Albums of the Year: The Halfway Mark

Now that we're into the third quarter, I've decided to post the titles that are currently in the running for my five favorite albums of the year.

Note: "Favorite Albums of the Year" are not necessarily synonymous with "Best Albums of the Year." For example, last year, while I would have considered discs like 4th Avenue Jones' Stereo: The Evolution of Hiprocksoul, Sufjan Stevens' Illinois and Switchfoot's Nothing Is Sound to be possible Best Albums (ambitious projects, if nothing else), they were not amongst my Favorite Albums.

IN THE RUNNING:
Mat Kearney - Nothing Left to Lose
Jennifer Knapp - Live
P.O.D. - Testify
Phil Wickham - Self-titled