These are my favorite singers or bands by letter of the alphabet:
A: Eric Andersen. According to my Spotify account's 2025 data, Eric Andersen was the artist I listened to the most in 2025, and his song "Close the Door Lightly When You Go" was the song I played the most. If fact, I came in 31st place for the person who listened to Andersen the most on Spotify in the world! Although not a household name, his albums "Bout Changes and Things" and "Blue River" are considered landmark works in the genre of 1960's folk music.
B: the Byrds No doubt the majority of my generation would have placed the Beatles here, but the Byrds were evey bit as prolific. Both bands released twelve studio albums. Granted, the Beatles wrote a lot more of their own music, but the Byrds could take other artists' standards like "Mr. Tambourine Man" or "Eve of Destruction" and give them a whole different sound. Furthermore, the Byrds had better musicians with the likes of David Crosby, Roger McGuinn, Clarence White and Graham Parsons. Only George Harrison of the fab four could compete with these guys. And the Byrds' harmonies put the Beatles' harmonies to shame.
C: CCR In truth I could have entered John Fogarty as my "F" entry, as he did all the writing, singing and lead guitar playing for Creedence Clearwater Revival. His solo songs "Centerfield" and "My Rock and Roll Girl" are just as CCR as anything CCR did. And CCR did a lot. "Cosmo's Factory" is one of the best rock albums of all time. Singles throughout their brief four year existence include "Have You Ever Seen the Rain", "Bad Moon Rising", "Down on the Corner", and "Lookin Out My Back Door", perhaps the only rock and roll hit to mention Buck Owens by name.
D: Donovan I have such a strong emotional tie to Donovan's music that I once wrote a blog about it. (See it here: https://supremecourtjesters.org/SCJ-Blogs/Post/255 ) I would listen to his early music when I'd come home from high school to an empty house. It was his songs that gave me an appreciation for thoughtful, meaningful lyrics. "Catch the Wind" is the ultimate unrequited love song. "To Try For the Sun" is the ultimate proclamation of adolescent independance. At first, all I would listen to were his folk albums. In more recent years, I I have learned to appreciate his later experimentation with psychodelic and world music. "Hurdy Gurdy Man" is pure ear-candy. And his sound track for the 1970's Jesus freak movie classic "Brother Sun, Sister Moon" is delightful.
E: Tom Eslick This is the most obscure artist on my list. Eslick was a local folk singer when I was growing up in Vermont. I caught him live several times at coffeehouses in the early 1980's. The first time I had seen him live was at my college in Farmington, Maine, and I had just given my best friend a copy of Eslick's "Easy Country Feeling": album, which he graciously signed for her. His songs "Early Morning Eastbound Train" and "Deer Hollow Run" have Vermont all through them, and his closest thing to a claim to fame is that he was the house musician at Vermont's Trapp Family Lodge for many years. A concert of his from that venue is up on Spotify, and is well worth the listen.
F: Don Francisco Don Francisco is best known for his Gospel song of the year "He's Alive" from 1977. That song was one that was used in a mime communion service I wrote and directed in Summerton, South Carolina. This unique event was the first racially integrated event at the Summerton Methodist Church's history! Francisco and Noel Paul Stookey were the first Christian artists to really catch my ear after my rebirth in 1985, and his beautiful "I Could Never Promise You" was Sue's and my wedding song.
G: Arlo Guthrie The first concert I ever attended was Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger held on a mountainside in Vermont. I actually crashed my older brother's date as I joined them at the event. Of course everyone knows "City of New Orleans" and "Alice's Restaurant", but he has so many other songs in his catalog that are lesser known and just as good. One of my very first shows - at the Burlington, Vermont Mall in 1979 - included a ball juggling routine to Arlo's version of Leadbelly's "On A Monday". "Sailing Down This Golden River" (which he actually sang on the Muppett Show) is one of my absolute favorites, and his version of his dad Woody's song "Deportee" sounds just as relevant today as ever before.
