When I was asked to give my opinion regarding my favorite records of 2009, I was excited to review the year that brought us a myriad of great new albums, as well as a little stumped on how to make my viewpoints more like suggestions than critiques. I’ve often disliked year-end “best of” lists that only seem to talk about the same ten CDs that have been hyped and sold to us throughout the year. It seems as though the same ten CDs get talked about in every blog, every review site, and on every awards show, or is that just me? Of course, I have different opinions and a wide spectrum of tastes, so perhaps I could just be in the minority.

Another thing you should know about me, right off the bat, is that I do not like reading harsh and often times scathing reviews of movies, albums, concerts, or books. The opposite is also true of my preferences: I do not like to be overly hyped on something that is considered “cool” to capture my interest.

One of my favorite all-time quotes is from President Theodore Roosevelt who said, "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly...”

The music I listen to, the books I read, and shows I attend are usually because a good friend of mine has approached me, and said, “I love this album. I think you will, too, and here is the reason why...” So when I was asked to list 10 of my favorite albums of 2009, I thought I would offer suggestions rather than write reviews. I decided to cut through the muck and talk about the 10 CD’s that I have listened to the most in 2009. These may or may not be the best albums of the year, by other people’s standards, but they are 10 albums that I wore out in my car, on my laptop, and through my stereo speakers.

Most of these are Christian albums that caught my heart and changed me in some way, and a few of the picks I have are just my favorite new albums of 2009. And, yes, there are even a few non-Christian CD’s on my list. Don’t tell anyone. Haha! But hey I LOVED them and wore them OUT by listening to them over and over and over again! Now that being said, Brad Paisley, and Dave Matthews Band may have some songs on their records that I do not condone. Some people may find the subject matter offensive, such as alcohol use, or partying, which is on a good number of mainstream projects, but sometimes, in the middle of chaos and darkness, there are songs that bring joy and hope. These two albums were not meant to start controversy or debate, and certainly are not the opinions of New Release Tuesday, they are my choices alone, and I stand by the fact that they are two of my favorite records of the year. That’s the only reason they are on this list.

I do not want to review these CDs because there are other web sites that do it with greater authority and can tell you about the individual songs, or themes of each album. Instead, I will tell you why they mean something to me. I believe there is something in each of these efforts that will find its way into a hard heart, and bring light and life to a weary traveler like me, and some will just put you a better mood.

01. Sara Groves - Fireflies and Songs - November 17, 2009
Is it me or is Sara Groves one of the most overlooked artists in Christian Music? I have always found her to be a hidden gem that continues to challenge, inspire and motivate me. I may go as far as to say that Sara may be my all-time favorite female artist. Not just in Christian Music—but in all music. I listen to her music nearly every morning while I start my day. Through her lyrics, she reminds me to cling to Christ, as well as dive deep into the community of people surrounding me.

When I received her newest album, Fireflies and Songs, I couldn’t wait to dig into the record. She has never disappointed me, and her latest project didn’t let me down, either. Just when you think you are starting to figure things out in this world, Sara tends to write a record that bends you in a different direction: begging you to reconsider your position about life.

Fireflies and Songs addresses the fact that our earthly relationships not only matter but they are also necessary for spiritual growth. It’s almost like a real love song to her husband and family. Not the sappy kind that makes you want to turn the channel but one that pushes into what love really looks like. She is exploring the idea of bearing our burdens with one another and loving each other, in spite of our biggest failures and weaknesses. It’s a beautiful, haunting, and disarming record about love and relationship.

“Sharing our secrets, baring our souls; helping each other come clean..."

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “Different Kinds of Happy”
- “It’s Me”
- “Setting Up The Pins”


02. Brad Paisley - American Saturday Night - June 30, 2009
I am not a musical snob. I love Christian and non-Christian music. I love Rap, Rock, Folk, and even some good old fashioned Country music! What I love about Brad Paisley, and his new album, American Saturday Night, is that it is fun. It is the perfect CD to put on in your truck or car in the summer time, when it’s 75 and sunny. It’s the perfect album to play when you are going camping, fishing, or just grilling out in the backyard. I probably listened to this CD the second most of any other record the whole year. I love Brad’s voice and his huge choruses that are easy and fun to sing along with. Yeah, I am that guy--the guy that annoys everyone around me by singing Brad Paisley songs at the mall, in the car, or in the grocery store.

