The year isn’t half over yet. We know that. But since everyone starts unveiling their year-end lists in November, we figured we wouldn’t be too far out of pocket if we unveiled our favorites of the 2012 calendar year the week before Memorial Day.

Our favorite album of the year (so far) is the one on which a talented young band teamed up with a production hero of the ’90s and immersed themselves in the decade’s hard, chunky, scraping, anthemic rock music. There’s no drift at all in Cloud Nothings’ Attack On Memory — just forward drive, rendered with style and conviction. That same Clinton-era ferocity is on display in a bunch of the other albums that appear on this list. Japandroids, Screaming Females both ran with it, and so, in their own ways, did Torche and Ceremony. Other albums don’t necessarily draw on that decade’s style, but they do sprint into chaotic combat in refreshingly concrete ways: El-P, Sleigh Bells, Killer Mike, Death Grips.

But it doesn’t make too much sense to impose a narrative on this list. There’s plenty of druggy float in the albums from Beach House and Future and the Chromatics, and plenty of glamorous sheen in the records from Chairlift and Rick Ross and Kindness. The albums that appear on our list don’t really share too much in common, except this: They’re all deeply personal, idiosyncratic visions. That, and we like all of them. Check out our list below.

STEREOGUM’S TOP 25 ALBUMS OF 2012 SO FAR

25 Heems – Nehru Jackets (Greedhead)

24 Ceremony – Zoo (Matador)

23 Willis Earl Beal – Acousmatic Sorcery (Hot Charity/XL)

22 Grimes – Visions (4AD/Arbutus)

21 Kindness – World You Need A Change Of Mind (Polydor/Female Energy)

20 Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light (Fat Possum)

19 Chromatics – Kill For Love (Italians Do It Better)

18 Death Grips – The Money Store (Epic)

17 Frankie Rose – Interstellar (Slumberland)

16 Tanlines – Mixed Emotions (True Panther)

15 Torche – Harmonicraft (Volcom)

14 Lotus Plaza – Spooky Action At A Distance (Kranky)

13 Julia Holter – Ekstasis (Rvng Intl.)

12 Action Bronson & Party Supplies – Blue Chips (self-released)

11 Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music (Williams Street)

10 Future – Pluto (Epic/A1/Free Bandz)

09 Sleigh Bells – Reign Of Terror (Mom + Pop)

08 Rick Ross – Rich Forever (Maybach Music)

07 Screaming Females – Ugly (Don Giovanni)

06 El-P – Cancer For Cure (Fat Possum)

05 Beach House – Bloom (Sub Pop)

04 Japandroids – Celebration Rock (Polyvinyl)

03 Chairlift – Something (Columbia)

02 The Walkmen – Heaven (Fat Possum)

01 Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory (Carpark)

//

Here’s that list in a more scannable format:

25 Heems – Nehru Jackets

24 Ceremony – Zoo

23 Willis Earl Beal – Acousmatic Sorcery

22 Grimes – Visions

21 Kindness – World You Need A Change Of Mind

20 Spiritualized – Sweet Heart Sweet Light

19 Chromatics – Kill For Love

18 Death Grips – The Money Store

17 Frankie Rose – Interstellar

16 Tanlines – Mixed Emotions

15 Torche – Harmonicraft

14 Lotus Plaza – Spooky Action At A Distance

13 Julia Holter – Ekstasis

12 Action Bronson & Party Supplies – Blue Chips

11 Killer Mike – R.A.P. Music

10 Future – Pluto

09 Sleigh Bells – Reign Of Terror

08 Rick Ross – Rich Forever

07 Screaming Females – Ugly

06 El-P – Cancer For Cure

05 Beach House – Bloom

04 Japandroids – Celebration Rock

03 Chairlift – Something

02 The Walkmen – Heaven

01 Cloud Nothings – Attack On Memory

//

As always, coming up with the master countdown meant leaving out some personal favorites of our four staff members. Here are those…

HONORABLE MENTIONS

SCOTT

01 Sun Kil Moon – Among The Leaves

02 Wymond Miles – Under The Pale Moon

03 Field Music – Plumb

04 Moonface With Sinai – Bravery

05 Sharon Van Etten – Tramp

AMRIT

01 Mount Eerie – Clear Moon

02 Vijay Iyer – Accelerando

03 PO PO – Dope Boy Magick

04 John Talabot – ƒIN

05 The Men – Open Your Heart

TOM

01 Jack White – Blunderbuss

02 Schoolboy Q – Habits & Consequences

03 Tragedy – Darker Days Ahead

04 Killa Kyleon & Mouse – Welcome To The Fish Fry

05 Split Cranium – Split Cranium

CORBAN

01 Lil B – God’s Father

02 THEESatisfaction – awE naturalE

03 Chief Keef – Back From The Dead

04 Best Coast – The Only Place

05 Rye Rye – Go! Pop! Bang!

//

That’s a solid chunk of the year’s most notable releases to date, though obviously not all of them. Feel free to nominate those that we missed.