Best Recorded Songs Of 2018

Now that we’ve wrapped up the annual countdown of Southern Gospel’s best albums, I will now list what I consider to be the 20 best recorded songs in Southern Gospel music for 2018.

What did you consider the top recorded songs of the year?

1. “Go Down Again” – Kaila Wisecarver; recorded by the Wisecarvers (Silhouette)
2. “Give Me Jesus” – Fanny Crosby, Ernie Haase, Wayne Haun, Joel Lindsey; recorded by Ernie Haase and Signature Sound (Clear Skies)
3. “Go Tell” – Diana Gillette; recorded by the Perry Sisters (Tellin’ The Story)
4. “Live Forgiven” – Sue C Smith, Nathan Woodard; recorded by Gordon Mote (Love Love Love)
5. “Beautiful” – Don Poythress, Joyce Sanders, Kenna West; recorded by the Martins (Still Standing)
6. “A Rugged Old Cross” – Gerald Crabb, Dianne Wilkinson; recorded by the LeFevre Quartet (Ascending)
7. “Stained Glass” – Michael Curtis, Bob Gulley; recorded by the Martins (Still Standing)
8. “Jesus Have Mercy On Me” – Roger Horne; recorded by the Down East Boys (One Day In The Past)
9. “All My Hope” – Edmond Cash, David Crowder; recorded by Gold City (Hope For The Journey)
10. “Sun’s Gonna Come Up” – Lee Black, Scott Inman; recorded by the LeFevre Quartet (Ascending)
11. “Resurrection Power” – Rebecca J Peck; recorded by the Mylon Hayes Family (Enjoy The Journey)
12. “Beat Up Bible” – Cary Barlowe, Hillary Lindsey, Shane Stevens; recorded by the Down East Boys (One Day In The Past)
13. “Watch And See” – Jason Cox, Kris Erwin, Kenna West; recorded by the Erwins (Watch & See)
14. “Robes Of Pure White” – Lisa Williamson; recorded by Williamsons (Give Them Jesus)
15. “Clear Skies” – Ernie Haase, Wayne Haun, Joel Lindsey; recorded by Ernie Haase and Signature Sound (Clear Skies)
16. “Washed By The Water” – Dave Barnes, Jason Crabb, Jordan Reynolds; recorded by Jason Crabb (Unexpected)
17. “If I Die” – Vince Gill, Ashley Monroe; recorded by the Oak Ridge Boys (17th Avenue Revival)
18. “Grab Your Umbrella” – Kristi Fitzwater, Eddie Harrison, Bev Herrema, Dixie Phillips; recorded by the Talleys (Finest Hour)
19. “God Is There” – Bernhard Herms, Jimmy Olander, Marty Roe; recorded by the Jordan Family Band (Reach)
20. “Anything Less” – Adina Bowman, Denny Livingston, Brittany Potter; recorded by the Taylors (Faithful Again)

**Also, if you want to hear the 40 best Southern Gospel radio singles of 2018, listen to this week’s playlist on either Apple Music or Spotify.  Listen as if you’re listening to a countdown; the first song in the playlist is the song ranked 40th and the last song in the playlist is the #1 song.

Remember, on Apple Music search Southern Gospel Back Row and on Spotify search SGVBR.  New weekly playlists every Monday in the new year!**

Best Of 2018: #1/#2

REASON FOR RANKING:  When I first heard Still Standing, I knew it would be hard to beat for best album of 2018.  What made it tougher was it only got better with each listen.  This is the Martins at their best.  There is no reason every Southern Gospel listener shouldn’t have Still Standing in their music library.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Beautiful”; (2) “Stained Glass”; (3) “Heal The Wound”; (4) “Running”; (5) “Days Like This”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  The only other recording to receive an (A-) grade this year was the Down East Boys, One Day In The Past.  Hands down, the best Southern Gospel quartet album of the year.  An album that gave the Down East Boys their first #1 hit with “Beat Up Bible”.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Jesus Have Mercy On Me”; (2) “Beat Up Bible”; (3) “I’d Like To Tell It Again”; (4) “That Would Be Amazing”; (5) “The Blood Remains”.

Best Of 2018: #3/#4

REASON FOR RANKING:  There is no denying the LeFevre Quartet had the best year of their career in 2018.  Ascending was the group’s 2018 recording, which the readers of this blog chose as the best album of the year.  The album also gave the quartet their first #1 single; “Sun’s Gonna Come Up”.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “A Rugged Old Cross”; (2) “Sun’s Gonna Come Up”; (3) “Sailing Away”; (4) “I Have It All”; (5) “Silver And Gold”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  It’s a shame Gold City doesn’t release new music a little more frequently.  Hope For The Journey was the first album of new music since 2011 (Somebody’s Coming).  It is also one of the top five Southern Gospel albums released in 2018.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “All My Hope”; (2) “Jesus Frees The Fallen”; (3) “Resting Place”; (4) “I Will Not Be Shaken”; (5) “Those Same Hands”.

