In no particular order, other than maybe the five-ten first:
PJ Harvey – Let England Shake
Terakaft – Aratan N Azawad
Skriet – Det beslutande organet
Bob Hund – Det överexponerade gömstället
Helheim – Heidindomr ok motgangr
Graveyard – Hisingen Blues
Tinariwen – Tassili
Fucked Up – David Comes To Life
Taake – Noregs vapen
Austra – Feel It Break
Autopsy – Macabre Eternal
Portrait - Crime Laesae Majestatis Divinae
Deathspell Omega – Diabolus Absconditus
Knivderby – Dumskallarnas sammansvärjning
Tyler The Creator – Goblin
Veronica Maggio - Satan i gatan
Tsjuder – Legion Helvete
Shabazz Palaces – Black Up
Patrik Backlund – Is An Arsonist
Zomby – Dedication
King Cresote and John Hopkins – Diamond Mine
Jeffrey Lewis – A Turn In The Dream-Songs
In Solitude - The World, The Flesh, The Devil
Kimya Dawson – Thunder Thighs
Roffe Ruff – Barabas
Slöa Knivar – Ingen klass, ingen stil
Tim Hecker – Ravedeath, 1972
Cornershop featuring Bubbley Kaur - Cornershop & The Double 'O' Groove Of
Kajsa Grytt – En kvinna under påverkan
Årabrot – Solar Anus

Records proving the artist have done better but are still to be reckoned with:
British Sea Power – Valhalla Dancehall
The Strokes – Angles
Grace Jones – Hurricane
Off! - First Four Eps
Chad Vangaalen – Diaper Island
Glorior Belli – The Great Southern Darkness
Stephen Malkmus – Mirror Traffic
Thurston Moore – Demolished Thoughts
Kate Bush – 50 Words For Snow

Records that are great but could have done with more time and/or money spent on them:
Vånna Inget - Allvar
Wild Flag – Wild Flag

Great records, though not perfect:
Kurt Vile – Smoke Rings On My Halo
Josh T. Pearson – Last Of The Country Gentlemen
The Rapture – In The Grace Of Your Love
Panda Bear – Tomboy
The Culture In Memoriam – Rest In Pieces
Anna Järvinen – Anna själv, tredje
Tomas Hulenvik - The World Is Ours
Riddarna – Riddarna

Records I love but can't have an objective view on:
Magnus Ekelund & Stålet – Svart Flagg
Birgit Bidder – The Life Home

Song of the year:
Pascal - De är farliga

This years "How come I haven't even heard of them before?":
The Gits

Hopes for next year:
Raketen
The New Man
Nord & Syd
Robert Hurula
Conny Nimmersjö
Kranium
Könsförrädare
Norra Kust

Get a record deal, release an album, goddamn!:
Hospitalet

Oh, and some great shows, mostly at Föreningsgatan 7 (Luleå), by:
Könsförrädare
Terveet Kädet
Slöa Knivar
Hamngatan
Kranium
Dispose
Salenko
22 Pistepirkko

---------------------------
Mattias Alkberg had a busy year in 2011 -- not only was his latest solo album and book "Anarkist", one of the best received Swedish albums of the year, he also did a split with Pascal and probably a whole bunch of other stuff that I can only guess about. As for what 2012 holds, wait and see...
http://www.mabd.se/

Songs (SWE):
Rytmen i natten - Riddarna
80 vårar - Mattias Alkberg
När nätterna når hamn - Jörgen Kjellgren
Du och Jag - Alf
Stanna klocka stanna - Bob Hund
Next to You - Dante
Museum - Thus: Owls
Redan glömda - Jonathan Johansson
New directions - Jens Lekman
Fish band - Syket

Albums:
The Head And The Heart - The Head And The Heart
Active Child - You are all I see
Big Deal - Lights Out
Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver
J Mascis - Several shades of why
Ryan Adams - Ashes and fire
Lanterns On The Lake - Gracious tide take me home
Unknown Mortal Orchestra - Unknown Mortal Orchestra
120 Days - II
John Maus - We must become the pitiless censors of ourselves

Songs:
Big Pink - Stay gold
Friends - I'm his girl
Bon Iver - I can't make you love me / Nick of time
Burial / Four Tet / Thom Yorke - Mirror
Tame Impala - Remember Me
Is Tropical - Zombie
M83 - Wait
Modeselktor / Thom Yorke - Shipwreck
Bombay Bicycle Club - Lights out, words gone
The Joy Formidable - Austere

