives you a place to start!

    Rap/HipHop: I know, this genre is kinda frowned upon, but there is some great Christian rap out there! Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, KB, Canon, and Tedashii all make some great Christian bangers! Also, for the more reflective side of hiphop, NF and Beautiful Eulogy are great choices!

    Pop: Theres really only one guy I need to mention here. Owl City. My favorite artist ever. End of story. 😛 Oh wait, there is an artist I found on Soundcloud who deserves some of your attention. Her name is Orange! and heres a link, I don’t think you’d find her on your own. https://soundcloud.com/orangeabbymusic

    Anyway, I hope this list helped! 🙂

  • Colton Dixon, Relient K (collapsible lung album), Owl City, Canon, Shai Linnae (sp?), Lecrae, Thousand Foot Krutch, Stellar Kart, The Afters…. the list goes on for a while. 😀

  • I hardly ever listen to music unless I happen to be in the vicinity when a family member is playing it, but when I do…a lot of classical (Tchaikovsky, Mozart, Beethoven, etc.) and some Christian contemporary. No particular favorite artists…usually I have favorite songs…but when my family pops in a CD it is usually Damaris Carbaugh, Cheri Keaggy, Ginger Millermon, Laura Story, or Chris Tomlin’s Love Ran Red album. I love Steven Curtis Chapman’s lyrics, but I have never listened to his music because we don’t have any of it and I haven’t gone looking for it. Occasionally Steve Green, Twila Paris, or Evie. Recently added Hartley Family Bluegrass…not sure their style is my favorite but I really like some of their lyrics, particularly “Jesus Is Enough”. You can find them at hartleyfamilybluegrass.blogspot.com and listen to some of it at https://www.reverbnation.com/hartleyfamily
    Songs: Love Ran Red, Cornerstone, Keep Making Me, Jesus is Enough, Blessings etc. It’s so hard to think of them when you try to list them! ~Anna Grace

  • Ooh, you asked a question about music! It’s kinda hard for me to ignore questions about music. (I also cant ignore questions about roller coasters, Marvel, and Once Upon A Time.)
    I listen to Lecrae, Andy Mineo, Trip Lee, Skillet, Thousand Foot Krutch, Family Force 5, Twenty One Pilots (they’re LEGIT), Rend Collective (I’ve met them a couple of times and know them pretty well), and We As Human. Secular artists would include Ed Sheeran, Shawn Mendes, Imagine Dragons, Fall Out Boy, and some Taylor Swift. I listen to a decent amount of secular music but I don’t have a lot of specific artists that I enjoy. Some of them just have certain songs that I enjoy.
    So yeah, judging by the 280 comments, you have a lot of music to look up. XD

  • I listen to Klove a lot! It is a really good Christian radio station. I like too many Christian artists to list. 🙂 Chris Tomlin, Matthew West, Steven Curtis Chapman, the Afters, Capitol Kings, Mandisa, Toby Mac, MercyMe, Fee, Planetshakers, Newsboys, Passion, Matt Maher, Sidewalk Prophets, We are Young and Free, Chris Rice, Casting Crowns, Linclon Brewster, Jeremy Camp, Kristian Stanfill, Josh Wilson, Capitol Kings, Rend Collective ect,.
    This is a really random music artist, but has anyone ever heard of Carmen? 🙂 He’s old time Christian music.

  • Hi Courtney!

    Some music that I just LOVE is Feel It, Speak Life, and This is Not a Test by TobyMac. They’re upbeat and fun. And also look up Hillsong United!

    Hope it helps a bit!

    Sincerely,
    Clare

  • I listen to a lot of different artists, but some I’ve been really getting into are: I am They, Jamie Grace (Particularly To Love You Back), Francesca Battistelli (Particularly Write Your Story, He knows my name), Dan Bremnes, Jon Guerra, and Unspoken (Particularly Start a Fire, Good Fight, and Tomorrow)

    • This sounded so much like my sister Emily I actually clicked on your name and looked to see if it was…most of your comments and the person you followed made me think you were but then I saw one comment that she wouldn’t have written…:)

      • Aww that’s sweet! I don’t comment on the rebelution much, but that’s interesting that my comments made me sound like your sis! It’s amazing how many Emily’s there are!!

