Never Wanna Hear the End of It (best of '07, so far)

We recently hit the halfway point of 2007, and I continue to be astounded by the sheer volume of stellar new discs out this year. In my possession, I count no less than twenty-two albums released between the beginning of January and the end of June that might well have made my annual top ten lists had they hit the shelves in any of the past few years: Lily Allen, Alright, Still . . . ; Arcade Fire, Neon Bible; Arctic Monkeys, Favourite Worst Nightmare; Ceu, Ceu; The Clientele, God Save the Clientele; Jarvis Cocker, Jarvis; Field Music, Tones of Town; The Fratellis, Costello Music; The Good, The Bad & The Queen, The Good, The Bad & The Queen; Grinderman, Grinderman; LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver; Jesse Malin, Glitter in the Gutter; The National, Boxer; Peter Bjorn and John, Writer’s Block; The Red Button, She’s About to Cross My Mind; Ike Reilly Assassination, We Belong to the Staggering Evening; The Shins, Wincing the Night Away; Sloan, Never Hear the End of It; White Stripes, Icky Thump; Wilco, Sky Blue Sky; Lucinda Williams, West; Amy Winehouse, Back to Black.

Combine those with choice tracks from lesser albums (Ron Sexsmith, Modest Mouse, Ted Leo, to name a few), and friends eagerly anticipating my year-end mix (and, really, who isn’t?) should be in for a treat.

If forced to pick a favorite disc from the year’s first six months, I’d probably choose Lily Allen, Sloan or Ike Reilly. Got a favorite, or two, or ten? Let us know in the comments (now accessible to all, not just Blogger users!).

And just when you thought the year couldn’t get any better, along comes July and a fierce new offering from Spoon. Musings on that one later.