Videos:

Fish band - Syket

Hej då - Riddarna

Stockholm - Jonathan Johansson

Släpp taget - Alexis Weak

Tody Motmot - Elias Krantz

Looking forward to:

Album releases from: Riddarna, Sailor & I, Existensminimum, Kent.
Like to hear new tunes from: Sonjagon, Ruset, Pascal, Framtiden, Korea Campfire, Dungen, TSOOL, Karl X Johan, Ít's a Bird it's a Plane, Suburban Kids With Biblical Names, Anna von Hausswolff and Dr Alban

---------------------------
http://www.kvalitat.com/

A new video from Skriet.

3. Mattias Alkberg - Anarkist (Teg Publishing/Playground)
4. Anna Järvinen - Anna själv tredje (Stranded/Universal)
5. Skriet - Det Beslutande Organet (Novoton/Border)
8. Invasionen - Saker som jag sagt till natten (Sony Music/Sony)
12. Graveyard - Hisingen Blues (Stranded/Universal)
14. Deportees - Islands & Shores (Universal/Universal)
16. I Break Horses - Hearts (Bella Union/Cosmos)
18. The Field - Looping State of Mind (Kompakt/Border)
20. Syket - With Love (Baseline Music/Sony Music)
21. Jonathan Johansson - Klagomuren (Hybris/Border)
28. Movits! - Ut ur min skalle (Universal/Universal)
29. Det Vackra Livet - Det Vackra Livet (Labrador/Border)
30. Ison & Fille - För evigt (Hemmalaget/Playground)

See the full list: http://gaffa.se/artikel/55303 (in Swedish)

1. Skriet - Det beslutande organet
I thought I'd separate my own releases (Novoton) from the list this year but Skriet's second album "Det beslutande organet" ("The governing body") hit me like a ton of bricks (and all the critics as well). It is easily the I album I have listened to and enjoyed the most this year so it has to be number one. A self-recorded beauty with traces of Joy Division, Einstürzende Neubauten and Talk Talk. What's not to like?
http://open.spotify.com/album/3H2WwXXWkvM5AYe4BFdkoo

2. Mattias Alkberg - Anarkist One of Sweden's most skillfull songwriters, authors and singers, with more than 20 years in action (both solo and with The Bear Quartet), returns with an excellent album and poetry book. It got me going anyway!
http://open.spotify.com/album/682R2oGfkyHy1elSmNmf26

3. Cat's Eyes - Cat's eyes
Cat's Eyes, Faris Badwan's (Horrors front man) collaborative project with Canadian opera singer and multi-instrumentalist Rachel Zeffira. Reverb drenched and enjoyably sinister, richly atmospheric and soft-focused pop music. For me, miles better and more exciting than his "real" band. "Face in the crowd" is one of my favorite songs this year.
http://open.spotify.com/album/6IsCfeYFiuk5MhdV69Tvgt

5. The Black Angels - Phosgene nightmare
Last year brought The Black Angels (with "Phosphene dream") back to great form and with the release of "Phosgene nightmare" (Limited Edition B-sides on White Vinyl) I was in heaven. I almost like this six track EP more than last year's proper album, and I loved that one.
http://open.spotify.com/album/72OunaSe9dTLfngPgVYSRB

6. The Vaccines - What did you expect from The Vaccines?
Every now and then a band comes that pick the cherry from all musical ages and make a great new album. Mixing everything from The Ramones to The Jesus and Mary Chain in three chords explosions they found a way into my heart.
http://open.spotify.com/album/6eWtdQm0hSlTgpkbw4LaBG

7. Timber Timbre - Creep on, creepin' on
Taylor Kirk has got loads of style and his croon empower the darkly atmospheric doo-wop and blues he create. All drenched with a style all its own. Quite haunting.
http://open.spotify.com/album/3MwhPlrS5HltOuXvEeWhuB

8. 16 Horsepower - Your, truly
This compilation got me back with 16 Horsepower and who can not love David Eugene Edwards' voice and music?
A nice trip down memory lane.
http://open.spotify.com/album/0fjdUv9iNvpvVkmFGlvRD9

9. Low - C'mon
Recorded in a old church "C'mon" is filled with athmosphere but direct as well. More uniform, in good way. Quite slow as usual but much more soulfull.
http://open.spotify.com/album/3FXselB2qG505kmuB5wL2n

