Chris Tomlin is one of the most influential and recognizable voices in contemporary Christian worship. With a career spanning more than two decades, Tomlin has written and recorded songs that have become staples in churches around the world, helping shape the sound of modern worship while maintaining a remarkable focus on simple, singable expressions of faith.
Tomlin’s music often centers on the greatness, holiness, faithfulness, and love of God. Songs such as “How Great Is Our God,” “Our God,” “Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies),” and “Holy Forever” have become familiar to millions of worshipers, with melodies and lyrics designed not merely to be heard but to be sung together. His work has also connected strongly with the Passion movement, where his songwriting and worship leadership helped introduce his music to a generation of young Christians.
One of the most remarkable aspects of Tomlin’s career is the longevity of his songs. Some of his earliest recordings continue to be sung alongside music released decades later, demonstrating the lasting quality of his songwriting. Rather than chasing musical trends, Tomlin has consistently focused on creating worship songs that can live beyond the recording itself and become part of the life of the church.
For anyone exploring contemporary Christian music, Chris Tomlin is an essential artist to know. His catalog contains energetic praise songs, intimate expressions of worship, and songs of profound reverence, making his music a natural place to begin exploring the modern worship movement.
💿Essential Albums
How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection
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How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection is a 2011 compilation that brings together 15 of Chris Tomlin’s most significant worship songs from the first decade-plus of his recording career. Rather than simply collecting his biggest radio singles, the album provides a remarkably good overview of the songs that helped establish Tomlin as one of the defining voices of contemporary Christian worship.
The collection includes familiar worship standards such as “Our God,” “Forever,” “Indescribable,” “Holy Is the Lord,” “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone),” “Jesus Messiah,” and “I Will Rise.” It also reaches back to earlier songs such as “Famous One,” “We Fall Down,” and “Enough,” allowing listeners to hear how Tomlin’s music developed over the years. The album closes with the song that gave the collection its name, “How Great Is Our God.”
One particularly interesting feature is the opening track, “How Great Is Our God (World Edition).” This new version expands the familiar worship anthem by incorporating worship leaders from around the world singing portions of the song in their native languages. It is a fitting way to begin a collection centered on music that has traveled far beyond the churches and worship gatherings where these songs were first heard.
For someone discovering Chris Tomlin, How Great Is Our God: The Essential Collection makes an excellent starting point. The album captures the range of his songwriting—from energetic praise songs to intimate expressions of faith and reverent modern hymns—while demonstrating the remarkable staying power of his music. More than a greatest-hits collection, it serves as a snapshot of the worship music that helped define an era.
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The King Is Still The King
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The King Is Still The King is a celebration of worship, Scripture, and the enduring kingship of God. Released in 2025, the album marked Chris Tomlin’s return with his first new studio album in three years. Across 16 tracks, Tomlin brings together contemporary worship songs, hymns, collaborations, and even brief musical interludes, creating a collection that feels intentionally designed to be sung rather than simply listened to.
The album’s title track, “Still The King,” captures its central message: circumstances change, generations change, and the world around us changes, but God remains King. That theme is reinforced throughout songs such as “How Good It Is,” “He Has Done Great Things” featuring Phil Wickham, “Jesus Saves,” and “That’s Who He Is.” Tomlin has described the album as a celebration of who God is, drawing heavily on Scripture and even incorporating sounds from creation—such as wind, thunder, rain, waves, and birds—into the musical experience.
The album also reaches backward while looking forward. “You Are My King (Amazing Love)” revisits the beloved worship song that helped define an earlier chapter of Tomlin’s career, while “The First Hymn” with Ben Fielding explores the ancient Christian hymn Phos Hilaron, bringing an extremely old expression of Christian worship into a contemporary setting. “My Father’s World,” featuring Aodhán King, Jamie MacDonald, and CalledOut Music, similarly connects Tomlin’s modern worship style with a beloved hymn.
