With just two days sales in the month of August, Casting Crowns soared to the top of the Canadian Christian retail charts. The Atlanta-based band’s album Lifesong, which released August 30th, was the biggest selling album in Canada according to statistics assembled from Canadian Christian retail stores.

Casting Crowns during their recent appearance at Encounter 2005 in Toronto

The group pushed out Canada’s Thousand Foot Krutch from the top position as their album The Art of Breaking slips to #2 on the national chart. Casting Crowns has two albums in the top 5, with their debut album holding steady at #4. Hillsong’s latest effort God He Reigns, also released on August 30th and based solely on two days of sales, enters the chart at #6.

Other new entries to the chart include Emery with The Question at #17 (their highest charting album to date), Audio Adrenaline with Until My Heart Caves In at #27 (it also released August 30th), MercyMe’s Bart Millard at #30 with Hymned, Stryper with Reborn at #31, Hip Hope Hits 2006 at #40, Todd Agnew with Reflections of Something at #42 and rounding out the Top 50 new entries; Absolute Smash Hits Volume 2 at #49.

Several Canadian acts continues to do well in the top 50, with TFK leading the way at #2, followed by Brian Doerksen with Today at #14, Relient K with mmhmm at #18, Winnipeg’s Starfield at #24, Hawk Nelson at #36 and Thousand Foot Krutch’s Phenomenon at #39. Casting Crowns will be challenged in September for the top position by new releases from Switchfoot (September 13th), CeCe Winans (September 13th) and Christmas music from Steven Curtis Chapman and MercyMe (both September 27th).

To download your own personal copy of Canada’s Top 50, click here. Titles found on the Top 50 chart are now available at you local Canadian Christian retailer. To locate a store near you visit www.CMCStorefinder.com.

You can hear audio samples of the entire album from many of the new releases by simply clicking on the artist name to access their YMZ page or head over to HearItFirst.ca to view the list of recent premieres. Stay tuned to HIF.ca this weekend as we will be premiereing CeCe’s Purified and Switchfoot’s highly anticipated Nothing Is Sound this weekend.