As if year-end lists weren't bad enough, now people are making "best of" lists at the mid-year point. What a bunch of music geeks. (Ahem.) Coolfer has given you my best of the year thus far. Information Leafblower did as well. There are more.

Amazon.com's music editors have their own list, the Best of the Year So Far. M.I.A.'s Arular (called by one FoC "a hip hoop album that's okay for indie rock hipsters to like") tops their list.

eMusic's editors have a list. Much like its rock catalog, the list is heavy on the indie rock that has been deemed hip this year: Spoon's Gimme Fiction, Thievery Corporation's Cosmic Game, The Hold Steady's Separation Sunday, etc. And one surprise: Tony Bennet's Tony Bennett Sings The Rodgers And Hart Songbook. eMusic is limited to picking those albums released by labels it sells. It should be retitled "Top Albums of 2005... So Far...That We Have Rights To Sell."

And over at I Love Music there's a thread about the best albums of the year so far. I see a few M.I.A.s, a few Roots Manuvas, some Patrick Wolf, some nods to Gang Gang Dance, a bunch of Stephen Malkmus, quite a few Sleater-Kinneys and quite a few indie cred-seeking mentions of albums that aren't even out yet.