Ive not done any research on the best selling Christian singles, but the RIAA would probably be a good place to start. That would be Amy Grant again. Aretha Franklin was only 14 when she recorded the 1956 album Songs Of Faith (later reissued in 1983 as Aretha Gospel) at the New Bethel Baptist Church, where her father was the reverend. The version by Edwin Hawkins Singers reached No.4 on the US singles charts, No.2 in Britain and Ireland, and was No.1 in France and Germany. P.O.D. - Best Ever Albums score: 14,823 - Best Ever Albums user rating: 82 - Rank all-time: #116 - Rank in decade: #23 - Rank in year: #2 - Year: 1992 The debut album by Rage Against the. Proving that the best gospel songs truly span genres, in 1994, country singer Alison Krauss teamed up with The Cox Family (who later appeared in the Coen Brothers film O Brother, Where Art Thou?) Loretta Lynn. But beyond that, he lead worship. Various Artists WOW Hits 2002 [2001] I Give You Praise (feat. On the other news, just now I found out ChristianRock.Net removed their music catalog. Since the question at hand concerns album sales, I suggest we define a Christian album as any album which was marketed to a Christian audience. What follows is a list of what we think are the best gospel songs of all time, perfect for taking you to musical heaven. The week's most popular albums, as compiled by Luminate, based on multi-metric consumption blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums and streaming (audio + video) equivalent albums. Take My Hand, Precious Lord is another gospel classic from the pen of Thomas A. Dorsey and is one of the most covered songs in the canon. Finally, very surprisedRead more . Raking in 45 million unit sales until number one knocked it off from the top spot. Some gospel songs are so well known for their melody as well as their words that they are covered purely as instrumental tunes. Dealing with life's ups and downs can be difficult, and music can make it better. Amy Grant The Collection [1986] Here it is:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8AWFf7EAc4. [4][5][6] Jackson also currently has the highest number of albums on the list with five, Celine Dion has four, while the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Madonna and Whitney Houston each have three. ), between 1990 and 2000 are required to have their claimed figures supported by 5060% in certified units. Among the remarkable performances is her version of this hymn by the English 18th-century hymn writer and poet William Cowper. It went to the top of the country charts for ten weeks. Great choices, but missed It Is Well With My Soul. to record the album I Know Who Holds Tomorrow. Various Artists WOW Hits 2005 [2004] All Rights Reserved. A modern take on gospel that feature guest appearances by Destiny's Child. The man, the myth, the legend. The single release of Never Would Have Made It topped the gospel chart for 46 weeks. To appear on the list, the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have sold at least 20 million copies. This list. 02. An album often criticised and overlooked due t its more mainstream tendencies but nevertheless, great. It sold 6+ million albums. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Cat Stevens almost reverential arrangement of the song featuring the expressive piano playing of Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman was recorded in 1971 for his album Teaser and the Firecat. The song continues to have relevance, demonstrated by Beyoncs performance at the 2015 Grammy Awards. Looks like that album only sold 500,000 copies so it would still fall short of everything else on this list. The sisters grandfather, Miles Pratcher, was recorded by folklorist Alan Lomax back in 1959. My bad! Best-Selling Albums of All-Time (4150) The Chicks Wide Open Spaces 13 million Whitney Houston Whitney Houston 13 million Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet 12 million Boyz II Men II 12. Truly ahead of her time, Aretha Franklin released the politically-charged album Young, Gifted and Black which consisted of her eighteenth studio album. You dont have to be religious to be affected by the power of the best gospel music. But of the few artists I checked that I thought might have a platinum album only one I found was Kirk Franklin. The Karen-penned song Blessed & Highly Favored, a sumptuous example of the siblings natural gift for harmony, was given some highly polished production values by Donald Lawrence. Kirk Franklin (born 1970) - By merging hip-hop with gospel, Kirk Franklin has created some controversy on his way to becoming perhaps the best-selling gospel artist of all time, with more than 13 million album sales. I believe you may have forgot Lauren Daigles first album which I can see from Wikipedia was a platinum selling album, and she just released her 2nd album earlier this month September 2018. Learn how your comment data is processed. This triple-CD compilation helped spark a wider interest in artists who never achieved any great fame on the circuit. Maybe its not fair to count a Christmas album, but selling over 3 million copies is nothing to