I will write reviews for the first twenty or so when I find time. Until then:

1. Barn Owl-The Conjurer
2. William Fowler Collins-Perdition Hill Radio
3. Jasper TX-Singing Stones
4. Emeralds-What Happened/Pain Jerk Split
5. Expo 70-Psychosis
6. Celer-Brittle
7. Jim O’Rourke and Loren Connors-Two Nice Catholic Boys
8. Tomasz Bednarczyk-Painting Sky Together
9. Richard Youngs-Like A Neuron
10. Jason Crumer-Walk With Me
11. Luperci-The Holy Mountain
12. Rafael Anton Irisarri-Hopes and Past Desires
13. Gareth Hardwick-Aversions
14. Spiral Joy Band-Little Sparrows
15. KFW-Dream House Variations
16. Peter Broderick-Music for Falling From Trees
17. Richard Youngs and Andrew Paine-Earth Rod
18. Eluvium-Life Through Bombardment
19. Eternal Tapestry-Palace of the Night Skies
20. William Basinski-92982
21. Anduin+Jasper TX-The Bending of Light
22. Norberto Lobo-Pata Lenta
23. Tim Hecker-An Imaginary Country
24. Biosphere-Wireless:Live at Arnolfini Bristol
25. Temple Music-Incompleteness
26. Blues Control-Local Flavor
27. SunnO)))-Monoliths and Dimensions
28. Jackie O Motherfucker-Ballads of the Revolution
29. Max Richter-Henry May Long OST
30. Quivers-2012
31. Gregg Kowalsky-Tape Chants
32. Sparkling Wide Pressure-Meaning Plane
33. Wooden Shjips-Dos
34. Vanessa Rossetto- Dogs in English Porcelain
35. Mokira-Persona
36. James Blackshaw-The Glass Bead Game
37. Sunburned Hand of the Man-A Grand Tour of Tunisia
38. Rameses III-I Could Not Love You More
39. Peter Broderick-Five Film Score Outtakes
40. Heavy Winged-Spreading Center
41. Dean McPhee-Brown Bear
42. Thomas Koner-La Barca
43. To Kill A Petty Bourgeousie-Marlone
44. Plurals-Half Reality
45. Bjerga/Iversen-Magnetic Colours of the Electric Rainbow
46. Heather Woods Broderick-From the Ground
47. Benjamin Finger-Woods of Broccoli
48. Roedelius-Jardin Au Fou
49. Flower-Corsano Duo-The Four Aims
50. James Rushford and Joe Talia-Palisades

i think i've only heard two, and only liked one, of the albums on this list.

(to kill a petty bourgeoisie, wooden shjips).

Did you get the vinyl of this? Looks really nice. How does this sound compared to From Our Mouths a Perpetual Light?

A great rumbling darkness.

Yeah, the vinyl is beautiful with that reddish/mauveish color and with the cover art works as an immediate visual to the music you hear once you put it on.

Compared to From Our Mouths...this is a little less dense. It's not as immediately heavy and brooding in the classic doom sense (but then really nothing they are doing these days is really following the rules). This is more the soundtrack to wandering some forgotten desert somewhere. The guitar is superbly dusty and remarkably twangy, it really could serve as the soundtrack for a death filled western shootout flick. They've managed to expand their sound by doing slightly less I guess, hell Side 2 even has some Chasneyesque guitar around the 7 minute mark that is absolutely gorgeous. After a few minutes it gives way to the vocal moans and drones that sit atop a perfect wall of AM static and feedback, but no longer do they have all of those elements competing for attention. They have seprated the pieces and the result is nothing but the sound of absolute human depair, it really is quite unsettling, but still oddly pretty.

I think with this album they have found their place. There will always be the Earth comparisons, but they've taken acoustic/folk doom to a place that no one has really explored successfully before, it's still ridiculously heavy at times, but they incorporate the light into it extremely well at the same time. Right now, the only band I think that is even close to as exciting as they are is Emeralds, and the more I listen to this album,the more I become convinced that Barn Owl are the best band in the world currently.