  • My favorite musicians are these guys whose music I feel in love with like 2 years ago. Their not famous at all (I’ve never heard them on k-love) but they are really the best, so far.
    If you can’t look up whole cds try these songs:
    Citizens(and saints)-Made Alive, You Have Searched Me, Before the Throne, O God.

    Dustin Kensrue-Grace Alone, It’s not Enough, My One Comfort, This is war (when he was a with a group called Modern Post)

    Ghost Ship-Lion Man of Judah, Hesed, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Where Were You.

    Kings Kaleidoscope-Felix Culpa, Defender, One Righteous Man, Seek Your Kingdom.

    Please look them up and tell me what you think. They are really great!:)

  • I don’t even know how to describe my taste in music, it varies.

    So here we go:
    Bethel Music (Great worship)
    Matt Maher
    Gungor (Sometimes abstract, if you want to listen to them, listen to their new stuff FIRST)
    Kristian Stanfill
    (Some) Sanctus Real
    Hillsong United (Great worship)
    (Some Crowder)

    So ya.

      • Bethel is great, I just found them recently. Yea, Gungor is unique, though their newer albums are harder to understand, haha.

        • Same here! I first heard Brave and It Is Well, and I fell in love. 🙂 Personally, I heard some bad things about what the people in Gungor believe about the Bible. Usually I try to just enjoy music for its worth rather than based on what the artists believe, but I’ve struggled to listen to them since then for some reason. They still have cool music though. 🙂

  • 116 clique, NF, Mary Mary, Tobymac, DC Talk, Skillet, We Came as Romans, Blanca, Veridia, Britt Nicole, Colton Dixon, Barlow Girl, Unspoken, Owl City, FF5, Pentatonix, Imagine Dragons, One Republic Tenth Avenue North, Building 429, and Newsboys!

  • Lots of Jazz
    ie Snarky puppy, Monk, Brad Meldau
    Some Rock like Yes! Pink Flyod, Stone Temple Pilots, Them Crooked Vultures
    For hip hop and such I enjoy listening to Chic and Common (he raps about real stuff, listen to neighborhood)
    I think that modern Christian music suffers from mediocrity. Artists of our world mostly write to build their own kingdoms, for money. We have a greater message to tell but the music we write and label as Christian is often very boring musically. Doesn’t God deserve better? If their was no special meaning in the lyrics, I would not listen to 99% of modern Christian music. David was a song writer.
    I digress.

    Edit: Thats not to say I dont listen to Christian music. I do, and I connect to God through it. But I am upset at how mediocre and unassertive Christian artists are. We should use the talents he gave us to glorify him by developing them, not by playing the same 4 chords and recycling a Jesus culture or Hillsong riff they took from U2 recycled a hundred times ad naseum

    • THANK YOU!!! “If their was no special meaning in the lyrics, I would not listen to 99% of modern Christian music.” is me too. One friend of mine described a certain Christian song as suffering from “four chord syndrome”, most of them do haha. But have you ever heard of the Gettys? Their music doesn’t suffer from that syndrome lol. =)

    • I totally agree with the lack of effort put into Christian music by the artists. I’m always disappointed that I find secular songs more fun than Christian songs because the melodies and harmonies are usually richer. I would love for some Christian songs that sound like the secular covers I listen to that are done by great artists like Kurt H. Schneider and Sam Tsui! Even with my favorite band, Anthem Lights, which is a Christian band that does secular covers, I find that their covers are more beautifully harmonized and unique than their original Christian songs. I just keep wondering, “Why can’t anyone just make Christian songs that sound like those covers? How can that be so hard?”

      • Consider though that Bach(!!) wrote music for churches. Most of his well famous celebrated work was hymns. The are complex and beautiful, but they are moving too. We were are the forefront. I think it is as much of an issue with the song wiriters as it is with the market. It sells!

