# 1 Mid-Year Music Mic Check

UPDATE: Check out our Fuse staff picks for the 41 Best Albums of 2013

Reality check: The year 2013 is more than half over. Damn. And when it started, "2013" felt like too futuristic a number to even comprehend—what is this, a Kubrick movie?—and now 2014 is closing in, and fast. But the first six months of the year were jam-packed with quality albums from newcomers to veterans, hip hop heads to hard rockers and beyond. We rolled up our sleeves and dug into what 2013 has offered thus far, and picked the best of the best, as a mid-year musical mic check, if you will.

So, without further ado... here's Fuse's 40 Best Albums of 2013 So Far. And to see what other albums are coming up in 2013, check out Fuse's Most Anticipated Albums of 2013 list, too.