H; Emmy Lou Harris Emmy Lou Harris is the only true country singer on this list. I attended a concert of hers in 1982 and I still regard it as one of the two or three best concerts I've ever been privileged to see. She sings with such emotion - without the typical country music sappy sentimentalism - on songs such as "Red Dirt Girl", "Boulder to Birmingham", "Evangeline" and "Millworker" it's impossible not to include her in my list of favorites. And her version of Chuck Berry's "C'est La Vie" outshines the original.
I: Insingizi This African choir is remarkable.in their harmonies, emotion and ability to keep traditional African music alive and relevent. I use their "Mbonqane Groove" for one of my juggling routines, and if you ever get to see a video of them performing this one (or better, I would imagine, to see it in person) you will never forget it.
J: Mahalia Jackson Ah, Mahalia. The Queen of Gospel music. I remember the first time I heard her music; it was on a video documentary that we rented on VHS many years ago. "Didn't It Rain" blew me away. It was rock and roll Gospel before "Gospel rock" was even an idea. Suddenly I was listening to everything of hers I could get my hands on. In addition to all of her musical contributions over the years (she is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the category of 'early influencer') she literally changed history at Martin Luther King's march on Washington. His speech that he had written for that event was falling flat, so, referring to a speech he gave earlier in the week, Mahalia yelled out "Tell them about your dream, Martin." He literally switches gears midspeech and delivered a speech that he was not planning on giving. It has,of course, gone down in history as one of the most important speeches ever delivered. Ah, Mahalia.
K: Phil Keaggy One of the earliest artists in what became Contemporary Christian Music, Keaggy first came on the scene as part of the band "Glass Harp." After going solo, he recorded the CCM standard "Sunday's Child". But his best work has been his instrumental albums " The Wind and the Wheat, "The Master and the Musician", and "Lights of Madrid". There is a reason why those who know his musicianship speak of him alongside the likes of George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Pete Townsend on lists of the world's best guitarists.
L: Ladysmith Black Mambazo / Gordon Lightfoot (tie) L Was a tough letter to settle on a favorite, so in the end I settled for a tie between two very different acts. LBM, the all male accapella choir from South Africa, was given international exposure when Paul Simon went to South Africa in the middle of the apartheid era. This unpopular move by Mister Simon may have had more of a positive impact on South Africa than all the protests by Bono, Belafonte and Springsteen combined. LBM is the group that sang with Simon on several cuts of his masterpiece "Graceland" album, and since then they have been nominated for 19 Grammy's and won six. They sang at the Nobel Peace Prize presentation to Nelson Mandela as well as Mandela's inauguration as South Africa's first Black president. And their sound, whether singing in Zulu, Dutch, or English, is literally beyond description.
So how could anyone else be considered for the letter L? Perhaps it's the years of hearing Gordon Lightfoot records played in my childhood home by one of my older brothers. Perhaps it's the fact that every time clocks must change to standard time and days get shorter, I just have to listen to "Song for a Winter's Night". Perhaps it's Gord's poetic storytelling in "Cherokee Bend," "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald", and "Canadian Railroad Trilogy". Perhaps it's the warm memories he invokes with "Brave Mountaineers" or "Did She Mention My Name". All I know is, Gordon Lightfoot could not be left out of this list.
M: Melanie / Rich Mullins (tie) M was also a tough one for me to narrow down to one choice, and is the other tie on my list. Melanie, the quintessential flower child, is a favorite of mine since buying her "Melanie at Carnegie Hall" album at my college bookstore's discount bin. "Peace Will Come" is a haiku-esque prayer unlike anything else I've ever heard. The day of the Sandy Hook massacre of twenty first graders, all I could do was listen and pray this song over and over. As is often the case for me, I prefer her lesser known songs (Friends and Company", "The Actress") to her hits (Brand New Key, "Look What they've Done to My Song,Ma") Her album "Antlers" has no equal in the genre of Christmas albums, and "O Come All Ye Faithful" is a fixture in my show as I juggle cigar boxes.
