32 years ago this week, a computer game by the name of Myst was released. Released a few years later on CD was the soundtrack, 40 minutes of music by Robyn Miller, one of the co-creators of the game's story and graphics as well. The game finds the player exploring a series of fantastical islands full of mysterious artifacts and journals, and you have to figure out what's going on and how you got there. The music, all created by synthesizers, adds an otherworldly and suspenseful quality to the game. Although the music is designed to be experienced within the game, the soundtrack album does work as instrumentals on its own. If you've never played Myst, I recommend checking it out, and the latest version looks even more realistic than ever before thanks to modern computers and the hard work of a committed team of developers and artists.

Release Year: 1995
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David Crowder Band was known as a rock band that also led worship at their University's church, recorded albums and toured the world. They were mostly known for their rock/electronic sound, at least until this album. Released 20 years ago yesterday, David Crowder and the band brought their love of classic country and even a bit of bluegrass music to their sound. Starting with a Loretta Lynn cover as an intro, the album sounds mostly like the Crowder Band albums released previously, mostly modern rock with some electronic elements. But then, halfway through the song "Be Lifted Or Hope Rising", a country song breaks out including mandolins. And this style continues with "I Saw The Light" and through a Sufjan Stevens cover. These songs started me looking into classic country music in the years after this album came out. But even if you're not here for the country fest, there's lots to love here. "Foreverandever, Etc.", "Here Is Our King", and "We Win!" are energetic praise songs. "Wholly Yours" has a bunch of fun wordplay mixing "wholly" and "holy", words that sound pretty much the same though they are spelled differently. This album is probably David Crowder Band's finest, and with over 65 minutes of music, there's much to love here. You might skip the closing two tracks which is a scripted interview about art and worship, but I usually listen to it because it's pretty funny. This is an epic album and is a work of art more than it is a few new songs to be sung at church services.

Release Year: 2005
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"Rhymes come fresh and they always ill / When we rockin' the rockin' the Casbah." Released on this day 25 years ago, this is the first album from hip-hop duo Ill Harmonics. After rapping together in the Dallas area starting in 1995, they made it on MTV's "The Cut" in 1998, and this album on Uprok Records made them a part of a burgeoning Christian hip-hop industry. The duo of Blake Knight and Playdough (aka Harry Krum or Krum) switch off rapping over guitars, keyboards, bass and drums, a bit more sparse of a production than most rap albums. They make fun of the fact that they're white men on "Gringos", talk about their insecurities on "Will I?", about how competitive the rap game is in "Woe Is We", and there's lots of fun wordplay and a few samples throughout the album. Sadly, this album seems to be not currently available on streaming, so I guess you'll have to find a CD or something like that to give this a listen.

Release Year: 2000

"Get on the love crusade." Released 35 years ago today, this is the sixth studio album from Christian pop artist Michael W. Smith. Before Michael W. Smith was known for making worship music, he was one of the most experienced songwriters and performers in Christian pop music, and this album brings the '80s pop feel even though it was released in 1990. "Place In This World" is this album's biggest hit and propelled this album to platinum status, and "For You" has a fun trombone solo in the bridge. The title track kicks off the album with a bit of a country nod including the sound of horses neighing right at the start. This album also is the first recording of Michael W. Smith's first modern worship song, "Agnus Dei", though here it's just an orchestral pop song that later became a praise song sung at church services. This album definitely feels like it's from a different time, but it's still fun to listen to as it's fairly well-done pop with a Christian message.

Release Year: 1990
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