Doctrinal Position
God eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man, and salvation is found in his life, death, and resurrection. Scripture is authoritative for Christian faith and belief.
About
Why Score Worship Songs?
While evaluating or "scoring" worship songs may sound controversial, the aim is not to offer unfair criticism. The goal is simply to ask: Is this song helpful for the gathered church to sing? Worship is a spiritual act (John 4:23-24) and no set of objective criteria can fully take that into account. Context also matters - you will probably want different types of songs for different parts of your worship service. For these reasons, a slightly higher score should not be taken to mean that one song is inherently or definitively "better" than another.
Nevertheless, the aim of this resource is to aid you in selecting songs that are suitable for congregational church worship, highly biblically accurate, theologically rich, broadly God-centred, and singable for the average person (1 Corinthians 14:15, Colossians 3:16). Let's be careful not to allow personal preference or wider popularity to become the dominant factors shaping our song selection.
This isn't intended to be an exhaustive list of songs. Instead, it includes high-quality options identified through extensive research, as well as widely used songs (according to CCLI) included for the purposes of critique and identifying alternatives.
Low suitability means a song may be less viable for congregational worship - it doesn't mean it's a bad song. Many songs that receive a lower suitability score may still be excellent in other contexts, such as times of personal devotion. Like many of the Psalms, which were written as personal expressions, rather than for corporate use, these songs serve a different purpose. Again, the aim is not to unjustly criticise, but to offer criteria for identifying songs that are most appropriate for corporate worship.
Songs are scored based solely on their lyrical content. The alleged or confirmed theological positions of churches or songwriters haven't been considered. But if you want to ensure a writer isn't included in the list, use the search filter and add a 'minus' before your search terms: -writer -writer.
Category Weightings
You may not agree with a particular rating or category, or you may have different priorities. To accommodate this, there's an option in the bottom left of the homepage to adjust category weightings. You can customise these to reflect your preferences.
Accuracy
Initial Importance: Primary
Sound - Debatable - Unsound
Are the lyrics theologically accurate? This flags clear doctrinal errors only (Acts 17:11, Titus 1:9). Songs aren't penalised for denominational differences unless they clearly conflict with core biblical teaching.
Careful diligence and discernment are encouraged, as some minor issues may have been missed. Again, please review any lyrics that have been flagged.
Singability
Initial Importance: Primary
Good - Challenging - Inaccessible
Many well-known worship leaders have incredible vocal ranges but this can leave a congregation behind - particularly in smaller churches - as high notes become unmanageable.
The accepted 'comfortable singing range' is C3 > C4 (middle C to high C). The recommended keys cover a slightly broader range: ~Bb2 > D4. Anything above that D and you will often find that most people drop out or suddenly have to adjust octaves (or try to harmonise) - in other words, you distract or possibly completely lose the congregation during what is often the key moment of a song.
In large churches with louder music, you may find that you can extend the highest note by an extra tone without compromising singability for your congregation. However, anything above an E4 (possibly F4) will generally be unsuitable regardless of context.
Corporate?
Initial Importance: Primary
Yes - No
Songs that emphasise corporate worship score higher than those focused primarily on individual expression. As with the Psalms, both communal and personal songs have their place. 'Individual' songs are not inherently unsuitable, but are often less fitting for regular congregational use. Grammatical perspective ("I" vs "we") is a helpful indicator, but not a decisive rule.
"Christian" Lyrics
Initial Importance: Primary
Yes - No
Songs score higher if they clearly reference core elements of Christianity (Hebrews 13:15, 1 Corinthians 14:8).
Songs that lack such references often use vague language that could be applied to other things. This doesn't mean you should never use such songs, but it may be wise to ensure that they're in the minority for times of corporate worship.
You can also try applying the "Oprah" test. If references to God could be replaced with "Oprah" and the lyrics would still make sense, the song may lack specificity or depth.
"Relatable" Lyrics (Congregational Accessibility)
Initial Importance: Primary
Yes - No
Can everyone in the room genuinely sing what the song expresses?
Songs rooted heavily in personal experience may alienate those who haven't shared that experience. This doesn't make the lyrics incorrect, but it may limit how useful and applicable they are in a corporate setting, as it could raise questions about what they refer to (Philippians 2:4, 1 Corinthians 14:15-17).
In contrast, songs that express shared realities - such as salvation, or trusting in Christ - are applicable to all, and easier for the gathered church to sing with integrity.
Scriptural Depth
Initial Importance: Secondary
High - Medium - Low - Minimal
This category can be more difficult to assess, and some songs will naturally fall near the borderline. A 'Low' rating doesn't mean a song is invalid - it may still proclaim Biblical truths but will be noticeably light on Scripture compared with other songs.
If theological depth is of particularly high importance to you (Hebrews 5:14, Colossians 3:16), adjust the weighting slider or use the filter at the top of the page to refine the selection.
Another thing to consider is that, while corporate singing is a vital part of our worship to God, and something commanded and illustrated throughout Scripture, some people don't engage with sung worship as deeply as others. While, as musicians, that can be easy to forget and hard to understand, songs that are saturated in Scripture can help serve diverse congregations by providing powerful words for worship, rather than turning some people off by relying solely on melody or repetition.
Objectivity vs Subjectivity
Initial Importance: Secondary
Yes (Objective) - No (Only Subjective)
Inspired by 'Worship Matters' by Bob Kauflin (page 101).
- 'Objective' lyrics declare truths about God.
- 'Subjective' lyrics are our responses to God.
Many songs contain both perspectives. 'Subjective' songs aren't bad, but songs grounded in objective truth must take precedence.
Kauflin includes a third category ('Reflective'), which is included as part of 'Subjective' in this case.
God-Centredness
Initial Importance: Secondary
Yes - Mix - No
Songs that place God at the centre of our worship score higher than those primarily focused on us (Psalm 115:1). This is not to invalidate our experiences, but to prioritise focus on God.
Repetition Tolerance
Initial Importance: None
None - Some - Lots
Songs with minimal repetition score higher. Repetition isn't inherently negative (see Psalm 136), which is why it's not included in the initial weighting. But some people/churches are sensitive to it and often find excessive repetition distracting and unhelpful, so the option is there to adjust accordingly. It's worth noting that any repetition in Scripture is surrounded by deep truths, not simple phrases constantly repeated.
Whilst any song can contain lines that are repeated a lot through the choice of the worship leader, songs that rely heavily on repetitive phrases score lower.
See here for a list of albums reviewed for suitable songs.