Taken as a whole, The King Is Still The King feels like an artist with an enormous catalog looking beyond simply creating another collection of worship songs. Tomlin draws from Scripture, traditional hymns, contemporary worship, and the sounds of creation to make an album centered on joy and praise. It’s a fitting addition to his discography because it doesn’t merely ask listeners to remember what God has done—it invites them to celebrate who He is right now, and the truth that He is still the King.
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Always
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Always is a worship album that finds Chris Tomlin returning to the heart of what has defined his career: creating songs that help people connect with God and worship Him. Released in 2022, the 13-song album brings together new material, familiar worship themes, collaborations, and a few songs that look back toward earlier Christian worship traditions. The result is a collection that feels both contemporary and deeply rooted in the larger story of Christian worship.
The title track, “Always,” establishes the album’s central theme with a declaration that Jesus remains the same yesterday, today, and forever. That idea of God’s unchanging character runs throughout the album, from “Strongholds” and “Great Forgiver” to “Father of Lights” and “Precious Love.” Rather than focusing on changing circumstances, Tomlin repeatedly turns the listener’s attention toward the character and faithfulness of God.
Always also brings together several notable voices from contemporary worship. “YAHWEH (No One)” features Elevation Worship, “O Lord, You’re Beautiful” features Steffany Gretzinger, and “I See You” features Brandon Lake. One particularly significant song is “Holy Forever,” which became one of the album’s defining tracks and later grew into a widely recognized worship song in its own right.
The album has an interesting personal dimension as well. Tomlin’s time with his family during the COVID-19 pandemic helped shape some of the project’s direction, including his rediscovery of Keith Green’s “O Lord, You’re Beautiful.” He had begun singing the song with his daughters during their family worship time, eventually deciding to record it with Steffany Gretzinger. That connection between home, family, older worship music, and new songs gives Always a particularly personal quality.
Taken as a whole, Always feels like a mature worship leader returning to the foundation that has carried his career for decades. There is plenty of modern production and collaboration, but the purpose remains remarkably simple: to help people turn their attention toward God. The album’s title ultimately says it best—circumstances change, generations change, and musical styles change, but Jesus remains the same.
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Chris Tomlin & Friends
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Chris Tomlin & Friends is one of the most unexpected and interesting albums in Chris Tomlin’s catalog. Released in 2020, the 13-song project brings Tomlin together with an unusually wide range of artists, particularly from the country and country-pop world. Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Lady A, Brett Young, Russell Dickerson, RaeLynn, Chris Lane, Cassadee Pope, We the Kingdom, Bear Rinehart of NEEDTOBREATHE, Blessing Offor, and others all contribute to the project.
The album grew out of a chance meeting between Tomlin and Florida Georgia Line’s Tyler Hubbard, which eventually led to songwriting sessions and a much larger collaboration. Tomlin’s own roots in country music made the project feel surprisingly natural. Rather than simply adding country singers to existing worship songs, the artists wrote and recorded new material together, creating a sound that crosses contemporary Christian, worship, country, and country-pop boundaries.
Several of the songs demonstrate just how well that combination works. “Thank You Lord” with Thomas Rhett and Florida Georgia Line celebrates the everyday gifts of life that money can’t buy, while “Who You Are to Me” with Lady A reflects on God’s presence and the reality of faith. “Reaching for You” with We the Kingdom and “Power” with Bear Rinehart bring the album closer to Tomlin’s familiar worship territory, while “Be the Moon,” “Sing,” “Gifts from God,” and “Together” lean more heavily into the album’s country-pop character.
What makes Chris Tomlin & Friends particularly significant is its intentional crossing of musical boundaries. Tomlin described the project as an opportunity to break down the walls surrounding the Christian music genre and allow songs about faith, God, salvation, and forgiveness to reach people beyond the traditional Christian music audience. The result is an album that doesn’t abandon Tomlin’s worship roots—it simply invites a much larger group of musical friends into the conversation.
