Gravitational wave astronomy - avant le deluge

The era of gravitational-wave (GW) astronomy is now well under way, with nearly 100 compact binary coalescences (CBCs) confidently detected in the first three observing runs of LIGO and Virgo. With the fourth observing run of LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA starting in early 2023, it is timely to review what has been learned so far, both from the CBC events and from the absence of other types of GW detections, particularly continuous radiation. Prospects for making such new discoveries soon will be discussed, along with the potential insights to be gained from the deluge of CBC events expected in the coming years and decades.