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Halfway There... the best of music in 2010 so far

Apologies (yet again) for the lack of updates and progress on my albums of the decade project, but real life intrudes. To offer an olive branch of sorts to anyone left reading this blog, I've thrown together a quick list of the albums and songs I've really enjoyed this year. I've decided to abandon any sort of ranking this year, for two main reasons. First, since I've been so busy these past few weeks I don't really feel that I've given enough time and effort to really give this stuff a fair ranking. Secondly, and the thing that's really been running through my mind of late, I'm sort of tiring of the ranking approach to list-making. I don't mind tossing out a list of stuff I love, but the process of objectively saying Album X is better than Album Y but not as good as Album Z is starting to feel more like work than anything else. And that certainly is not how music enjoyment should feel. Will I still feel this way during end of the year list-making time? We'll see. For now, here's an alphabetical list (by artist) of albums and tracks that really impressed me over the last six months.

Against Me! - White Crosses (Sire)
Alcest - Ecailles de Lune (Prophecy Productions)
B.o.B - B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray (Atlantic)
Beach House - Teen Dream (Sub Pop)
The Besnard Lakes - Are the Roaring Night (Jagjaguwar)
Bison B.C. - Dark Ages (Metal Blade)
Blitzen Trapper - Destroyer of the Void (Sub Pop)
Caribou - Swim (Merge)
Charlotte Gainsbourg - IRM (Because)
Citay - Dream Get Together (Dead Oceans)
Coffinworm - When All Became None (Profound Lore)
The Dillinger Escape Plan - Option Paralysis (Season of Mist)
Dum Dum Girls - I Will Be (Sub Pop)
Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh (Universal Motown)
The Fall - Your Future Our Clutter (Domino)
Field Music - Measure (Memphis Industries)
Flying Lotus - Cosmogramma (Warp)
The Gaslight Anthem - American Slang (SideOneDummy)
Gayngs - Relayted (Jagjaguwar)
Gorillaz - Plastic Beach (Virgin)
Harvey Milk - A Small Turn of Human Kindness (HydraHead)
High On Fire - Snakes for the Divine (E1)
Ihsahn - After (Candlelight)
Janelle Monae - The ArchAndroid (Bad Boy)
Joanna Newsom - Have One On Me (Drag City)
Kaki King - Junior (Rounder)
LCD Soundsystem - This is Happening (DFA)
Los Campesinos! - Romance is Boring (Wichita)
Love is All - Two Thousand and Ten Injuries (Polyvinyl)
Ludicra - The Tenant (Profound Lore)
Nachtmystium - Addicts: Black Meddle, Part 2 (Century Media)
The National - High Violet (4AD)
Pantha du Prince - Black Noise (Rough Trade)
Phosphorescent - Here's To Taking It Easy (Dead Oceans)
Reflection Eternal (Talib Kweli & Hi-Tek) - Revolutions Per Minute (Warner Bros.)
Roky Erickson & Okkervil River - True Love Cast Out All Evil (ANTI-)
The Roots - How I Got Over (Def Jam)
Shooter Jennings & Hierophant - Black Ribbons (Black Country Rock)
Spoon - Transference (Merge)
The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack (Kemado)
Surfer Blood - Astro Coast (Kanine)
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists - The Brutalist Bricks (Matador)
The-Dream - Love King (Def Jam)
Thee Silver Mount Zion Memorial Orchestra - Kollaps Tradixionales (Constellation)
These New Puritans - Hidden (Domino)
Triptykon - Eparistera Daimones (Century Media)
Twilight - Monument to Time End (Southern Lord)
Vampire Weekend - Contra (XL)
Wolf Parade - Expo 86 (Sub Pop)

Against Me! - "I Was a Teenage Anarchist"
B.o.B f. Hayley Williams - "Airplanes"
BLK JKS - "Zol!"
Dam-Funk - "Mirrors"
Eminem - "Not Afraid"
Erykah Badu - "Window Seat"
Foals - "Spanish Sahara"
Freeway & Jake One - "She Makes Me Feel Alright"
The Gaslight Anthem - "American Slang"
Janelle Monae - "Cold War"
Janelle Monae f. Big Boi - "Tightrope"
Jay-Z f. Mr. Hudson - "Young Forever"
Lady Gaga - "Alejandro"
Paramore - "The Only Exception"
Rush - "Caravan"
Say Anything - "Do Better"
Spoon - "Written in Reverse"
The-Dream - "Love King"
The-Dream f. T.I. - "Make Up Bag"
Vampire Weekend - "Giving Up the Gun"
Violent Soho - "Jesus Stole My Girlfriend"