        Our worship pastor owns a recording studio and I was interning there and we are working on trying to write and release some more good Christian songs that have musical motion while having lyrics that are biblical truth its cool.
        You can look up “God of Mercy” Rockville Centre Vineyard and tell me what you think

  • I listen to mostly worship music, I love it and I feel really joyful when I listen to it. Here is a list of my favourite worship tunes:

    – O Church Arise, Stuart Townend (I love this one!!!!!! lol (spotify:track:6VIjStFcmC72ZYPC8nmuzw))
    – In Christ Alone, Stuart Townend
    -My Lighthouse, Rend Collective (live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=reAlJKv7ptU)
    – Happy Day, Tim Hughes
    – More Than Conquerors, Rend Collective
    – These Are The Days of Elijah, Robin Mark
    – It is Well with My Soul, Stuart Townend (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Soe-uIE9g)
    – Consuming Fire, Tim Hughes
    – Here I Am to Worship, Tim Hughes
    I am actually playing the last one in church this Sunday (first time ever!!), along with four other songs, on the piano. I’m feeling quite nervous about it, so please pray for me if you can!
    Hope this helps.
    :DDD

          • It went good, we played:

            In Christ Alone
            Before the Throne of God Above
            Be Still for the Presence of the Lord
            The Lord’s My Shepherd (Stuart Townend version)
            Light of the World

            After the first two songs there was a prayer, and we were shaking like leaves but after the third song it was ok!! It was myself on the piano and the pastors daughter doing the violin, so it sounded awesome. It was really embarrassing at the beginning, but I think we kind of realised that people were there to worship rather than watch us the entire time, so it was easier after that.

            Thanks sooo much for ur prayers everyone and I think it went really well 🙂

          • Awesome!! Haha, I know what you mean by shaking. XD It’s this awful situation of being nervous you won’t do well, and then not doing well because you’re shaking because you’re nervous! Lol. But I’m really glad to hear it went well. 🙂 Piano and violin, that must have been gorgeous!
            And you’re absolutely right. Once you realize that most people are focusing on the Lord and not you, it becomes much easier. 🙂

          • IKR!!! It’s so embarrassing when you get really shaky and can’t stop, but once the service was finished one of the ladies gave us a big hug and said we did really well :))))))

          • Aww, there are a few ladies like that at my church too, they’re so sweet and encouraging!
            And that’s a great goal! I’d love to learn it someday when I have the time. 🙂 And I’m not crazy about the message either, but I’d still love to be able to sing it. The song reaches just a little above and below my vocal range, so it’s a sort of goal for me to be able to sing it without sounding awful, lol. XD

          • Also you’re right, the piano/violin together were amazing!! One of my goals on the piano for when I grow up is learning the original advanced ‘Let It Go’. I’m not particularly keen on the words, but I LOVE the tune!!! xD

          • Yep. Got a problem with it? Keep in mind that I’ve done the same with a certain continued convo between you and Lauren…
            How’s it going between you guys, anway?

          • Lol, I wouldn’t forget. 😉
            Eh…not well. We haven’t really talked, and I’m pretty sure that he’s moved on, from the possibility of a future relationship and from our friendship. I mean, it’s not like he isn’t friendly, but it’s pretty clear that whatever we had is over. I’ve really been struggling with anger and depression lately, which is kind of pathetic because it’s been over for longer than we were really friends.
            All that being said…I know I made the right decision, and despite all of this I wouldn’t change it if I could. And frankly…I know he hasn’t intentionally tried to hurt me, but I think that the ways he’s acted these past few months tells me more about who he is than the few months of our friendship did.
            I’m sorry, I think all of that came out more bitterly than I meant it to. It’s just that my best friend has basically left me, and I feel so lost…
            Thank you so, so much for asking. I’ve been needing to talk about it.

          • Is there anything you’d like to add to that, not that it’s been a few days?
            I’m really sorry. 🙁

          • It’s okay, thanks again for asking! I’m feeling better now but I have my ups and downs, you know? I’ll be okay and then I’ll get upset over some little thing… Next thing I know, I start reliving everything. Well, I’m afraid you caught me on one of those days. Most of the time, thankfully, I’m not that upset. Just kind of…vaguely sad. But I know that God is at work in all of this, I just have to keep trusting Him!

            So, how have you been?

          • Haven’t answered until now! Ahhh! I’m so crazy busy… like you can tell. Umm… I’m doing pretty well. 🙂 I’ve recently started talking more to a couple of people I know, and I think I could become really good friends with both of them! I haven’t had good friends in so long…

  • celtic! its my favorite! Look up the High Kings, Celtic Women, and The Young Dubliners. Some of my favorites.

    I also like the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, contemporary instrumental, and country!

