Every year, the makers of the WOW series have tried new ideas to sell more records. Back in 2003, they tried something called the X Collection, which was basically the same as WOW, but with more alternative and rock songs from Christian artists. The collection has proved to be pretty good for the genre, but at the same time the discs have become progressively more of the same each time.

Most of the years, X collections have had the same artists, with their newest songs, and spotlighting a few new bands each time, but never anything spectacular. X 2008 is nothing more than a sampler of the new music out this year and last year. Some newcomers to the collection include The Almost, Underoath, Flyleaf, and Red, but most of the rest are bands you would expect from WOW and the X collections.

The biggest thing that used to separate the X collections from others out there was their consistent feature of new music before any one else could get it. Over the years, this has dwindled down to almost nothing, with the newest installment being a perfect example. The new songs from Kutless, Hawk Nelson, and even Switchfoot are songs that Christian music fans likely have already, plus they're from last year, not this year. Why not feature some brand new music from forthcoming albums? I'm sure each one of these bands has at least a few songs for their next album done by now, so why not make a feature out of it, getting people ready for what to expect from their favorite group?

Granted, songs like "Hotel Aquarium" from rockers Falling Up and "Falls Apart" from Thousand Foot Krutch are brand new and hot off the press, but if you're a fan of either band, you'll be following the release date and already have the disc that contains that song. These samplers are mainly made for the semi-transparent Christian music fan, the one that doesn't go out and buy albums; they just listen to singles on the radio and want those songs. If you're looking for new music from your favorite band, don't look here. Skip X 2008 and save your money for the band's next record.

- Review date: 10/01/07, written by Justin Mabee