It's that time of the year! As usual, I will post the accompanying essay tomorrow.
Top 20 Studio Albums of the Half-Year:
Last year, I did almost no prep for my half-year list. This year, I had only about fifteen A+/A/A- studio albums when I first drafted my list, so I did a significant amount of re-listening to even get a good idea of what my top 20 albums were. Much of this re-listening went to B+ and B albums that I thought I might have underrated. I'm mostly happy with the list although it's notably weaker than other half-year lists before it.
1. The Vibrators: Pure Mania (1977)
2. X-Ray Spex: Germfree Adolescents (1978)
3. Paul Revere & the Raiders: Revolution! (1967)
4. The Lovin' Spoonful: Do You Believe in Magic (1965)
5. The Jam: In the City (1977)
6. Brian Eno: Before and After Science (1977)
7. Jackson Browne: For Everyman (1973)
8. Siouxsie & the Banshees: The Scream (1978)
9. The Sonics: Here Are the Sonics (1965)
10. Public Image Limited: Public Image: First Issue (1978)
11. Jefferson Airplane: Surrealistic Pillow (1967)
12. The Lovin' Spoonful: Daydream (1966)
13. The Jam: All the Mod Cons (1978)
14. Paul Revere & the Raiders: Just Like Us! (1966)
15. Siouxsie & the Banshees: Juju (1981)
16. The Kinks: Muswell Hillbillies (1971)
17. Moby Grape: Moby Grape (1967)
18. Buzzcocks: Love Bites (1978)
19. Mitch Ryder & the Detroit Wheels: Breakout...!!! (1966)
20. Canned Heat: Canned Heat (1967)
Top Compilations of the Half-Year:
I got back into listening to old blues compilation this year but I haven't been hitting many big artists and I haven't been going through them very quickly so I don't have ten recommendable compilations just yet. Nevertheless, here are some ones to watch out for in the end of the year list: Furry Lewis 1927-1929, Lucille Bogan & Walter Roland (1927-1935), Shave 'Em Dry: The Best of Lucille Bogan, Geeshie Wiley and Elvie Thomas, and Bessie Smith's The Collection.
Statistics for the Half-Year:
My average grades are considerably lower than usual. By this time last year, I had four A+'s and twelve A's. Right now, I have zero A+'s and two A's. That said, I haven't been listening to albums at this pace since 2020 and I expect to keep a similar speed in the second half. Paul Revere & the Raiders is the most covered artist so far (11 albums reviewed) and 1968 is the year with the most traffic (19 new albums), followed by 1967 (16), 1966 (14), and 1969 (14).
Total albums: 144
Number of artists: 66
The grades:
A+ 0 (0%)
A: 2 (1.39%)
A-: 21 (14.58%)
B+: 24 (16.67%)
B: 27 (18.75%)
B-: 22 (15.28%)
C+: 25 (17.36%)
C+: 25 (17.36%)
C: 13 (9.03%)
C-: 3 (2.08%)
D+: 2 (1.39%)
Not yet graded: 5 (3.47%)
Not yet graded: 5 (3.47%)
The decades:
1960s: 66 (45.83%)
1970s: 49 (34.03%)
1980s: 10 (6.94%)
1990s: 8 (5.56%)
2000s: 5 (3.47%)
2010s: 3 (2.08%)
2020s: 3 (2.08%)
A Note:
I usually rank the best artists of my year or half-year but I have once again decided against doing this. (Besides, the artists I've done this year haven't been super interesting.) Additionally, I usually note the artists I'm anticipating in the coming months but I will also decline to list these. I know that I will continue to grind 60s artists but most of them will be of little interest to my readers and even to myself. Beyond that, I'm not totally sure what I will decide to do and I have no idea if I will even finish the 60s like I hope before the year ends.