Best Of 2018: #5/#6

REASON FOR RANKING:  Shame on me for not introducing myself to the music of the Williamsons until this year.  Give Them Jesus was one of my most played albums of 2018 along with their cover of “Message Of His Coming”.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Robes Of Pure White”; (2) “Message Of His Coming”; (3) “Every Moment, Every Mountain, Every Mile”; (4) “Jesus, What A Wonderful Name”; (5) “If This Altar Could Talk”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  Ernie Haase and Signature Sound rarely, do not make the annual countdown when a new album is released.  2018 is no different as Clear Skies ranks as one of the year’s best anchored by the hit single, “Give Me Jesus”.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Give Me Jesus”; (2) “Clear Skies”; (3) “You’ll Find Him There”; (4) “Heaven Is”; (5) “As For Me And My House”.

Best Of 2018: #7/#8

REASON FOR RANKING:  Southern Gospel and country music legends, the Oak Ridge Boys, released their best Gospel album since 2001 (From The Heart).  17th Avenue Revival is filled with some really great traditional quartet moments.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Walk In Jerusalem”; (2) “If I Die”; (3) “A Brand New Star”; (4) “There Will Be Light”; (5) “Let It Shine On Me”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  The Talleys are no strangers to annual top ten lists.  They have been releasing some of the best progressive Southern Gospel music for 35 years now.  We can now add Finest Hour to that list.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Grab Your Umbrella”; (2) “Joy”; (3) “When Death Was Arrested”; (4) “Begin Again God”; (5) “Get Me There”.

Best Of 2018: #9/#10

REASON FOR RANKING:  The Taylors found the right formula with their nine song recording on Stow Town this year.  Unlike other Stow Town artists who went with too much orchestration or similar sounding songs, Faithful Again provided one of the best Southern Gospel albums of the year.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Anything Less”; (2) “Mountain Of Sorrow”; (3) “Faithful Again”; (4) “I Pray Every Day”; (5) “Love Still Flows”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  Kicking off the top ten is the Wisecarvers, Silhouette.  It is the type of album that gets better with each listen.  Their country sound puts them in a league alongside groups like Jeff & Sheri Easter and the Crabb Family.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Go Down Again”; (2) “Potter’s Wheel”; (3) “Silhouette”; (4) “Jesus To Me”; (5) “When You Look At Me”.

Best Of 2018: #11/#12

REASON FOR RANKING:  The Perry Sisters had a run of success in the late ’80s/early ’90s and returned to the recording scene several years ago.  Tellin’ The Story marks the third album since returning and it is also their best recording since returning.  “Go Tell” is easily one of the best recorded songs of 2018.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Go Tell”; (2) “He Could Have Saved Himself”; (3) “Come Drink Of This Water”; (4) “I Wonder How Mary Felt”; (5) “I Have To Believe”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  The highest ranking album by a solo artist in 2018 is Jason Crabb’s, Unexpected.  Jason continues to push the boundaries of progressive Southern Gospel with mainstream country and pop sounds.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Washed By The Water”; (2) “Day One”; (3) “The Love In Your Heart Knows The Way”; (4) “Chose To Be My Friend”; (5) “Expect The Unexpected”.

Best Of 2018: #13/#14

REASON FOR RANKING:  There is no name more revered in Southern Gospel music than the name Speer.  They started it all, in terms of family groups recording and touring alongside an all male quartet dominated industry.  The New Speer Family decided to release, A Singing Heritage to honor the legacy of the Speer Family.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “My Home Sweet Home”; (2) “The Old Gospel Ship”; (3) “I’m Building A Bridge”; (4) “The Hallelujah Chorus”; (5) “He Is Mine And I Am His”.

REASON FOR RANKING:  To show its the exception and not the rule, the Mylon Hayes Family, Enjoy The Journey is the only album in the top 20 not available on the streaming platforms.  With that said, it was too good to leave out of this year’s best albums list.

FIVE BEST SONGS FROM THE ALBUM:  (1) “Resurrection Power”; (2) “Ain’t It Good”; (3) “We Come In Jesus’ Name”; (4) “What Manner Of Love”; (5) “I Rejoice In The Lord”.