sneeze at. In 2016, RIAA included streaming in addition to track sales and album sales based on the concept of album-equivalent unit for certification purposes, and certification therefore no longer reflects shipment alone. Odetta - Ballad for Americans and Other American Ballads Score 90 Source Amazon 3. Various Artists WOW Worship: Orange [2000] 2 (Live)Sovereign Grace Music, Burning Lights (Deluxe Edition)Chris Tomlin, How Can It Be (Deluxe Edition)Lauren Daigle, All the People Said Amen (Live)Matt Maher, WOW Worship (Lime) [Deluxe Edition]Various Artists, Glorious Day: Hymns of FaithCasting Crowns, Lead Thou Me On: Hymns and InspirationBYU Vocal Point, Hide 'Em In Your Heart, Vol. Those are the only words to describe Johnny Cash, one of the best country music singers of all time and one of the greats of outlaw country music. The song has been popular with other jazz musicians, and among noted cover versions are those by Harry James and, more recently, Dr. John, in his tribute album to Satchmo. She would sometimes perform live versions of the song that lasted nearly 15 minutes. Britney Spears 34.5 million units. Oh, and its probably worth mentioning the WOW I Love Christian Music compilation album series. Passion. Names Without Numbers - "Florida" Out Now! But youre correct thats exactly what makes it hard to judge who should be on these lists. Take a peek inside the latest issue of Songlines magazine. If you want to go farther back than that you could start looking into artists like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, and Elvis. 28// Umstze aus dem europischen Musikverkauf (Page 54)", "Les Certifications Officielles: Chronologie Albums", "Music Canada: What is Gold Platinum Certification? Shea appeared live in front of hundreds of millions of people in his career as a singer with preacher Billy Graham. Cooke, who went on to be one of the best soul singers in popular music, showed he was also a natural interpreter of gospel in this period of his career. The current top 100 Christian and Gospel albums on iTunes. Sinnerman was based on a traditional African-American spiritual, which started life as a Scottish folk song. Springsteen said that the challenge of singing gospel music is that you have to find your individual place in it. O Mary Dont You Weep, which was an inspiration for Bridge Over Troubled Water, is a song that has also been widely recorded, including versions by Pete Seeger and Burl Ives. Fitzgeralds haunting version features backing from the Ralph Carmichael Choir. Mary Mary is known for the songs "Heaven," "God in Me," "Get Up," "Yesterday," "The Real Party," and "Shackles (Praise You)." Next: Greatest gospel songs in history (our list) 14. (That is 1% for each additional year after 1990. Carman The Standard [1993] Some things are better forgotten. 9. As anyone familiar with The Bible knows, there are plenty of passages that mention doves, and the lyrics reference a number of them. Filter this chart by genre, country, language, location or descriptor, Pastor T.L. The current top 100 Christian and Gospel albums on iTunes. Sapp's most recent album Chosen Vessel was released in 2020. Their exclusion from the list was purely an oversight on my part, not a sign of ill will. The Detroit-born singer, who is also a talented bass player, recorded a version of Were Blessed for his album The Inner Court. This is a list of the world's best-selling albums of recorded music. Razor & Tie. It was first released by Jackson on the 2006 album, Precious Memories, a record that saw Jackson exploring his love of gospel. MADE YOU LOOK. Third Day Chromology Volume 2 [2007], Amy Grant Age to Age [1982] It was a tune Nina Simone would have heard at her local church, where she was the pianist from an early age. The certified units percentage varies according to the first year that an artist appeared in the charts. 1. Donald Lawrence, a former Minister of Music at the Southern Baptist Church on Cincinnatis Reading Road, took on music full-time as musical director of The Tri-City Singers. When Marvin Sapps father Henry died in September 2006, the 39-year-old singer said he was struggling to find the words to preach a few days later. ", "The Complex Legacy of Oasis' Classic '(What's the Story) Morning Glory', "This Week in History: December 12 to 18", "Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road Review", "Loverly: The Life and Times of My Fair Lady", "The Broadway cast album: province of a devoted few", "Billboard Vol. However, newer albums, such as 21 and Come Away with Me, are expected to have their claimed figures supported by at least 70% in certified copies, this is because more music markets instituted certification systems after the 1980s and 1990s. Hello! Shirley Caesar, who was born in 1938, has established a deserved reputation as one of the most important gospel singers of modern times. There have been plenty list available that rank the top 100 greatest albums of all time. 5 Young, Gifted, And Black. Up Above My Head by Sister Rosetta Tharpe will make you move. Over the course of several weeks, thousands of SoulTrackers nominated and then voted on the Greatest Gospel Albums. 