Worship 101

It's no lie...I'm a dummy when it comes to the world of praise and worship music. I've been a Christian for 21 years, was raised in the church, live with three women who are fiercely loyal to the praise tracks on their iPods, and work in corporate marketing for one of the largest Christian retailers in the United States. Yet still, I am clueless.

I grew up listening to secular music, and garnering a great understanding and appreciation of an eclectic variety of artists and albums throughout the ages. Some of my happiest memories are tagged to songs that define my current life stage. And who expresses emotion and the circumstances of life better than the poetic artists writing these songs? My iTunes library currently holds 32.1 GB of music in the form of 663 albums/23.5 days. I estimate that only about five percent is composed of religious content. And that's probably a generous guess.

In the church, I cut my teeth on Baptist hymns. They will always be my first choice when it comes to praising my Savior through song. If you experience the unfortunate event of standing next to me in church during A Mighty Fortress is Our God, you might not be able to hear yourself sing because of my loud soprano. I can't get enough.

I have an issue with praise and worship music. A large portion of the songs are (in my humble opinion) incredibly cheesetastic, and quite frankly, they annoy me. And I tire of singing a chorus ten times in four minutes, as is indicative of many praise songs.

I want to learn. I want some praise and worship to call my own. Half the battle is knowing where to start. Will you please help? I have a $25 iTunes giftcard burning a hole in my pocket. Can you suggest artists, songs, choirs, albums, etc? Teach me, o wise ones.