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Top 100 Tooth & Nail Albums of All Time


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#8. Anberlin
Cities

Release Date: February 20, 2007

It's hard to believe 11 years have passed since the release of what many fans consider to be the best album of Anberlin's career, Cities. While the band has since called it quits (with no intentions to return, save for a live show reunion or two), their discography is well worth returning to again and again, and Cities still stands out.

From the opener, "Godspeed," to the epic closer, "(*Fin)," Cities is a rich and layered collection of songs. "Adelaide" has the kind of drum beat that turns listeners into wanna-be drummers; "A Whisper & A Clamor" makes us want to clap our hands and sing along; and "Hello Alone" taps into those melancholy, lonely feelings that plague so many of us. Adding to the emotional journey that is Cities, "The Unwinding Cable Car" is a lovely acoustic ballad, "Alexithymia" is that song titled in such a way that whenever you hear it again, you're likely to go "Oh yeah! That song! I love that one, too!", while "Dismantle. Repair." passionately plucks all those heartstrings that tug on the idealized "what if's" of a romantic, emotional connection that got away, and the self-reflection that such turmoil of the heart can lead to (this is probably my favorite of the many highlights on this album, and one of my top Anberlin songs).

Fun fact: when we received the pre-release for Cities some weeks before the album came out, it not only did NOT have the song "There Is No Mathematics To Love And Loss" on it, but "(*Fin)" was almost 3 minutes shorter. It faded out at 6 minutes and 20 seconds, while the finished version swings back in and tacks on a haunting additional vocal piece from Stephen Christian. To this day, the extended piece, as well as the entire track "There Is No Mathematics To Love And Loss," don't seem to fit on the album to me, but it's an unusual circumstance that most listeners probably would never know for themselves. (Furthermore, if I were to rate this album again, I'd probably bump it up to at least 4.5, if not higher...)
        - John DiBiase

From the moment “Debut” starts and leads into “Godspeed,” you can tell that you are not going to find a better Anberlin album. Stephen Christian’s vocals and lyrical content are at their best while being laid over an amazing and emotionally-draining album. Songs such as “Dismantle. Repair.,” “A Whisper & a Clamor,” and “Hello Alone” are songs of epic proportions. This is one of the best Anberlin albums ever released and one that should still be played regularly.
        - Kevin Hoskins

  • Visit our Anberlin page for more information about them...

  • Top 100 Tooth & Nail Albums of All Time

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    This Wednesday, October 22, 2025
    SINGLES
    Phil Wickham Fear Has No Power - Single [Fair Trade]

    This Friday, October 24, 2025
    ALBUMS
    John Allan untitled EP [Centricity]
    Dan Bremnes The Villain - EP [Curb]
    Clear Convictions Endure [Resuscitation]
    God Behind Bars Music Live From Angola Prison Vol. 1 [Provident]
    Fepeste This World Ain't Mine to Change [Velvet Blue]
    gio. FINE BY ME [Capitol CMG]
    Brandon Lake Amazon Music Songline [Provident]
    Latter Day Exploits Within Consumed (Expanded Edition) [Charon Collective]
    Tyson Motsenbocker Modern Worries [Tooth & Nail]
    Smalltown Poets St. Augustine (independent)
    Zahriya Zachary Rediscovery [Bethel]

    SINGLES
    29:11 Worship, Zion Rempel You Never Fail (feat. Emily Guy) - Single [DREAM]
    Joe L Barnes Grief, Joy, Gratitude - Single [Provident]
    Chad Cory, Zacardi Cortez My First Love (Remix) - Single [DREAM]
    Leanna Crawford Beginning Of Your Grace - Single [Provident]
    darthy Juniper Tree - Single [WieRok]
    Emerson Day Midnight Hour - Single [Fair Trade]
    Good Weather Forecast lows2highs - Single [DREAM]
    Grace + Max Rich - Single [WieRok]
    Jamie Macdonald You Can't Take My Song - Single [Capitol CMG]
    Mercy Tribe Music The King is in the Room (feat. Ayiesha Woods) - Single (independent)
    Mountains in the Sea You Never Fail (feat. Emily Guy) - Single [DREAM]
    Seph Schlueter Already On The Way (feat. Benjamin William Hastings) - Single [Provident]
    Tomb Slayer The Christmas Lamb (feat. Khristian Dentley & Sarah Whittemore) - Single [Tomb Slayer]
    The Undertaking! All Smiles - Single (independent)

    VINYL
    Clear Convictions Endure [Resuscitation]

    Next Friday, October 31, 2025
    ALBUMS
    Hope Deferred Darkness Remains [The Charon Collective]
    Testimony of Apocalypse Agony in the Garden [Roxx Records]

    SINGLES
    Dreamers My Heart His Home - Single [DREAM]
    Roxanne Grace Try Again - Single [DREAM]
    Lock & Chi Do To Me - Single (independent)
    John Long Simple Pursuit - Single (independent)
    Warren Zeiders How Great Thou Art - Single [Warner]


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