Brad is not only a great writer, but an amazing guitar player! He is known in Nashville as one of the better musicians that is also an artist, if that makes any sense. And he said maybe the funniest thing I have ever heard on an awards show this year….he said, “Guys, Guitar Hero never got anyone a girlfriend! Put down the game, and learn how to play a real guitar.” Now that’s just cool.

This album is chalk full of great songs. Songs about fishing, falling in love with his wife, learning to realize that his son was going to grow up just like his daddy, and figuring out that sometimes the answer that God gives us is...no.

“Make no mistake, every prayer you pray gets answered, even though, sometimes the answer is no...”

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “Then”
- “Anything Like Me”
- “No”

03. David Crowder Band - Church Music
I have always loved David Crowder Band. Not only do they make worship refreshing and personal but they also push the musical boundaries of church and worship music. David Crowder Band believes that worship music doesn’t have to be dull or boring but can be a creative expression, which is why I believe that they will always be in the conversation as some of the greatest worship leaders ever, even though they get CCM pop-radio airplay.

David Crowder Band seemingly picks up right where they left off as their new album, Church Music, complements their last project, A Collision, or at the very least, it is the next step in the bands musical maturity. This album blends up-tempo, pop-dance music with reverent and haunting lyrical overtones. The music can make you dance, with a message that will bring the listener into a place of true worship. It feels like the music and lyrics on this CD, at times, washes over the listener and surrounds them with a blanket of hope and peace.

Another cool thing I like on this record is that David Crowder Band covers the Flyleaf song “All Around Me” but turns the song from an upbeat declaration of love, to a somber conversation between the Creator and the created.

Church Music is the perfect album to rock on the drive to church on Sunday mornings or to play for a friend who needs a little spiritual boost for their daily walk. This is not an album to be played one song at a time. It’s a full project, and to get the most of your experience, I highly suggest letting the whole album play from start to finish. Trust me on this one.

“Shine Your light, so I can see you. Pull me up, I need to be near You. Hold me, I need to feel loved...”

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “SMS (Shine)”
- “Alleluia, Sing”
- “All Around Me”


04. Andrew Peterson - Behold The Lamb of God: 10th Anniversary Edition - November 23, 2009
This is one of my parents’ all-time favorite records. Now before you dismiss me and move on to the next album, listen up. It’s also mine. Ten years ago, a young singer/songwriter named Andrew Peterson, created a concept album about the birth of Christ coming into the world. This is more than just a “Christmas Story.” This album jumps all the way back to the beginning of the Bible, and documents, through the gift of song crafting, the Israelites captivity in Egypt and their need for a savior. It explores and expounds how mankind has been waiting for their Savior to come and the seemingly fairytale ending of a king riding in on a white horse to save the day. This King, however, is shown by the end of the record to be Jesus Christ.

Through folk music and excellent songwriting, Andrew shows captivity, Passover, the bloodline of David to Jesus, and Christ’s humble birth.

Now for this album write-up, keep in mind that I work with Andrew Peterson at Centricity Music and have probably toured with him more than any other artist in my career, but all that to say, he is and always will be one of my favorite artist/songwriters. I liked him before I had the chance to work with him and love his music even more now that I have established a friendship with him.

This is an album that is meant to be shared with everyone. It’s a beautiful display of what really happened that mysterious night in Bethlehem 2000 years ago.

This album was re-released this year and now has a special extra CD with it that is a live full concert of the whole album. It also features guest singers: Derek Webb of Caedmon’s Call, Jill Phillips, Andy Gullahorn, and Randall Goodgame!