03. Bringing forth his skill as a smooth jazz saxophonist, producer, and composer alike, Kenny G had all the tools to make something perfect for the holidays. Year: 1999. Two years later he teamed up with Fellowships celebrated radio choir to record the album The Best of Both Worlds, from which the ebullient single Awesome made it to the number one position on the Billboard Top Gospel Album and Singles Charts. Michael Rowed the Boat Ashore. 17. World's best-selling albums of recorded music, Certification systems have been established periodically throughout the past half century; thus, certification databases are not able to cover all sales. In 1997, the label began issuing sacred steel gospel performances powered by lap steel guitar, shaping an intense, new strain. While youre reading, check out our Gospel Hits playlist here. Often these songs can be uplifting, they can help us understand, and sometimes they can just be comforting. Gods Word Will Never Pass Away by The Sensational Nightingales. Ill just leave the list of albums I made while researching here for your consideration. One of the best, one! This may be one of the most beloved hymns/spiritual songs of the past two centuries. Mary Mary Thankful [2000] Discover top songs on your favorite album. Therefore, I will consider albums which either charted on Billboard as Christian or featured songs which charted on Christian radio. iTunes chart of the most popular top 100 Christian and Gospel albums updated daily. JEFF BUCKLEYS version of HALLELUJAH is considered by many to be the best. To choose a single year, click the year (e.g. Skillet Awake [2009] Chris Tomlin See the Morning [2006] The record stands as one of gospels greatest reunion tracks. The album also made it to the top spot of Billboard's Top Gospel Albums and sold over 5, 00, 000 copies. Check out the 50 best-selling music artists of all time in the US by album sales: 50. SAULT - Earth November 1, 2022 Critic Score 94 5 reviews Amazon iTunes Music Spotify 2. Their majestic harmonizing on Touch The Hem Of His Garment is a lovely example of male quartet singing from that period in American music when vocal groups were so popular. Various Artists WOW Christmas: Red [2002] 01 The Blind Boys of Alabama Spirit of the Century (Real World Records, 2001) Anne Murray Put Your Hand In The Hand This article should have been titled, Some of My Favorite Gospel Songs. Or, Some of The Greatest Gospel Songs of All Time. Too many Gospel artists to include their work on this list. Flyleaf Flyleaf [2005] All albums included on this list have their available claimed figures supported by at least 30% in certified copies. ", "Floyd, Kaoma Top Sellers in Portugal Certs (page 69)", "Tracy Chapman's new greatest hits album celebrates a quietly powerful legacy", "10 Things About Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' 30 Years After Its Release", "Wyclef Jean: Will He Run for President of Haiti? ), in 2000 and onwards are required to have their claimed figures supported by 6080% in certified units. You can click on the album covers below to listen to or purchase the CDs at Amazon.com. (The list includes Bob Dylan, The Band, Jerry Lee Lewis, Mavis Staples, The Black Crowes, and many more.) Casting Crowns Casting Crowns [2003] For example, didnt Underoaths Define The Great Line hit no.2 in the charts. Louis Armstrong brought emotion and depth to this powerful spiritual song, written during the period of slavery and published in 1867. The performances captured here are stunning gospel as African-American praise music, full of great yearning. I see what you mean aso I am sad with you. Written by noted gospel songwriter Albert E Brumley, Ill Fly Away was recorded by close-harmony specialists and identical twins The Kossoy Sisters in 1956. Next: The best songs of all time (a list of our top overall picks) 3. The top selling album of all time in the United States based on certified unit sales is currently the Eagles' Greatest Hits, with 38 million copies sold. I didnt look too closesly at either Southern Gospel or Gospel music when I compiled this list so its entirely possible I could have missed an album. Nat King Cole sang it regularly at concerts. 1Maverick City Music, Graves into Gardens (Deluxe) [Live]Elevation Worship, Highest PraiseStephen McWhirter & Jason Clayborn, Chain Breaker (Deluxe Edition)Zach Williams, Hills and Valleys (Deluxe Edition)Tauren Wells, Awaken: The Surrounded Experience (Live)Michael W. Smith, The Land I'm Livin' In (Live)Jonathan David Helser & Melissa Helser, I Can Do All Things Through ChristStrive to Be, Unchanging God: Songs from the Book of Psalms, Vol. Many in his own Yolnu language being various dialect via Australian North East Armhem land. Her gorgeous 1999 hit Alabaster Box was written by Dr. Janice Sjostrand, an academic and musician who once opened for Ray Charles. Stryper did something no other band was doing at the time and is a staple in Christan music. Dave Matthews Band 34.5 million units Fergus McDonald/Getty 49. 