All the things most critics agree had a significant impact on music last year have only shaped it further in the first half of 2012. An indie-approved strain of R&B, birthed by a handful of forward-thinking crooners, continues to grow in popularity. The teen-to-early-twenties terror-squad Odd Future have been enjoying their ascent to a mainstream whose resistance to their confrontational, arguably noncommercial music is starting to falter. And most significantly, the careers of 2011's freshman class—which included names like Lana Del Rey, ASAP Rocky, Grimes, Azealia Banks, and Odd Future-affiliated up-and-comer Frank Ocean—have accelerated. Building on buzz from Internet-only freebies and calling-card singles, these artists all released their official debut albums in the last two quarters of this year (or will in the next two, says Azealia). Compare this enterprising ethic to that of an artist like Rye Rye; in fact, maybe Rye Rye herself did just that. After years of discouraging delays, Baltimore's singing/rapping/dancing triple-threat finally got her shit together and/or convinced Interscope to release her very tardy debut. Practically a veteran of the hype game at this point, Rye Rye still deserves mention here as much as any of the names above. These are names bringing about a sea change in American pop, a progressivism that takes full advantage of the global music landscape’s increasingly homogenous sounds. And each artist draws on their own unique influences, from kitschy Americana to UK dubstep, French chansons to the craze du jour (and another holdover from 2011), K-pop. To think that the next six months will see them continue to progress and see untold new artists materialize, well, that's what makes what I do exciting.

Albums eligible for this list were released anywhere in the world between Jan. 1 and June 31st, 2012.

1. •  Loudon Wainwright III: Older Than My Old Man Now
   

2. •  Neneh Cherry & the Thing: The Cherry Thing
   

3. •  Quantic & Alice Russell: Look Around the Corner
   

4. •  Vijay Iyer Trio: Accelerando
   

5. •  Steven Lehman Trio: Dialectic Flourescent
   

6. •  Usher: Looking 4 Myself (Deluxe Edition)
   

7. •  Madonna: MDNA (Deluxe Edition)
   

8. •  Rye Rye: Go! Pop! Bang! (Deluxe Edition)
   

9. •  Lana Del Rey: Born to Die (Deluxe Edition)
   

10. •  Fiona Apple: The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will ...
    

11. •  Gretchen Peters: Hello Cruel World
    

12. •  Kelly Hogan: I Like to Keep Myself in Pain
    

13. •  Sara Watkins: Sun Midnight Sun
    

14. •  Todd Snider: Agnostic Hymns & Stoner Fables
    

15. •  Jack White: Blunderbuss
    

• For more Year in Review features, see our Feature Articles section.

Feature by:
Sam C. Mac