I have nothing against Christian rock as long as the lyrics aren’t overly saccharine. With that in mind who would you recommend??
Thousand Foot Krutch is very mainstream and very well liked. They’ve done a lot of collaboration with Canadian bands like Our Lady Peace. Listen to “Rawkfist” for a good intro to them.
Flyleaf is mainstream-ish but they’ve gone a little more to the punk side as of late.
I absolutely love Fireflight. Dawn Michelle and Wendy Drennan are gorgeous and absolutely rock the house. Their lyrics are very secular-sounding but the messaging is very much there and enjoyable. They’re very hopeful. Start with “Unbreakable” for a good sampling of their style.
Skillet is an all around powerhouse rock band. They are on my metal playlist in Pandora and really get my blood flowing when I’m pumping out reps in the gym. They’re a husband-wife quartet (two couples) and the melodic choruses really rise and fall well. Try “Waking Up” for a starter with them.
Try Matt Kearny.
The ChristianHardRock site also has other channels of Classic and Praise.