  • A lot of y’all have mentioned artists that I absolutely love, but there’s one Christian artist I haven’t seen listed yet–Jonathan Thulin. His music is incredible and unique, and I find his lyrics to have a lot more depth and complexity than some other Christian artists.
    I know a few of you have mentioned not listening to CCM because it all sounds the same, but this guy is one of the exceptions. Upon listening to one of his songs (Bombs Away), my dad (who dislikes most Christian music) said that musically he never would have guessed it was Christian.
    Some of my favorite songs include Bombs Away (intense music video!), Masquerade, Compass, and Coat of Arms. He also does a lot of collaborations with other artists (Rachael Lampa, Moriah Peters, Royal Tailor, etc.).
    So yes, I just spent several paragraphs talking about one artist, lol, I just like his music that much!

    • Another great group I haven’t seen mentioned yet is Press Play. And Superchick! And…

      Ugh, I promised myself I wouldn’t get sucked into this. XD

  • My favorite band of all time is Anthem Lights, and they do both Christian songs and secular covers. I also love Boyce Avenue, who is not a Christian band but their music is clean, and the Piano Guys, who do mostly really awesome classical music on piano and cello. Pentatonix is also really cool (they’re acapella), and there’s the Madison Letter and the George Twins, who are both less-known. I also like songs by Kurt H. Schneider, Sam Tsui, Alex Goot, Max Schneider, Peter Hollens, and Jess Moskaluke, but I always “screen” the song (listen to it and check to make sure it’s clean) before getting it because they’re secular artists, and mostly I just listen to their covers. I really like 1 Girl Nation, Capital Kings, Casting Crowns, dc Talk, Group 1 Crew, Josh Wilson, Mandisa, Mark Schultz, Newsboys, N’SYNC, Owl City, Royal Tailor, Skillet, and Tobymac. August Rain, Satellites and Sirens, and Manic Drive are good too. I also enjoy Christian remixes of secular songs because they humor me, my favorite being “Best Book Ever.” If you like Celtic music, Celtic Spirit is a good band, and there’s the song “The Samurai Set” by Gaelic Storm that is super upbeat and motivating.

    Most of my songs are by a wide variety of artists, because I listen to them and “screen” them before getting them, both because I want to make sure they’re clean and because I’m a bit picky when it comes to songs. I listen to lots of genres, but the song has to have unpredictable changes in the melody or make me feel something in order for me to get it. I also find that covers are often better than the original, so I have a lot of cover artists haha. 🙂

  • Anything Bethel. Here’s some songs of theirs: “No Longer Slaves”, “I Can Feel You” and “Mercy Triumphs over Judgment”. All their songs fit in the worship category.

  • Here are some:

    Trust In You – Lauren Daigle
    Desert Song – AJ Michalka
    More of You – Colton Dixon
    Song of intercession – William McDowell
    Brave – Moriah Peters
    Build Your Kingdom Here – Rend Collective
    Clear the Stage – Jimmy Needham
    Surrender – Flame ft V. Rose
    Yes – Shekinah Glory
    Than Name – Yolonda Adams
    Christ Representers – Jonathan McReynolds
    Are You Listening – Kirk Franklin
    Forever – Kari Jobe
    Cry Holy – V. Rose
    Even When It Hurts – Hillsong
    What Can I Do – Tye Tribbett
    etc…..

  • I listen to a lot of pop etc, but I have been finding out that that isn’t the best music to listen to
    Have you listened to Andrew peterson

  • CAN SOMEONE HELP ME? Do any of you know of GOOD COUNTRY music?!? I mean, wholesome lyrics that aren’t only, like, praise songs, but some down-to-earth great modern country songs by artists who aren’t kinda…ummm…trashy? I’ve go two younger brothers who love country music, but the stuff they try to listen is usually main-stream radio. Mom tried to put a stop to it, but they are still constantly wanting to sing their songs and stuff, because country music has a great beat and they’re awesome with their singing. I just wish I had some music to show them that was both fun, and not unpleasing to God.
    ANY IDEAS?
    Looking for MODERN country, not the old kind;) They don’t love the old stuff much.

    So, in short: Looking for cool songs that might have trucks and backwoods, but not the beer and girls;) lol

    Thanks in advance!!