“It was a labor of pain
It was a cold sky above
But for the girl on the ground in the dark
With every beat of her beautiful heart
It was a labor of love”

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “Behold the Lamb of God”
- “Labour of Love”
- “Deliver Us”

05. David Gray - Draw The Line (Deluxe Edition) - September 22, 2009
Almost 9 ½ years ago a friend of mine, from Ireland, handed me a cassette tape and told me to put it in the player and turn up the volume. The tape was David Gray’s, White Ladder album, and had not been released in the United States yet. From first listen, until today, David’s voice captures me and takes me on a journey. Its music for the best of road trips across back roads, and country byways. Everything you love about Bob Dylan joined with commercial pop music, except none of the fluff.

Draw The Line is another step for David Gray. This record seems a little less polished than his last CD, Life In Slow Motion, and a tad more gritty too...like a man who has been places and seen things as his journeys and touring takes him around the world.

I love the first single, “Fugitive.” It has heart and a great big, hooky chorus. I have seen David Gray five times in concert, and am scheduled to see him perform at the Ryman Auditorium again in April. David Gray is in my all time top six artists ever and Draw The Line is a great addition to his arsenal of songs.

Oh and if you happen to go see him in concert, call me! I want to come too!

“First chance I get
I’m gone, I’m outta here
First chance I get
I’m gone, I’m outta here...”

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “Fugitive”
- “Kathleen (feat. Jolie Holland)”
- “Jackdaw”


06. Needtobreathe - The Outsiders - August 25, 2009
The Outsiders is mature, a little back-woods, and bluesy. The record is very open and spacious, musically and is perfect for driving to and from work. From front to back, this record sounds fantastic. It has everything on it that you could want—banjos, hand-claps, and even a cool horse-head album cover!

Needtobreathe is one of the coolest new bands to break in the Christian music industry. Their lead singer sounds similar to the vocalist from Kings of Leon, albeit with his own style. This band is good. Their sound is refreshing and very competitive with other mainstream acts. Harmonicas, acoustic guitars, and crashing symbols. What more could you ask for in an up-and-coming band? I can’t wait to see them play live because I’m sure it will be a treat.

We're all tied to the same old failings
Finding shelter in things we know
We're all dirty like corrupted small towns
We'll bring our troubles
We'll bring our troubles
Come lay 'em down

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “The Outsiders”
- “Valley of Tomorrow”
- “Lay ‘Em Down”

07. Todd Agnew - Need - October 6, 2009
Todd Agnew is another artist that I have had the privilege to work with. You remember him, right? He’s the guy who wears no shoes and is known for being brash and passionate about presenting the Gospel. His hit songs include, “Grace Like Rain,” “This Fragile Breathe” and the controversial, “My Jesus.”

Yes, that’s Todd Agnew.

I love his new album, Need. I have worn it out on my many travels across the country, and it always brings me peace and companionship. It is, by far, his most corporate expression of worship since Grace Like Rain. It’s a more optimistic view from a guy who likes to bring the message that God cares more for holiness than He does for our happiness—not meaning that God doesn’t want us to have joy, but the idea that God desires for us to look like Him, more than manifesting our own personal candy-coated satisfactions.

“Name” brings together modern worship sounds with a lot of hymn-like lyrics. Agnew more often resembles Rich Mullins than any artist on Christian radio today, and it shows in his music. I love his heart and passion, and this new CD paints a good picture of both of those things. Who else could write songs about King Nebuchadnezzar and the burning bush?

The first time I heard the song “I Need No Other,” I probably called five people to tell them about it. This just might be my favorite Christian song of the year. It is a song that Todd Agnew was born to sing.

And I wish You still spoke through burning bushes
And I wish You still wrote on blocks of stone
'Cause the sound of this world's deafening
And I'm having a hard time listening
And I wish Your will was still written on the wall

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “I Need No Other”
- “Give Me Jesus”
- “Did You Mean Me?”


08. Dave Matthews Band - Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King - June 2, 2009
This is the CD that I have played more than ANY other new CD in 2009. I can’t take it out of my car CD player. This is the record that made me fall in love with the Dave Matthews Band again.

