Not necessarily in any order, except at the top again.

10. Hillsongs- By Your Side- your going to see them a few times on here- they are the best in worship. Darlene Zesch, who is also known as a solo artist, is the worship leader. They also produce some of the best worship DVDs around, too.

9. Sattelite Soul- Ardent Worship- their mix of blues and rock may not be for everyone, but they are definitely one of my favorites.

8. Skillet- Ardent Worship- yes, strangely enough, both of these CDs have the same name- the best hard rock live praise CD Ive ever heard.

7. Third Day- Offerings- I would have loved it more if they had Sky Fall Down on it, but my next favorite song, MY Hope is in You is incredible.

6. Hillsongs- You Are My World- the title track is over the top, as is the already legendary Worthy is the Lamb. The beginning of a definite turn towards more rock for them.

5. 2nd Chapter of Acts and Phil Keaggy- How the West was One- one of the first live praise albums, with the great band and one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

4. Sonic Flood- Sonic Praise- just an incredible live praise cd, from beginning to end.

3. Don Francisco- A Live Album- another early live CD, filled with his story songs and some incredible piano work.

2. Third Day- Time- as you could probably tell, I have a thing for live praise and worship, but I couldnt leave off my all time favorite regular cd- just incredible from beginning to end.

1. Hillsongs& Delirious- United- I dont care if this CD seems to be aimed at teens- it is awesome. Maybe Im prejudiced because it is my favorite right now, but I have a feeling it will stay that way for at least a long time. And, it is just an incredible DVD to watch, as well.

I will do seperate lists for Christian and secular- some of these people who know only current Christian music will know- others are no longer together, or in two cases, dead. But, all of their music is available online or in stores, and well worth looking at. No particular order except at the top.

10. Skillet- I love their live praise album, and so look forward to seeing them in concert when I can.

9. Silverwind- even the people who know who they were havent heard from them in years, but they were great in their day, and one of my favorite concerts Ive been to.

8. 2nd Chapter of Acts- the modern Christian rock movement wouldnt be where it is today without them. 2 sisters and a brother- Matthew Ward, and Annie Herring, who are still around today were the brother and one of the sisters. Also another great concert I got to see.

7. David Crowder Band- That he came in this low is no knock on him, just that there are so many greats on this list with more stuff out. Another incredible concert.

6. Geoff Moore- great no matter what he is playing, rock or folk, and not only a great concert, but one of the most humble people Ive had the chance to meet.

5. Sonic Flood- not quite the same without Jeff Deyo, but still in incredible band- their live concerts are as good as the Sonic Praise CD.

4. Rich Mullins- a true genius taken before his time, although some of his music sometimes makes me wonder if he knew somehow.

3. Third Day- Kind of peaked with their CD "Time", but since it's my favorite non-live CD, I couldnt leave them off the list.

2. Keith Green- another taken before his time- an incredible genius who probably would have loved blogs- he was famous for speaking his mind and pulling no punches. But, he always spoke and sang the Word.

1. Don Francisco- not all will know the name, but I know few who havent heard the Easter favorite "He's Alive". which is his signiture song. It also represents the type of music that is his specialty, story songs from the Bible. You can hear him on Rhapsody, and then you will probably want to buy his CDs, which you can find on his website. Also a great concert, although it was 1982 when I saw him.

This one will be hard to keep to 10, so I wont number them- only one book by any of these guys is on my top 10 list- it is their consistancy that puts them here.

Jonathan Kellerman- as a student of human nature, I love a good psychological thriller, and he is one of the two best.

Stephen White- the other great psychological thriller writer.

Andrew Vachss- As I said on my other blog, the best writer about the homeless, period.

Michael Connolly- a great suspense and mystery writer.

Jon Land- although he has gotten away from doomsday thrillers, in his day, he was the best there was. Still a great writer, though.

Randy Alcorn- I wish I could put more Christian writers on the list, but there arent that many great ones (yet). He is far and above the best.

James Patterson- he has written so many different types of books, and uses so many co-authors, it is hard to even put him on the list anymore, but he is still one of the best.

Stuart Woods- another one who is hard to categorize, but he is great, whatever he is writing.

