MaestroBlog Update/Mid Year 'Best of' Lists!

Hi.

So, June was a hectic month for me: a new job, a wedding, and the passing of my grandmother, I'm surprised I was able to blog at all! But I did, and I guess it's time to give you your monthly update.

Alright, first off, MaestroBlog has reached 5000 views! The month of June really treated me well, as only 14 posts drew in 834 views, way up from the 502 views from last month, and my view-per-post average is now 26.6, up 2.5 from last month. My "Behind the Music' segments attracted the most attention, and I think ya'll for that. It warms my heart that so many of you were interested in my story! So now that my end of year goal has been reached mid-year, how about I aim for 10,000 pageviews? Think I can do it?

Well, I'll have to start varying things a bit! I realize I've done way too many album reviews, but I just love doing them! In July, I promise I'll change things up a bit!

Anyway, with 2013 half over, it's now time to give my mid-year 'best of' lists! Basically, I put down (in no particular order) the best (and worst) songs/artists/albums etc. of 2013 so far. And before I begin, I need to say that 2013 has been an extremely slow year for music, so you will see alot of overlap between the best and worst of a particular category because there really is so little to choose from. Also, the songs/albums/artists that end up on this list may not be on my end of year lists, we'll just have to see how the second half of 2013 goes!

So here goes!

Best Songs
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Wanz-"Thrift Shop"
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis feat. Ray Dalton-"Can't Hold Us"
Bruno Mars-"Locked out of Heaven"
Bruno Mars-"When I Was Your Man"
Bruno Mars-"Treasure"
Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams-"Get Lucky"
Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell and T.I.-"Blurred Lines"
Florida-Georgia Line feat. Nelly-"Cruise"
Miley Cyrus-"We Can't Stop"
Ariana Grande feat. Mac Miller-"The Way"
Demi Lovato-"Heart Attack"
Selena Gomez-"Come and Get It"
Icona Pop feat. Charlie XCX-"I Love It"
Imagine Dragons-"Radioactive"
The Lumineers-"Ho Hey"
Justin Timberlake feat. Jay Z-"Suit and Tie"
Justin Timberlake-"Mirrors"
P!nk-"Try"
P!nk feat. Nate Ruess-"Just Give Me a Reason"
Fall Out Boy-"My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark"
Mariah Carey feat. Miguel-"#Beautiful"
Will. I. Am feat. Britney Spears-"Scream and Shout"
Kelly Clarkson-"Catch My Breath"
Rihanna feat. Mikky Ekko-"Stay"
Taylor Swift-"I Knew You Were Trouble"
Calvin Harris feat. Florence Welch-"Sweet Nothing"

Worst Songs
Bruno Mars-"Locked out of Heaven"
Florida-Georgia Line feat. Nelly-"Cruise"
Serena Ryder-"Stompa"
Drake-"Started from the Bottom"
Maroon 5-"Daylight"

Best Albums
Daft Punk-"Random Access Memories"
Paramore-"Paramore"
Dido-"Girl Who Got Away"
Pistol Annies-"Annie Up"
Kacey Musgraves-"Same Trailer Different Park"
Michael Buble-"To Be Loved"
Josh Groban-"All That Echoes"
Fall Out Boy-"Save Rock and Roll"
David Bowie-"The Next Day"
Jimi Hendrix-"People, Hell, and Angels"

Artists of the Year
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Calvin Harris
Daft Punk
Pharrell
Pistol Annies
Justin Timerblake

Worst Artists of the Year (duh)
Lil Wayne
Drake
Justin Bieber
Kanye West
Florida-Georgia Line

Most Cringe-Worthy Event
Billboard Music Awards

Best Musical Event(s)
Super Bowl Half Time 2013
2013 Grammys

Best Breakthrough Artists
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Ariana Grande
Imagine Dragons
Icona Pop
Daft Punk (they have not been super-popular until this year)

If there are any suggestions to any of these lists, please don't hesistate to comment! I'm excited to see what the rest of 2013 will bring, are you?!