X2006

Sounds like … a combo platter of straight-up rock, punk, grunge and hardcore songs from a variety of familiar and up-and-coming Christian artistsAt a glance … while calling most of these songs "hits" is a stretch, X2006 provides a solid, diverse representation of what Christian rock has to offerTrack Listing Shut Me Out—Kutless The Slam—tobyMac Move—Thousand Foot Krutch I So Hate Consequences—Relient K Searching for a Savior—Building 429 Breathe—Jeremy Camp I'm Not Alright—Sanctus Real 5 Minutes of Fame—BarlowGirl The One Thing I Have Left—Hawk Nelson Moonlight—Falling Up Falling to Pieces—Third Day Wake Me—Day of Fire One Thousand Apologies—Demon Hunter It's Dangerous Business Walking out Your Front Door—Underoath Run for Cover—KJ—52 Suddenly—Superchic[k] The Wait Is Over—Disciple Back to You—Fighting Instinct Take Away—Mainstay Already Over—Red

While the title is a little misleading, given the fact the majority of these songs haven't even been released as radio singles yet, X2006: 17 Christian Rock Hits is still a great way to display Christian rock's diversity (and a great bargain, too, with the addition of three bonus tracks from up-and-coming rockers Fighting Instinct, Mainstay, and Red).

Like the WoW series, there's always room for debate on what should and shouldn't be featured. For instance, with the huge success of Switchfoot's Nothing Is Sound, you'd expect to hear something from them here. But that exclusion likely has more to do with red tape between record labels than anything else. What could have probably been controlled, however, is the lack of hip-hop tracks here. There's one from recent GMA Music Award winner KJ-52, but nothing else. There's plenty from the likes of GRITS, Mat Kearney, or 4th Avenue Jones that would've worked well, though maybe they're saving those for the recently established Hip Hope Hits series. Another oddity is the inclusion of Building 429's "Searching For a Savior"—clearly one of the band's more rockin' tracks, but it sounds a bit out of place here.

Aside from those minor complaints, X2006 offers plenty for those who like their music a little more on the loud side of the spectrum—whether it's the grunge-lite fare from Kutless, Thousand Foot Krutch, or tobyMac's "The Slam," the crunching hardcore of Demon Hunter and Underoath, the catchy pop/punk renderings from Relient K and Hawk Nelson, or the more accessible pop-tinged sounds of Sanctus Real, Superchic[k], Jeremy Camp, and Third Day. Considering the usual cost of $0.99 per download to put this together yourself, you're getting a lot more rock for your buck here on X2006.