Let me put that last paragraph in context. I’m 29 years old. When I was in college, the DMB was the best touring band for college kids in the country. Hands down, Dave was it! He was everything that a young college guy, learning to play guitar, wanted. He could play an acoustic guitar like no other, and his band was top notch. Carter Beautford, Dave’s drummer, has to be the best drummer of all time—EVER.

Now I was not some crazy fan that went to see the Dave Matthews Band 25 times, like a few friends of mine, but I really liked him. That was until he made three substandard records and sold his folk sensibilities down the river for a more commercial and radio-friendly sound. This musical switch turned me off to his music, but this new album, Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, feels like old-school Dave Matthews Band. Yes, the songs are good and catchy, but the thing I love the most about this record is the fact that it is a true picture of a man dealing with his own ideas and views of God. Matthews has always wrestled with ideas of Heaven, Hell, God, and spiritual questions on his previous CDs, but with Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, it seems as if every song is asking these questions: How can I have a capacity for good and evil? Hate and Love? What if all of the Christian “radicals” are right and God is real?

The GrooGrux King, was the nickname of Matthews’s former saxophone player, LeRoi Moore, who died in August 2008. This album is the last project LeRoi would work on, and it was also the first time in multiple records that legendary guitar player, Tim Reynolds, played on a DMB project. This is a beautiful record, exploring hard spiritual questions of life and death.

Funny the way it is, if you think about it
Somebody's going hungry and someone else is eating out
Funny the way it is, not right or wrong
Somebody's heart is broken and it becomes your favorite song…

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “Why I Am”
- “Funny The Way It Is”
- “Spaceman”

09. Owl City - Ocean Eyes
Owl City was a pleasant surprise in 2009. Ocean Eyes was recorded by a guy that had insomnia and decided to spend his time awake at night, creating music in his parents’ basement. The record is everything that is admirable about Postal Service, with a little bit of Imogen Heap sprinkled in.

I don’t know a lot about Owl City, other than the “band” is made up of one guy who is a believer. It’s a perfect record to listen to while winding down and drinking coffee at night. I have recommended this album to a lot of friends who are tired of the same old commercial sound. It’s light and fun, and it even includes a song about going to the dentist.

I’d like to make myself believe, that planet Earth turns slowly. It’s hard to say that I’d rather stay awake when I’m asleep, because my dreams are bursting at the seams…

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “Fireflies”
- “Hello Seattle”
- “Dental Care”


10. Andy Gullahorn - The Law of Gravity - December 1, 2009
Andy Gullahorn has the best sense of humor of any person that I have ever met. He is, like David Wilcox, an excellent song crafter who blends humor and everyday experiences to make magical songs. He often writes about his music putting people to sleep and never being accepted by college kids because it’s too boring. That’s funny, and Gullahorn is skillful at using this “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down” strategy to steer his audiences toward an encounter with the Gospel. Through clever and witty verse and choruses, Gullahorn sets the listener up in a good place to receive his message. Then, by the bridge and last verse, he has his audiences crying and even questioning their very ideals. He writes these kinds of songs better than anyone else.

Every year at the Ryman Auditorium, Andrew Peterson presents his annual “Behold The Lamb of God” Christmas show and, almost every year, he introduces Gullahorn, as the best songwriter in the room.

Andy Gullahorn is a self-described average guy, but most people who are familiar with his craft see a songwriter whose work stands a little taller than most others’.

The Law of Gravity is also one of my favorite albums of the year because each of Gullahorn’s records challenges me and reminds me of how often God works in our hearts and in the little things that prepare us for bigger lessons and battles down the line.

I can’t write any songs that have a mass appeal, that work for radio, or Grey’s Anatomy. ‘Cause there’s nothing cool about normal things, or the kind of guy I am…

Ok, I’ll give it a quick listen. Where do I start?
- “I Haven’t Either”
- “Chloe in Pasadena (The Kind of Guy I Am)”
- “Resurrection”

Five Albums From The Past That I Discovered This Year And Can’t Believe That I Missed!
- Keith Green - No Compromise (1978)
- Lyle Lovett - The Road to Ensenada (1996)
- Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)
- Pierce Pettis - State of Grace (2001)
- Emmylou Harris - Red Dirt Girl (2000)