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| The 10 Best Albums Of The First Half Of 2012
Since the end of June marks the end of the first half of the year, this is a list comprised of rwhat albums I believe to be the 10 best albums of the first half of 2012. Here I've gathered ralbums that I have found are all equally as exceptional in quality as each other to be above all rrthe rest. This isn't a personal favorite list, so I didn't select these albums according to which rrare my most favorites, I listed these in order according to what I believe to be the best rrregardless of personal preference, hence the wide variety of genres. The cutoff date for this rrlist was the 26th of June, since that was the last release date for music in the month. rrCompilations ralbums, and re-releases are not included on this list. This list goes in order from rr1 being the best, to 10 being the least best. Keep in mind that I can't listen to EVERY album rrthat comes out, so I'm sure I've missed a few gems that could have made it on this list. | | 10 | | Dion
Tank Full of Blues
With most blues artists being as old as they are, age sets in usually and
makes
their bluesy work especially blue, but it's really the same old (and I mean
old as
dirt) blues we've all heard from them. Dion is the only blues artist who
feels really
spry and still ambitious. He clearly loves his influences, presenting these
historical
sounds without feeling the need to retread through the same waters of his past work, and he
manages to be
cool and restless at heart in his attitude. The world needs more blues
artists that
have this flame that won't go out. | | 9 |  | Quakers
Quakers
With this many tracks that are this short, it kinda has this on the street
freestyle
beat vibe, this is a hip hop album that definitely has enough hip to it, and
enough
hop to the beats. Reflective of the coolness of the golden age, while still
showing
desire to be alternative, this has the best groove of any hip hop album
this year. | | 8 |  | Earth
Angels of Darkness, Demons of Light II
Earth definitely aren't just churning out mind melting distortion with no purpose
anymore like they
did in the lower moments of their career. There's an apparent concept for
your
imagination to go wild with when projecting it upon these expansive
sound plains of
winding feedback. They have a point to their sound again, and it doesn't
hit you in
the head or change what they're known for, it betters it with a sense of
direction. | | 7 |  | Bobby Womack
The Bravest Man in the Universe
Bobby and Damon Albarn are a match made in heaven. This album shows
that with
a little help from a producer as more of a friendship than a professional
relationship,
magic can truly conspire for everyone involved. | | 6 |  | Robert Glasper Experiment
Black Radio
Kind of set up like a radio. Which is a good idea for an album full of
different guest
artists. Even though each track is different from the other, there's an
underlying
intimacy that's consistent throughout the album, making it relaxing and
broad as it
unfolds. | | 5 |  | Anathema
Weather Systems
Anathema make a change to their sound that's similar to what Opeth did
last year
on their record "Heritage", they drop the doom and gloom of gothic
death and go
for some Neo-Prog. Like Opeth, they prove with this album that even if
they
drastically change their mood, the only thing that matters is how
powerful the
impact of that mood is. These guys adapt so well to any booming
progressive
atmosphere, painting vividly visceral portraits of authentic detail to fill
the length of their compositions. | | 4 |  | THEESatisfaction
awE naturalE
How many hip hop duos nowadays have personalities this sly and cool,
recalling a
certain swing that beckons back to doo-woop? Now, how many FEMALE
hip hop
duos do that? This is unique and diverse in ideas and attitude, never
letting the
mood it sets die or get interrupted. | | 3 |  | Hot Chip
In Our Heads
Hot Chip have dropped the awkwardly shy indie innocence that was
budding behind
their dance beats in the past, and acquire honest emotion, a change that
makes
them successful in creating the album they've always envisioned. | | 2 |  | Torche
Harmonicraft
Isn't sludge metal supposed to be about long and drawn out, brutal, and
thundering
noises of doom that consume you like a black sea? Well, Torche manages
to be
that epic, but not anywhere near that dark. By adding harmonies as epic
as the
heavens and retaining the epicness of sludge metal, Torche creates both
a soaring
and harrowing album, making sludge metal catchy like pop rock in the
process. | | 1 | | Fiona Apple
The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ro
Fiona is the most consistently human female pop singer, and this album
further
justifies that fact. Aside from how she once again deftly blends sexy jazz
with
brooding alt rock, her hands on connection to the listener here is
unmatched. | |
Psycotrip
06.29.12 | You forgot Suicide Silence- The Cleansing. | breakingthefragile
06.29.12 | ...Uh dude, are you trolling? That album came out in 2007, this list is only for albums that came out this year, you know, in 2012. Also, in no way is that album good enough to be considered one of the best albums of the year it came out. | Chrisjon89
06.29.12 | I agree with 1 I think. It's great. Liked 6 too. | IndianaWarLord
06.29.12 | yeah i bet fiona apple really understands you | zxlkho
06.29.12 | "Anathema make a change to their sound..."
No, sorry. This album sounds almost identical to the last. (not that that's a bad thing, I love the hell out of both albums) | Mchailas
06.29.12 | I don't understand all the praise anathema gets... | UnnecessaryxBump
11.10.12 | breaking my hymen with this fuckery of a list | hankdee27
11.18.12 | Nice list, I'll have to check these out. | climactic
11.18.12 | holy shit most ratings ive ever seen on here |
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