The 24 Best Gospel Albums of All Time

Church-recorded landmarks, choir powerhouses and crossover breakthroughs, spread across decades of praise. Old-school testimony meets modern radio polish.

1. 1
   You Are Not Alone

   Mavis Staples's 2010 Grammy-winning album produced by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Oh Happy Day

   The Edwin Hawkins Singers' 1969 album built on the crossover hit that brought gospel choirs to pop radio.
   942pts
3. 3
   Mountain High... Valley Low

   Yolanda Adams's 1999 breakthrough that took gospel into the mainstream with polished R&B production.
   927pts
4. 4
   Amazing Grace

   Aretha Franklin's 1972 live double album recorded in a Los Angeles church, the best-selling gospel record ever.
   709pts
5. 5
   Nothing Without You

   Smokie Norful's 2002 debut that went gold and introduced I Need You Now.
   709pts
6. 6
   Newport 1958

   Mahalia Jackson's festival set captured at the height of her fame as the queen of gospel.
   709pts
7. 7
   Heaven

   BeBe & CeCe Winans's 1988 album that mixed gospel with pop and R&B for a wide audience.
   709pts
8. 8
   Victory Live!

   Tye Tribbett & G.A.'s 2006 high-energy live album that pushed gospel toward funk and rock.
   600pts
9. 9
   Thankful

   Mary Mary's 2000 debut that carried gospel into hip-hop soul territory.
   600pts
10. 10
    Take 6

    The a cappella group's 1988 debut that won Grammys and blended gospel with jazz harmony.
    600pts
11. 11
    Donnie McClurkin

    The 1996 self-titled debut that introduced his powerful vocals to a wide gospel audience.
    600pts
12. 12
    Adoration

    Richard Smallwood and Vision's 1996 live album, home to the standard Total Praise.
    600pts
13. 13
    God's Property

    Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation's 1997 hip-hop-tinged gospel album that became the first gospel record to go multi-platinum.
    600pts
14. 14
    Love Alive

    Walter Hawkins and the Love Center Choir's 1975 live record, a landmark of the modern gospel choir sound.
    466pts
15. 15
    Precious Memories

    Alan Jackson's 2006 collection of hymns from his childhood, a country-gospel bestseller.
    466pts
16. 16
    Alive in South Africa

    Israel & New Breed's 2000 live album, a worship favourite for its large-scale choir sound.
    466pts
17. 17
    Peace Be Still

    James Cleveland and the Angelic Choir's 1962 recording, a defining choir album of the era.
    466pts
18. 18
    Kirk Franklin & the Family

    The 1993 debut that fused choir gospel with R&B and launched contemporary urban gospel.
    466pts
19. 19
    Alabaster Box

    CeCe Winans's 1999 solo debut, featuring the title song about worship and sacrifice.
    466pts
20. 20
    Heart. Passion. Pursuit.

    Tasha Cobbs Leonard's 2013 debut led by the worship hit Break Every Chain.
    466pts
21. 21
    Live: One Last Time

    The Clark Sisters' 2007 reunion concert album, celebrated for its virtuosic harmonies.
    0pts
22. 22
    Pages of Life

    Fred Hammond's 1998 live-in-studio set of urban praise and worship.
    0pts
23. 23
    Thirsty

    Marvin Sapp's 2007 album containing the hit Never Would Have Made It.
    0pts
24. 24
    Spirit of the Century

    The Blind Boys of Alabama's 2001 Grammy-winning set of reworked spirituals and gospel standards.
    0pts

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