But then there's also Rich Mullins. In the world of Christian music, which is often a wasteland of wannabe stars and prophets, Mullins was a genius. What Keaggy did for CCM instrumentally and Francisco did lyrically, Mullins did theologically. "Here in America" explores what it's like to live biblically in a land of excess, when even the 'religious' often oppose true discipleship. "Creed" is a brilliant paraphrase of the Apostle's Creed, and "Doubly Good to You" explores the often ignored topic of a life of singleness. And Mullins lived out his faith by taking a 'Protestant vow of poverty", living much of his adult life on the Navajo reservation, teaching music to native kids.
N: Larry Norman Okay, this ws no contest. "The bad boy of Christian Rock", Norman was a reborn hippy in the late 1960's. His "Only Visiting This Planet" is almost universally considered the most important CCM album of all time, and his influence continues today on everyone form Amy Grant to the Pixies. "Why Should the Devil Have All The Good Music" seems silly now, but there was a time the church saw rock music as evil, and this song was a generation's response to this idea. "The Outlaw" says so simply what it means to understand Jesus in the deeper way that comes through faith, and "Reader's Digest" is a masterpiece, with lines like:" I was born and raised an orphan in a land that once was free" and "politicians all make speeches and the newsmen all take notes, and they exaggerate the issues as they shove 'em down our throats. Is it really up to them whether this country sinks or floats? Well I wonder who would lead us if none of us would vote."
O: Phil Ochs Phil was a bipolar alcoholic Communist who died at his own hand in 1976. And he wrote some of the most profound songs of the 1960's. Yes, many, if not most, of his songs are outdated today, as he was first and foremost a protest singer. Songs about the US acting as the cops of the world, police brutality, and segregation in the south are more history than current events. Or are they? Still other of his songs are timeless: "There But for Fortune", "Changes", "Chords of Fame" and "When I'm Gone" are as relevent today as ever. He is the one act most deserving to be in the Rock and Rolll Hall of Fame who is still not enshrined there.
P: John Prine John Prine is one of the most underrated song writers of the past five decades. His blend of folk-folk rock-rock-country- rockabilly melodies are never less than catchy, and his lyrics earned him the unofficial title of America's most literate ex-mailman. His slightly nasal southern accent makes you think you're listening to a low cortical hillbilly until you pay attention to what he's saying. Over time, his voice sounds more like an old friend who has had a lot of time to think about the meaning of life. His songs have been called 'the politics of people'. Rarely does he get political in the obvious sense, but he encourages his listeners to care about people. Whether it's the drug addicted veteran in "Sam Stone", the poor single mom in "Angel From Montgomery" or the elderly couple in "Hello in There" Prine's message is often to be compassionate. Then, just as he draws you in to contemplate the state of humanity, he slips in a funny song like "Illegal Smile" or "Dear Abby" for a little levity.
Q: Queen Q was a hard one for me,and in truth I'm not a huge Queen fan. That said, they are one of three bands that inevitably end up at the top of the greatest band in history.list. Their performance at the Live Aid concertis historic, which helps their case. My best experience with Queen's music is when my middle school class several years ago rewrote "Bohemian Rhapsody" all with lyrics about their school year together. It was so good, we performed it at awards night.
R: Rolling Stones Like Queen, the Rolling Stones are another of the bands consistently at the top of any list of the greatest bands ever (the third, obviously, the Beatles). Also like Queen, They're not a huge favorite of mine. I almost gave the R spot to the Ramones or Tom Rush. However, their "Ruby Tuesday" is beautifully heart wrenching. Ultimately, though I put the Stones in this spot because of "Paint it Black". Many years ago, when our oldest daughter was in a dance competition, a young dancer from another studio did a contemporary piece to this Stones' classic, and it was one of the most innovative live performances of any kind I've ever experienced.