Obviously, with it being my number one, I can't recommend it enough, but in this case, I really do think this album is a turning point for an entire musical culture and will eventually be looked back on as a true classic (at least in some circles).

Probably the most unsettling album I have ever heard. Listening to this out at some shithole patrol base in southern Afghanistan during blackout hours is an experience in itself. I love this record and was my number one for most of the year (was glad to see it on your list). Type seems to really be bolstering it's dark ambient roster, hope to see a lot more releases like this from them.

Hmmm. Sounds like this should be heard. Only vinyl huh? They put out another release in 2009 (From Our Mouths a Perpetual Light), in cd/mp3 formats too, but this didn't make your list. Did you not like it or...? I have just heard samples and this band interests me...

That Barn Owl is about all off that lsit I've heard, but I listen to it quite a bit. Really good.

I have heard of exactly 1 of these.

How's the Eluvium? I've been mixed with there astuff, really liked one I heard and no so much the other. I liked the one that had to do with trees or something in the title.

The Eluvium is actually a bit of a cheat as it is a reissue set. It's all four Eluvium albums on vinyl together for the first time packaged in this remarkable gatefold book case, completely personalized, it's a remarkable set. I probably shouldn't have included it since it is a reissue set, and I didn't include Six Organs' RTZ or the FennOBerg reissue, but I couldn't help it. The damn thing is the music product of the year in my opinion (seriously the packaging is immaculate). Plus, the records really do gain something from the vinyl pressing. I don't know what it is, but Lambent and Accidental Memory sound fantastic here, definitely better than on CD, and I love the CDs so that says something.

Yeah Harry, you definitely need to check these guys out. I grabbed From Our Mouths last year (my #3 last year) or else it would have made this list. It's definitely good, but they hadn't put it all together yet, they were still dabbling in some run-of-the-mill dark folk, and then would have the next track pure drone, it just needed some focus. It hinted at the greatness that is achieved on The Conjurer. Also, worth picking up is the record they did with Tom Carter. That seems to be the point where it all started to really come together (though I assume playing with him would elevate anyone's sound). I know you really liked Jasper TX's Black Sleep and what they do is certainly similar to that. At some point I have posted links to a few of their albums, I'd be more than happy to reup them for you. Just let me know.

That Richard Youngs has some pretty cool tunes on it. Just heard it yesterday.

Thanks to its inclusion on your list I've been listening to that William Fowler Collins. Very cool.

some good mind-warpy stuff on there. you should do a mix some time. you know, like 18 months from now.

I think a lot of this stuff really doesn't lend itself to mixes.

depends on the approach

i mean, if you try to zip up 18 tracks, probably not gonna work, but i could see a nice 90 min long single mp3 of this shit with some Audacity diddling

Glad you're liking that one. The definition of a monster of an album in my opinion, I mean you hear that first crash around 20 seconds in and you immediately know what you are in for. I don't know what is happening in New Mexico, but between that and the Luperci (also from Albuqerque) album from this year, I have to assume there are some outright disturbing things happening out in the desert.

It's odd you say that as I looked back over the list and decided very quickly I was getting old and quite dull. There is virtually no harsh noise on here, even the power electronics are scaled back and have been replaced with true composition and space exploration. No Prurient, no Ledesma, no Skullflower, Grey Wolves, Thrones, those are quality head-fuck records, and all absent now (though Thrones would likely be my second favorite concert of the year). I am going to redeem myself by listening to Dilloway's Rotting Nepal and Corpse on Horseback albums now

shit, man, did you really listen to this in Afghanistan? glad you dig my music. nice to hear.

-wfc

well that was awesome

oh shit, William! haha, nice.

tell John to keep up the good work.

Woah, so this is pretty cool. This has got to be a step in the board revival Dalen was talking about.

somebody's been googling themselves...

Google alerts does it for me.