    • I can’t think of a country group that’s completely clean, but there are lot of good songs by Brad paisley, and the band perry. “House that built me”, “riding with private malone”, “I drive your truck,” and “how dare you”(that might not be the title but it’s by Miranda lambart and Blake Shelton) are also pretty good.

    • I haven’t heard all of Lee Brice’s sings, but the ones I have are meaningful and clean.
      High Valley is a great Canadian band, and, so far, I haven’t heard a song from them that isn’t clean. Plus, they’re Christian. They do have a unique style though.
      Paul Brandt’s (another Canadian) songs are mostly clean.
      Let me know how you like them

  • I’ve gone through a whole spectrum of music, so I hope that you’ll like some of these.
    For a while, I like Jonathan Thulin. His music is a bit more heavy in the sense that there are many layers to his songs. Certain songs can also get depressing…
    Then, I liked Josh Wilson. He’s still one of my favorites. His music always felt bright and cheerful to me. Currently, I’ve started to like Owl City.

  • Soooo classical music…. Bach, Handel, Vivaldi. I love them. And not so famous composers. And film scores! I love listening to intense film scores while doing homework. And musicals. The Wicked soundtrack is memorized. But I’m weird in the way that I love Andy Mineo. He does rap and for King & Country featured him in Run Wild. He is fantastic live! But ya I have an odd selection.

  • I really enjoy country music (especially growing up in outback montana) but struggle with finding godly country music. I have found a few that are really good, that I totally recommend! 🙂
    Live like you were dying by tim mcgraw
    chicken fried by zac brown band
    god gave me you by blake shelton
    granddaddy’s gun by blake shelton
    like Jesus does by eric church
    john deer, john 3:16 by keith urban
    and probably a few more that I can’t remember 🙂

  • The soundtrack to the TV series Flashpoint is amazing. Not Christian but it has some great lyrics. I also like the album Over Land and Sea by Lauren Mann and the Fairly Odd Folk, the album Noble Women. Hugh Dillon is one of my favorite artists. Mumford and Sons has some good songs too but not all of their songs are clean. Their album Sigh No More is really good. Not a Christian band but their lyrics have Christian ideology.

  • I feel you! It’s so hard to find clean songs I generally stay in the Christian side of music listening to music my manafest (yes mana not mani) Red TFK pillar , specific songs would be you can’t bring me down breathe into me rawkfist and edge of my life

  • What kind of what? Sorry, I can’t hear you over this rock music… (Just kidding – I don’t really listen to rock music at all.)

  • The Collingsworth Family!!!! My favorite musicians of all time!!!! They are such a talented family!!! Just attended one of their concerts, it was AMAZING!!! We own 2 of their DVD’s and 5 CD’s. Check them out on YouTube!!!!

    I read this somewhere:
    “The Collingsworth family is the VonTrapp Family Singers (Sound of Music) on steroids. Their that good”.

  • Hey there! I know this is an older question, but just thought I’d share some of the songs I love to listen to.
    I’ve found that music really, really impacts me. It often brings me near tears, is so inspiring, and touches my heart deeply. And the type I listen to influences me as well. If I’m listening to uplifting worship and encouraging contemporary Christian, I feel my focus on God and wanting to give it my all. If I’m listening to sad, depressing songs, however, I feel down.
    Anyways, here are some of my favorites. They’re generally upbeat/contemporary/pop-style/rock/worship, but always clean and Christian.

    By The Afters
    1) I Will Fear No More
    2) Moments Like This
    3) Lift Me Up
    4) With You Always

    By Austin French
    1) Wake Up Sleeper
    2) Rest For Your Soul
    3) Perfect Love
    4) Jesus Can
    5) Why God
    6) Bring It To You

    By Cade Thompson
    1) New Normal
    2) Every Step of the Way
    3) Arms of Jesus

    By Citizen Way
    1) When I’m With You
    2) Bulletproof
    3) How Sweet the Sound
    4) I Will
    5) Just Hold On
    6) All My Cares
    7) Bigger
    8) Love Has Won

    By CityAlight
    1) God Is For Us
    2) Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
    3) Jesus is Alive

    By Colton Dixon
    1) More Of You
    2) Through All Of It
    3) Can’t Quit You
    4) Not Goodbye
    5) All That Matters

