feature: Favorite Albums of the First Half of 2012

2012 started off a bit slow, but it's been picking up. August and September are going to make the year. Here's 25 albums that I've been loving so far, no particular order, with links to listen when possible. There's indie rock, rap, garage rock, electronic, synthpop, folk, psych rock....a little something for everybody.

Row 1: Dirty Projectors - Swing Lo Magellan; Ty Segall/White Fence - Hair; Ty Segall Band - Slaughterhouse; El-P - Cancer4Cure; King Tuff - King Tuff
Row 2: Death Grips - The Money Store; Killer Mike - R.A.P. Music; Schoolboy Q - Habits & Contradictions; Lil B - God's Father; Bear in Heaven - I Love You, It's Cool
Row 3: The Flaming Lips - The Flaming Lips & Heady Fwends; Beach House - Bloom; Grimes - Visions; Father John Misty - Fear Fun; Conveyor - Conveyor
Row 4: Liars - WIXIW; Oh No - Ohnomite; SpaceGhostPurrp - Mysterious Phonk; Jack White - Blunderbuss; Black Bananas - Rad Time Xpress IV
Row 5: Diamond Rugs - Diamond Rugs; Gucci Mane - Trap Back; Ab-Soul - Control System; Pond - Beard, Wives, Denim; Alabama Shakes - Boys & Girls

album stream: SpaceGhostPurrp - Mysterious Phonk

SpaceGhostPurrp has made a name for himself doing throwback dark early 90s rap in the vein of Three 6 Mafia on amateurish yet captivating tapes like Blvcklvnd Rvdix 66.6 (1991) and the GXX XX BXXXK EP. Now, inexplicably, he's releasing his debut LP, a collection of (slightly) cleaned up older tracks, on 4AD. Stream it above.