Reviewed by Stephen Curry

This two disc compilation album includes 30 songs released in 2012 from established (mainly US) artists (plus three bonus tracks from new songwriters). The WOW series has been around since 1996 and while it describes itself as a sample of the biggest songs of the year, this is not always accurate. There are some quality songs on the album such as "Forgiveness" (Matthew West), "10,000 Reasons" (Matt Redman), "Blessings" (Laura Story) and "All This Time" (Britt Nicole) but on the whole artists tend to be promoted time and again regardless of whether or not they have recorded anything in the last 12 months which deserves to be considered their "best". The offering here is predominantly pop rock with disc 2 providing the edgier songs. If you want a way of listening to a selection of current American CCM from acts like Aaron Shust, Chris Tomlin, Casting Crowns, Sidewalk Prophets, Mandisa, Skillet, Sanctus Real, etc, etc then this is good value. However, if you want to really know about the best new songs of last year you need to look further.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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