There has been no shortage of documentation regarding our love affair with pretty much every single thing Sam Ray has put out this year --- be it with his ethereal, mood-setting and subsequent mood-altering Ricky Eat Acid work or the lo-fi, garage-rock/doo-wop throwback with Bad Vibes Forever from his Teen Suicide project.

And while 2011 winded down last week, Sam was kind enough to offer up a guest post to highlight his favorites from the past year in music.  Scroll down to read his picks....

coma cinema – blue suicide

my personal favorite album of 2011. absolutely soul crushing at times, at other times just slightly less soul crushing. the best part of this album is how timeless it is. it really could have come out at any time whatsoever and been just as good. mat cothran created a masterpiece. this album is what hell sounds like. in the best way.

- also worth noting his ‘abandoned lands’ ep and everything he released as “elvis depressedly’.

Coma Cinema - "Eva Angelina" from Blue Suicide

gem club – breakers

probably my second favorite release from 2011, and after blue suicide, definitely my most played. gem club’s first release is just as amazing and has some of my favorite songs ever on it, so naturally i was wary of their new album – as practically every follow up in 2011 disappointed me. However, after listening through a few times, i was sure breakers would stay with me for a long time, just as “acid and everything” has. after seeing them live twice and getting to meet them, i gotta say i love this album even more. also it sounds absolutely fantastic on vinyl.

mutual benefit – i saw the sea  

mutual benefit are the best. again, one of the best live acts i saw in 2011 (along with the now defunct holy spirits, who i saw several times as well). not to mention they’re the greatest people. i could really put anything they recorded and released this year on this list (and their split with holy spirits on father/daughter is one of my favorite releases as well + the split with philip seymour hoffman that just came out) but in an effort to keep this list succinct, i’ve chosen i saw the sea. when i first heard this album i dropped everything i was doing to listen to it. from the first song i knew i would be in love. Jordan and co do such an incredible job creating these huge landscapes in my head of the ocean and islands and seaside towns and a million other desolate but beautiful locations. it makes me wish i could swim.

purity ring singles

when i first heard ungirthed - wow. purity ring are the future. deserve every single bit of love and hype they get. nothing more to even say. if you don’t know already ur fucking up.

Purity Ring - "Ungirthed" from Ungirthed 7''

grouper – A | A + water people

so grouper is the best. when i heard there would be a new grouper album this year, i got really excited. when i first listened to the new grouper album i was so excited. when it was over i think i was either asleep or dead. and i couldn’t have been happier. A | A is incredible, particularly (for me) the ‘Alien Observer’ side. “come softly” is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time and i don’t think many things i will experience in my lifetime will top listening to it outside this fall at like 3 am while watching shooting stars. but also, her ‘water people’ single yielded another one of my favorite grouper songs ever (the title track). so im just lumping them together for now. <3. thank you liz.

Grouper - "Come Softly" from A | A 

Grouper - "Water People" from Water People 7''

danny brown – xxx

absolute funniest and in my opinion most enjoyable mixtape that dropped this year. danny brown is great, his voice is awesome, and this tape is just dope. not to mention some of the weirdest production this year. also shoutout pretty much everything green ova/main attrakionz and co dropped this year. blackberry ku$h was a constant in my car this summer.

Danny Brown - "I Will" from XXX 

arrange – plantation

what else can i say about malcom? he’s great. he’s younger than me and that makes me want to kill myself. not really. but this album kind of does. i was really lucky to get to remix a track from it and im happy to say malcom and i will be dropping not only a split next year but also an album or ep together (featuring pslw and several other tracks). not only that, but i’ve heard malcom’s new ep coming out in 2012 and if it dropped a few months earlier it would be on this list. it’s really great.

hunx and his punx – too young to be in love

one of my most played albums of 2011. and probably 2012. and 2013 2014 and etc. i can’t wait to hear where hunx goes next. pure pop. garage-y, dirty, sexy (in a really gross way), totally gay, and just all around perfect. exactly what i needed this spring/summer/fall/winter. <3.