S: Paul Simon I have already mentioned Simon in my section on Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The truth is, Paul Simon is nothing short of a genius. He was to Simon and Garfunkel what John Fogarty was to CCR. "Graceland" is one of the best albums ever recorded. Anyone who writes, "When I think back to all I learned in high school, it's a wonder I can think at all" has my respect, but it is a much lesser known song that he wrote which gets me every time. "Father and Daughter", written for the 2002 "Wild Thornberry's Movie", is my favorite song, period. As the dad of three girls. this song has been huge to our family. It was the song for my oldest daughter's and my father-daughter dance, the song our second daughter chose for her senior year video, and was used in my club juggling routine in the last show my youngest daughter was part of before she went off to college. Thank you, Paul Simon.
T: Steve Taylor Steve Taylor is as unique an artist as contemporary Christian music has ever produced. Musically, he has blended his rock and roll sound with, at various times, new wave, industrial, punk, rap, and even opera! Lyrically, he is an issues singer, not a worship leader. Think the Phil Ochs of CCM. He has addressed infanticide in the song "Baby Doe", Bob Jones University's ban on interracial dating in "We Don't Need No Color Code", corrupt televngelists in "On the Fritz", and the oppression of Christians behind the iron curtain in the prophetic "Over My Dead Body" to give just a few examples. And if this isn't enough, he has directed movies, including the gem "Blue Like Jazz", produced albums for many other artists, fronted the band Chagall Gueverra, and still puts on one crazy live performance.
U:U2 Of course, "Joshua Tree" is a masterpiece, and one of rock's finest albums ever recorded. This jewel was followed up with "Rattle and Hum": both a live album and a video concert. I listened to the tape until it wore out. The Edge has a guitar style that is very unique; it recalls the Chuck Berry line "He plays a guitar just like he's ringing a bell." And Bono is unique in the world of rock and roll. What other rocker has led the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC, won a Nobel Peace Prize, and counts Mick Jagger and Michael W. Smith both among his friends. I heard him speak at a leadership conference (via satellite) about hunger in Africa, and I was wrecked for the rest of the day.
V: Grace Van Derwaal At twelve years old, she was a golden buzzer winner on America's Got Talent". By the time the season was over, she had turned thirteen and had won the one million dollar first prize. Her raspy voice, acoustic ukelele accompaniment and original songs, with lyrics beyond her years, reminded me of a young Melanie. Her first album, "Perfectly Imperfect" is one I still listen to today, and her video of her song "Gossip Girl" is one I show my middle school students each year for obvious reasons. Grace went on to be a Disney star and lost some of her uniqueness in the process of becoming a pop star, but I love who she was and what she did as a mere child.
W: Bob Marley and the Wailers Years ago, a student who himself happened to be Jamaican gave me a CD of "Bob Marley's Greatest Hits", and I listened to it daily for a long time. Marley, and his band the Wailers, are often called the first third world superstars. With songs like "No Woman, No Cry", "Redemption Song" and "Exodus" it's no wonder why.
X: X Sinner X was a hard letter to find any acts at all. I read a favorable review of X Sinner's hard rock Christian music in Cornerstone Magazine years ago. The boys at Corrnerstone usually get it right when talking about pop culture, so I gave them a listen. Not a style I love, but decent lyrics. Therefore they are my X selection.
Y: Neil Young Neil Young is a legend, no doubt about it. The Harvest album is fantastic from beginning to end. True, he doesn't have a great voice. Maybe not even a good voice. But the emotion of "The Needle and the Damage Done", the wisdom of "Old Man", and the top 40 sensibility of "Heart of Gold" make up for this shortcoming and beyond. And no one seemed to have more fun at the Last Waltz concert than Mr. Young!
Z: Ziggy Marley The son of my letter W selection, I first heard Ziggy singing the theme song to the PBS children's TV show "Arthur". Through the wonder of the internet, I've been able to find a lot more of his songs, and what treasures they are. Like his dad, his music is raggae; like his dad, his lyrics are positive; like his dad, what you see is what you get. There's nothing fake or showy about him. He is just the second generation of Marley men making music fun.