3: Show Albums Win Longevity Sweepsatakes", "Billboard Vol. The highest-selling female gospel unit are still a going concern today, picking up several Grammys along the way. This traditional gospel song from 1873 is thought to have its roots in English folk music. Houstons single was released in June 2012, just four months after her tragic death at the age of 48. Sam Cooke grew up listening to Peace in the Valley, a song written in 1937 for Mahalia Jackson by Thomas A. Dorsey, and which was later recorded by hundreds of musicians, including Presley and Little Richard. Give credit where credit is due! RANK. It is notable however they were the only other artist besides Amy Grant to sell over a million copies in the 80s. You have Kirk Franklin and no Andre Crouch, James Cleveland, Bishop Paul Morton? They are among the best-selling gospel groups of all time, with more than eight million records. Band Covers Deftones' "My Own Summer (Shove It)" (Song In Post), New Band Spotlight: Voluntary Mortification, Paul Hyde (Grandpa Loves Rhinos & Small Step Records), Bryan Gray of The Blamed Gets Interviewed by Movie Geek Feed, VEAUX Goes Behind the Scenes on New Single, Indie Vision Music Presents: Video Interview With Gage of To Speak of Wolves from Uprise Fest, Stefan Tomlinson of Stemson and Archabald. As well as Be Thou My Vision, the Belfast-born musician recorded a powerful version of Just a Closer Walk with Thee, the title and lyrics of which come from passages in the Bible. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Mahalia Jackson; Photo: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, Everybody's Gonna Have A Wonderful Time Up There (Gospel Boogie), Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho (2004 Remaster), Kirk Franklin - Wanna Be Happy? Pops Staples - Don't Lose This February 17, 2015 Critic Score 80 8 reviews Amazon Her 2014 album Graceland, contained the hit song 2nd Win co-composed by Sheard, her producer brother J. Casting Crowns The Altar and the Door [2007] Makes this list so incomplete as to be insulting! [a] Certified copies are sourced from available online databases of local music industry associations. This is a bullshit list. A list with the likes is Springsteen, Cooder, Nelson, but no James Cleveland? Various Artists WOW 1997 [1996] Hank Williamss I Saw the Light is one of the finest examples of country gospel. Aretha Franklin started singing in the church as a child, gospel music is her most natural form. In June 2020 she released a new version of Goin Up Yonder on the soundtrack for the fifth season of the television series Greenleaf. 1. The Fray How to Save a Life [2005] Amazing Grace was released as a double album on June 1, 1972, becoming an instant success. It won the award for Best Traditional Soul Gospel Album at the Grammy Awards, while their interpretation of Tom Waits Way Down in the Hole became the theme song for acclaimed TV series The Wire. Every Time I Feel The Spirit by The Spirit Of Memphis Quartet This double-CD gathers many of her finest recordings, live and in the studio. Would love your thoughts, please comment. The body of work was released in 1972 and became top 10 Gold-certified. To me that is a very powerful statement coming from one of the biggest staples in the metal community. Commissioned 3. but I have done my very best to be objective with this list being an attempt at a true Greatest/Best of all-time. Im glad you asked. MercyMe Almost There [2001] I truly believe Lauren Daigle has a more dynamic and beautiful voice than The Queen of Christian Pop, although I have fond memories of my youth hearing Baby Baby and Every Heartbeat on the radio. The single reached No.6 in the charts. Gray Stone Chapel by Johnny Cash. I offer you here my take on the 50 best albums of all time. [4] [5] [6] Jackson also currently has the highest number of albums on the list with five, Celine Dion has four, while the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Madonna and Whitney Houston each have three. There are also terrific versions by Elvis Presley, Diana Ross, and Willie Nelson. The Best Debut Albums of All Time, Ranked, The Best Urban Contemporary Gospel Artists. You can click on the album covers below to listen to or purchase the CDs at Amazon.com. "Born Under a Bad Sign" is one of the best blues albums of all time. Keep up the greatRead more . Discover how the best gospel songs influenced soul and rocknroll. Is that what you found in your research? Deeply connected to the Civil Rights movement, they would later go on to enjoy great pop hits (Respect Yourself), but this live album best exemplifies their gospel genius. Jars of Clay Much Afraid [1997] Like the Billboard 200, the data is compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly physical and digital sales, as well as on-demand streaming and digital sales of its individual tracks. Lifehouse No Name Face [2000] In 2020, Grammy-nominated choirmaster Ricky Dillard made his Motown Gospel debut with a multi-track single Release, featuring Tiff Joy, which included the track More Abundantly Medley. The spirited music video for the song, filmed at Haven of Rest Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago, was viewed more than 1.7 million times on YouTube in its first year.