For Chris Tomlin, Chris Tomlin & Friends represents something genuinely different from the worship collections that had defined much of his career. It feels relaxed, collaborative, joyful, and unmistakably rooted in Nashville, while still carrying the faith-centered message that has always been at the heart of his music. It’s a fascinating detour in Tomlin’s discography—and a reminder that Christian music doesn’t have to stay inside one musical box.
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Never Lose Sight (Deluxe Edition)
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Never Lose Sight (Deluxe Edition) finds Chris Tomlin continuing his long-running focus on creating worship music that is both deeply rooted in Scripture and accessible to the congregation. Released in 2016, the deluxe edition expands the original 11-song album to 14 tracks, adding “The God I Know,” “God and God Alone,” and “Kyrie Eleison.” The album’s central idea is captured in its title: in the middle of life’s distractions, difficulties, and uncertainties, keep your eyes fixed on God.
The album opens with “Good Good Father,” a song that became one of Tomlin’s most recognizable recordings. From there, Never Lose Sight moves through songs centered on Jesus, God’s faithfulness, resurrection, grace, and surrender. “God of Calvary” and “He Lives” have a particularly hymn-like quality, while “Glory Be” offers a joyful, highly singable expression of praise. Tomlin also revisits the classic hymn “Come Thou Fount” with a fresh arrangement in “Come Thou Fount (I Will Sing).”
Collaboration is another appealing part of the album. “Impossible Things” features Danny Gokey, while “First Love” features Kim Walker-Smith. The deluxe additions continue that collaborative spirit with “Kyrie Eleison,” featuring Matt Maher, Matt Redman, and Jason Ingram. The variety of voices gives the album a broader worship-community feel while keeping Tomlin’s own songwriting and worship-leading style at its center.
Taken as a whole, Never Lose Sight (Deluxe Edition) is a thoughtful collection about remembering what matters most. Its songs repeatedly point away from circumstances and back toward the character of God, making the album particularly well suited to personal worship and reflection. For Chris Tomlin, it represents another chapter in his ongoing effort to create songs that don’t simply sound good on a recording, but can continue living in churches, worship gatherings, and the lives of the people who sing them.
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And If Our God Is For Us (Deluxe Edition)
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And If Our God Is For Us… (Deluxe Edition) captures Chris Tomlin at an important point in his career, pairing the large, congregational sound of contemporary worship with songs that emphasize God’s strength, faithfulness, and presence. Originally released in 2010, the album contains 11 primary tracks, while the deluxe edition adds four acoustic recordings for a total of 15 songs.
The album opens with “Our God,” one of Tomlin’s most recognizable worship songs and ultimately one of the defining songs of his career. The song’s declaration that God is greater, stronger, higher, and an awesome healer establishes the album’s central emphasis on who God is rather than on the circumstances surrounding us. Other songs such as “I Will Follow,” “I Lift My Hands,” “Majesty of Heaven,” and “All to Us” continue that emphasis through themes of surrender, devotion, worship, and complete dependence on God.
There is plenty of variety within the album as well. “No Chains on Me” has an energetic, celebratory character, while “Lovely,” “Faithful,” and “Jesus My Redeemer” take a more reflective approach. “Awakening” closes the primary album with a sense of spiritual anticipation and a desire to see God move among His people. Together, the songs create a collection that moves naturally between exuberant praise and quieter expressions of faith.
The deluxe edition’s acoustic recordings add another dimension to the album. “Our God,” “I Will Follow,” and “Majesty of Heaven” are given more intimate treatments, while “Where the Spirit of the Lord Is” provides an additional acoustic worship moment. These versions strip away some of the larger production and allow the songwriting and vocals to come forward, making them especially well suited to personal worship and reflection.
Taken as a whole, And If Our God Is For Us… (Deluxe Edition) is a strong representation of Chris Tomlin’s gift for turning foundational Christian truths into songs that people can sing together. It combines the scale and energy of modern worship with moments of genuine intimacy, and its title points to the confidence running throughout the record: if God is for us, there is no reason to live in fear of what stands against us.
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