    By Danny Gokey:
    1) He Believes In You
    2) Love God Love People
    3) Haven’t Seen It Yet
    4) Wanted
    5) No Pressure
    6) Better Because of It
    7) Hope In Front Of Me
    8) Tell Your Heart To Beat Again
    9) Make A Difference
    10) All Are Welcome
    11) Jesus People
    12) We All Need Jesus
    13) Stand In Faith
    14) Rise

    By For King and Country:
    1) Burn the Ships
    2) Proof Of Your Love
    3) Shoulders
    4) Seasons
    5) Fix My Eyes

    By Hawk Nelson
    1) Words
    2) Faithful
    3) Never Let You Down
    4) Live Like You’re Loved
    5) Drops In The Ocean

    By I Am They
    1) Lift My Eyes
    2) Scars
    3) No Impossible With You

    By Jeremy Camp:
    1) Whatever May Come
    2) Keep Me In The Moment
    3) No Rain
    4) Anxious Heart
    5) This Too Shall Pass

    By Josh Wilson:
    1) Revolutionary
    2) Things That I’m Afraid Of

    By Leanna Crawford
    1) Mean Girls
    2) Uncool
    3) Truth I’m Standing On
    4) What You Can’t Forget
    5) Fragile Heart
    6) Simple

    By Matt Hammitt
    1) I Saw The Light
    2) Footprints
    3) Tears

    By Matthew West
    1) Broken Things
    2) The God Who Stays
    3) My Story Your Glory

    By Micah Taylor:
    1) Different
    2) Never Been A Moment
    3) I See Grace
    4) Comeback Song
    5) Amen
    6) New Today
    7) Walking Free

    By Newsboys
    1) He Reigns
    2) Your Love Never Fails
    3) Forever Reign
    4) Revelation Song
    5) King of Kings
    6) Love Riot
    7) Guilty
    8) That’s How You Change The World

    By Pat Barrett
    1) Morning by Morning (I Will Trust)
    2) Build My Life
    3) Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly

    By Phil Wickham
    1) Battle Belongs
    2) House of the Lord
    3) Reason I sing
    4) 1000 Names
    5) Great Things
    6) Living Hope
    7) Breath Away
    8) Wild River
    9) Anthem
    10) Eyes Fixed
    11) Tethered
    12) Christ Is Risen

    By Shane & Shane
    1) Living Water
    2) In Christ Alone
    3) Awesome God
    4) Psalm 16 (Fullness of Joy)
    5) Psalm 46 (Lord of Hosts)

    By Tauren Wells
    1) All God’s Children
    2) Perfect Peace
    3) Famous For (I Believe)
    4) Trenches
    5) Carry On
    6) When We Pray
    7) All About You
    8) Hills And Valleys
    9) God’s Not Done With You
    10) Known
    11) Joy In The Morning
    12) Empty

    By Vertical Worship:
    1) Yes I Will
    2) Lamb of God
    3) Strength of My Life

    Sorry, that got kind of long. But those are some of my favorites. 🙂

  • This was made a looong time ago, but I figured I’d share some artists/songs I like.
    Christian:
    Danny Gokey
    For King and Country
    Francesca Battistelli
    Pop:
    Billie Eilish
    Taylor Swift
    The Weeknd
    Some Alternative:
    Imagine Dragons
    OneRepublic
    Rap:
    I only really listen to NF, but occasionally some of the clean versions by Post Malone.
    Some of NF’s songs I recommend: Got You On My Mind, CAREFUL, HOPE, Trauma, Green Lights, etc.
    I LOVE country music. That’s really basically all I listen to now, which is bad, and I’m trying to fix it. But some of the country artists I like are Carrie Underwood, Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, and Jordan Davis.
    Christian songs:
    1) Peace Be Still~Hope Darst
    2) Burn the Ships~ For King and Country
    3) Anxious Heart~Jeremy Camp
    4) He Knows My Name~ Francesca Battistelli
    Some pop:
    1) Willow~Taylor Swift
    2) Hold On~Justin Bieber
    3) One Call Away~Charlie Puth
    4) Blinding Lights-The Weeknd
    Alternative:
    1) I ain’t Worried~OneRepublic
    2) Wrecked~Imagine Dragons
    3) Whatever It Takes~ Imagine Dragons
    4) Bird Set Free-Sia
    5) My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark- Fall Out Boy
    Hope you enjoy!

rebelling against low expectations

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