The 15 Greatest Christian Rock Bands

It’s that time again! It’s time for another list. I have been scouring the internet for a definitive list on the greatest Christian rock bands and I have found myself wanting. Most lists, in my opinion, do not have an appreciation of the history of Christian rock and leave out several key bands which I think should make the cut.

Christian rock sadly has become somewhat of a stale genre of music made up of mostly power praise songs, but this was not always the case. Some Christian rock bands were true innovators in their respective areas of music. Unfortunately, many fans I have come in contact with do not have a respect for some of the bands who have allowed the music to become successful. Thus, I feel like putting together what I think is the definitive list of the greatest Christian rock bands of all time.

An important thing to note is that on this list, I will not always be a huge fan of some of the bands as I am taking into account influence, talent, and personal favorability. In addition, this is a strictly rock music list and while many of these artists might end up on the hard rock side of things, I am staying away from Christian metal. I love Christian metal and I will probably do a list in the future involving metal bands; however, I want to list bands which are mostly considered rock. It is also important to note that while I list each band in my personal order, you as the reader are welcome to place each of these bands in your own order.
Let’s get started with our fifteenth greatest Christian rock band: Jars of Clay.


15. Jars of Clay

Now, this choice could definitely fit on the list almost exclusively in the influential category; however, I was a somewhat big fan of Jars of Clay in the late nineties. As my passion for harder and harder music grew, my interest waned and pretty much dropped altogether right around the time If I Left the Zoo was released in 1999. What Jars of Clay did during that time frame, though, was almost unheard of. They gained mainstream success and their first two albums went platinum. I remember turning on the television one night accidently settling on Dawson’s Creek and hearing the song, Flood, in the background. This excited me quite a bit because you don’t always get to hear a Christian band on a mainstream show. The song’s music video was even on rotation at MTV.

All this talk about success and influence should not take away from the talent Jars of Clay does have within their respective genre. The band plays in an acoustic/alternative rock style reminiscent of Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tonic, or Soul Asylum popular in the mid to late nineties. Out of all these bands listed, I would enjoy listening to Jars of Clay the most. My favorite song of theirs would be Crazy Times off their second album, Much Afraid.