Hunx and His Punx - "Too Young To Be In Love" from Too Young To Be In Love

run dmt – dreams

when i found out from a friend there was a new run dmt tape i flipped. within probably two minutes i had ordered it from culture dealer and was already waiting for it to ship. luckily i got it within a couple days and was able to listen through, as there weren’t any mp3s from it available for a long time. dreams is a great album and probably a really good place to start if you want to get into run dmt but are intimidated by his hour + soundscapes, albums worth of weird 30 second songs, and occasional pop genius. not to mention the fact that there’s a really really really awful dubstep group operating under the same name. dreams is a perfect mix of run dmt’s super weird psychedelic dronescapes and almost 50’s or 60’s style pop goodness. also, dude is one of the craziest performers around right now, and seeing him at subterranean a in dc this past November was definitely a highlight of my year.

RUN DMT - "Richard" from Dreams

holy other – with u

i don’t have a lot to say about this ep other than that it’s really, really great. i dug it tons when it first came out (re: leaked) and i’ve only grown to like it more and more as time passes. it was a spring release that definitely fits winter better.

blithe field – two hearted

i was late to this one, but i’m glad i found it. spencer makes some weird weird music that kind of kills me because i didn’t make it first. i think this album is incredibly underrated and i really recommend checking it out if you haven’t. beautiful mix of guitars, percussion, samples, synths, and just… weirdness? not to mention it’s an album that flows from front to back beautifully, which i love.

everything tom auty released in 2011 (sad souls – apeiron etc)

tom’s music is actually a great pairing with blithe field. it’s usually guitar based as well, at most times somewhat lo-fi, and it conjures up beautiful images of forests, old school video games, cold nights, lakes, ghosts, and woodland creatures/spirits. forest loops and apeiron are both incredible and deserve all the love in the world. tom’s music’s been a huge inspiration to me this year. check it out if you haven’t.

witch gardens – alice, agatha, branch, and christ 

so fun. soooo fun. want to see them live so bad. i feel like i’d have the time of my life. i love this album and it sounds great on tape. i listen to it all the time. not much else to say. it’s just great.

wisdom tooth – the flying mouth

i got into wisdom tooth (and quilt) this year, when he posted a free download of his last tape ‘baby neptunee’. i was blown away by it. then i heard the title track from this one and found out it was going to be on a new tape/album. i was beyond happy. it’s incredible. i was actually listening to this tape this morning!

cloud nothings – self titled

this came out in 2011 right? whatever. it’s great. people are divided on the cleaned up sound (i’m not sure myself but it’s better than whatever the fuck albini is doing to it on the new singles – ew). whatever. these songs are so pop punk. so pop punk. like the best kind of pop punk. lovesick. awesome. catchy. just great. 

colleen green - ?

did she release something this year? i don’t know when anything she did came out. if she did, then it’s on this list. i love colleen green. i can’t look it up because i have no internet right now and i cant afford a smartphone. maybe i’ll text someone. whatever. listen to colleen green. she’s the best.

born gold – bodysongs

regardless of the fact that i’d already heard more than half this album (as any superfan who’s been following gobble gobble’s exploits for the last year has) it’s just so great. the new tracks, the new name, the old tracks, the old tracks made new, the vinyl release from crash symbols (congrats guys). it’s all just perfect. going to see them on tour with grimes this coming march and i couldn’t be more excited. seriously. listen to born gold.

happy trendy  - die young

i’ve been a big fan of dkf since i heard his ‘old friends’ album. i’d like to think 2011’s been a good year for him., between old friends, a few singles, and an owen ashworth cosign. but when he sent me his new release i was just blown away. im always so excited when artists, especially young ones, are able to progress so much between releases. i loved everything i heard from him before, but with this album he went from showing a ton of promise to releasing an album that’s not just one of my favorites of the year, but one of the best i’ve heard in a long, long time. 

shoutout to the million other releases i either forgot to include here or left off because of space or whatever. shoutout to all my amazing friends making incredible music. shoutout to every blog, site, magazine, whatever. friends. bros. i’m going to become a witch.