Best Of 2011

My verdict is still out on whether I like top-10 lists or not, but there were some real standouts this year that I thought merited special mention:

Full Lengths:
1. Roly Porter - Aftertime
2. Grouper - A | A: Dream Loss/ Alien Observer
3. Barn Owl - Lost In The Glare
4. Prurient - Bermuda Drain
5. Burial Hex - Angelic Gematria
6. Dirty Beaches - Badlands
7. Demdike Stare - Tryptych
8. The Haxan Cloak - The Haxan Cloak
9. Stare Case - Lose Today
10. Andrew Chalk - Violin By Night

Singles/ EPs

1. Massive Attack vs. Burial - Four Walls/ Paradise Circus
2. Grouper - Water People
3. Salem - I'm Still In The Night
4. Prurient - Time's Arrow
5. Demdike Stare - Elemental - Parts 1 & 2
6. Sean McCann - The Sky Is Filled With Incredible Wishes
7. Laurel Halo - Hour Logic
8. Björk - The Crystalline Series (Omar Souleyman Remixes)
9. Andy Stott - Passed Me By
10. Burial - Street Halo

Honorable mentions (some of these are totally excellent in their own right, but only missed the cut by a wee bit). In no particular order:

Balam Acab - Wander/Wonder
Kangding Ray - OR
Kreng - Grimoire
Zola Jesus - Conatus
Jacaszek - Glimmer
Six Organs Of Admittance - Asleep On The Floodplain
Natural Snow Buildings - Waves Of The Random Sea
Natural Snow Buildings - Chants Of Nifelheim
Higuma - Pacific Fog Dreams
Jon Porras - Undercurrent
Evan Caminiti - When California Falls Into The Sea
Juv - Juv
Peaking Lights - 936
Andy Stott - We Stay Together
Leyland Kirby - Eager To Tear Apart The Stars
Sean McCann - The Capital
Simon Scott - Bunny
Kaboom Karavan - Barra Barra
Fourth World Magazine - The Spectacle Of Light Abductions
Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
*AR - Wolf Notes
Hauschka & Hildur Gudnadottir - Pan Tone
Brainworlds - *****
The Kilimanjaro Darkjazz Ensemble - From The Stairwell
Matthewdavid - Outmind
Death Grips - Ex-Military
Christina Vantzou - No. 1
Deaf Center - Owl Splinters
Robedoor - Too Down To Die
Vatican Shadow - Kneel Before Religious Icons
Burial Hex - Book Of Delusions
Burial Hex - Eschatology I
A Winged Victory For The Sullen - A Winged Victory For The Sullen
The Caretaker - An Empty Bliss Fills This World
Nate Young - Stay Asleep (Regression Vol. 2)
Shataan - War Cry Lament
Arizmenda - Without Circumference Nor Center
Innercity - Boy In Forest Trying To Hotwire The Earth
James Ferraro - Far Side Virtual
James Ferraro - Condo Pets
Grimes/ D'Eon - Darkbloom
Genocide Organ - Under-Kontrakt
Emptyset - Demiurge
Kuedo - Severance
BJ Nilsen - Vinyl
Chelsea Wolfe - Ἀποκάλυψις
Ela Orleans/ Dirty Beaches - Double Feature
Holy Other - With U
Tim Hecker - Ravedeath 1972
Barn Owl - Shadowland
Ekin Fil - Language
Skullflower - Fucked On A Pile Of Corpses
Alberich - Psychology Of Love

Enjoy 2012 before Quetzalcoatl or something starts eating the planet in December!!!