Robert B. Parker- one of the two longet writers I have read that I am still reading- he reinvigorated the tough-guy private eye series with Spencer, and if you have seen either of the Jesse Stone movies CBS has done recently, that is another of his characters. Ive been reading him for around 25 years, and never been disappointed.

JA Jance- previously mentioned in another blog, and the best mystery write alive, period.

Agatha Christie- the best mystery writer ever, period.

John Sandford- getting harder and harder to classify as just a serial-killer thriller writer, but that is still what he does best.

James Rollins- an incredible adventure writer- some consider him the heir- apparent to my next choice, and I agree

Clive Cussler- the best of the best in his heyday, although he seems to be losing his step a bit. Take Tom Clancy, mix it with Indiana Jones, and you get the idea of what his books are like. another distinguishing thing- no sex or bad language at all in his books- a remarkable quality today. I know a lot of Christians who read him for this alone. And to top it all off, I have been reading his books for an incredible 27 years.

I dont have s great taste for the classics, so this may get some upset. This is just a list of what I loved, again, not in any great order.

10. A Simple Plan, by Steve Smith- his only novel to date, but one of the greatest views of human nature and of how greed can take control and then events can snowball. The movie from it was on one of my other lists.

9. Sudden Prey, by John Sandford- if I did a list of thrillers, it would at least be half Sandford, so I have to include my favorite here. Not a serial killer thriller like most of his, but relentlessly nerve- wracking.

8. Ten Little Indians, by Agatha Christie- there are so many by her, but this is the one that started me off on her. It spawned a whole new genre of mystery- people trapped in some situation where they are being killed off one by one, and they discover that one of them has to be the killer. Redone more times than I can count, but this is the original.

7. Deadline, by Randy Alcorn- an extraordinary novel I have described in one of my other blogs.

6. Gone but not Forgotten, by Phillip Margolin- a combination of court-room thriller, serial killer thriller, and mystery, made into a great mini-series with Brooke Shields and Lou Deamond Phillips.

5. The Stand, by Stephen King- an incredible doomsday thriller, and King's own adaption into a mini-series was off the charts.

4. This Present Darkness, by Frank Peretti- easily one of, if not the greatest Christian novel ever.

3. Treasure, by Clive Cussler- my personal favorite novel by my favorite author- amazingly, the only novel from my personal top list of authors, which will becoming next.

2. Primal Fear, by William Diehl- see the movie or read the book- it doesnt matter- you just have to. Not only a fantastic courtroom thriller, but one of the most shocking endings that I or anyone who has read or seen it has ever seen.

1. The Red President, by Martin Gross- a very little known doomsday thriller that is dated now by the fall of the USSR, but still worth reading, and a communist sympathizer who becomes president that bears a remarkable resemblance to a certain former governor from Arkansas. the character's name- Blanton.

In honor of this year's nominations, which basically suck, here are my nominations. They include two from this year which weren't even nominated, but sure as heck deserved it. Again, the list isnt a precise order. I wont bother including movies from my favorites list, as they all lost out in their years except for the first two, which won Best Picture in their years.

10. Fargo- just missed my top ten favorite movies- beaten out by The English Patient? Give me a break.

9. As Good as it Gets- the first of two movies on this list beaten out by Titanic, which just wasnt that good.

8. The Interpreter- from this year- one of the best Hitchcock style thrillers Ive seen in years, and so clean except for a little language and some violence that even some of the major Christian movie sites recommend it. The second best movie this year.

7. Citizen Kane- also just missed my top 10 list.

6. A Simple Plan- it was nominated, but lost- a great adaption of one of the best books I have ever read (another forthcoming category).

5. Casablanca- another near miss from my top 10 list. You could include almost anything with Humphrey Bogart or James Cagney on this list.

4. Jaws- I dont even remember what beat it out, but this is an incredible movie, and everyone knows the music.

3. Batman Begins- the best movie this year, and easily the best superhero film of all time- mainly because it doesnt feel like a superhero film until the end.

2. The Lion King- the best cartoon ever, and way better than Forrest Gump, which was the winner that beat it out.

1. LA Confidential- the best crime noir film ever. Titanic wasnt even in the same class as this movie. Also Russel Crowe's best, and features numerous other oscar winners, including Kim Bassinger, who won for this movie.