Grammys midway: An early look at album of the year contenders

By Todd Martens / Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

This is not a true midyear Top 15 list. The Grammy Awards, as recently noted, end its year a little early, with the eligibility period for next year's awards coming to a close on Sept. 30.

What follows is a look at some of the more notable releases of late 2007 and the first half of 2008, and how they may fare come Grammy time. Some are major efforts from established artists, and others, while Grammy long shots, are simply albums deserving of more recognition.

And click here for a look at some of the notable new artists of 2008 ... thus far. It should be noted that some of the newcomers, such as Duffy, may also figure into the album-of-the-year discussion, but in the interest of spreading the wealth, repeats from the aforementioned gallery will not be mentioned here.

The text in this gallery is taken from Los Angeles Times music blog Extended Play.