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If there are only two characters in the location, sometimes you don't need a tag on every scrap of dialogue and the dialogue can reference the other speaker.
"What do you think, John?"
I do think it needs tags even then, relatively frequently.
However if there are three characters then almost every piece of dialogue needs to be clearly identified as to who is uttering.
This is also why:
1) A "beta" reader is a good idea.
2) Working on several books, after rewrite/proof, put one in the cellar till you forget the content, work on another. Then later go back and read it fresh and make sure the dialogue works.
Also a new paragraph for a change of character speaking? I've read both Gutenberg and actual printed books (newer are worse) from big publishers where that has slipped past the proofreader(s).
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