10. Novoton releases 2011
By looking at the list it seems I have only listened to mellow and soft music this year, but that's not the case at all in fact. 2011 have been one of the best years for Novoton ever with five album releases (all with great reviews). It has been a magnificent year indeed. Besides Skriet, we have released albums by Riddarna, Katharina Nuttall, Paper and a split album with Pascal/Mattias Alkberg. You can listen to it all in the Spotify playlist below. It also looks like 2012 will be hectic for Novoton as well. Riddarna and Antennas have already recorded new albums for release next year and both Paper and Black Belt plan to have new albums out as well.
http://open.spotify.com/user/novoton/playlist/35RLkNoAJKiQrwZSrS82uI

---------------------------
Daggan Stamenkovic runs the Swedish label Novoton.
http://www.novoton.se/

"Predikament" is the first single from the upcoming Skriet album "Det beslutande organet", due out October 12 via Novoton.

Punk/Hardcore:
En Svensk Tiger - Versace style (Buzzbox records)
Troublemakers - Made in Sweden (Svindel)
Tysta Mari - Sveriges Casino (11743)
The Clichés - Monkey see, monkey do (Randale)

Dance:
Minilogue - Samlad årsproduktion
Samuel L Session - The man with the case (Be As One Imprint)
The Field - Yesterday and Today (Kompakt)
Tomas Andersson - Stiff Disco (Funk Noir)

Jazz:
Bengt Berger - Beches Brew (Country & Eastern)
Jonas Kullhammar Quartet - The Half Naked Truth 1998-2008 (Moserobie)
The Opposite - Intertwined (Kopasetic)
Plunge With Bobo Stenson - Origo (Kopasetic)

Rhythm:
Calle Real - Me Lo Gané (Timba Records)
Jaqee - Kokoo Girl (Rootdown Records)
Music is the weapon - Music is the weapon (Music is the weapon)
Syster Sol - Dömd att bli bedömd (Swing Kids)

Rock:
Florence Valentin - Spring Ricco (Startracks)
Makeouts - In A Strange Land (Bachelor Records)
Murder by guitar - Murder by guitar (Jeet Kune Records)
Skriet - Skriet (Novoton)

Pop:
Anna Järvinen - Man var bland molnen (Häpna)
El Perro Del Mar - Love Is Not Pop (Licking Fingers)
JJ - JJ n° 2 (Sincerely Yours)
Jonathan Johansson - En hand i himlen (Hybris)

Hårdrock/Metal:
Abandon - The Dead End (Black Star Foundation)
Candlemass - Death Magic Doom (Nuclear Blast)
Katatonia - Night Is The New Day (Peaceville)
Tribulation - The Horror (Pulverised)

Synth:
Arvid - Andetag (Wonderland Records)
Dupont - Entering The Ice Age (Progress Productions)
Emmon - Closet Wanderings (Wonderland Records)
Rupesh Cartel - Anchor Baby (Megahype)

Singer/songwriter:
Ane Brun - Live at Stockholm Concert Hall (Balloon Rangers Recordings)
David Åhlen - We Sprout In Thy Soil (Compunctio)
Jonna Lee - This Is Jonna Lee (Razzia)
Kristofer Åström And The Rainaways - Sinkadus (Startracks)

Folk/ballad:
Taken By Trees - East of Eden (Rough Trade)
Miriam Aida - Letras au Brasil (Ajabu)
Tore Berger - I huset långt på landet (Brus & Knaster)
Esbjörn Hazelius - Blunda och du ska få se (Amigo)

Hip-hop:
Mohammed Ali - Processen (Bad Taste Records)
Organismen - Om Gud vill och vädret tillåter (Organismen)
Promoe - Kråksången (Pope Records)
Stor - Nya skolans ledare (Redline Records)

Best live:
Frida Hyvönen (Licking Fingers)
Jenny Wilson (Gold Medal Recordings)
Fever Ray (Rabid Records)
Florence Valentin (Startracks)

Best unsigned:
Den Svenska Björnstammen
Extended Heads
Fulmakten
Nora

Go here for more: http://www.manifestgalan.se/122.aspx

01. Buying an old school and moving out in the country again and running a really cool café there this summer with some friends. Lots of work but definitely worth it.
http://www.hablingbo.com/

02. Releasing SKRIET's (Isak from Pascal's side project) debut album. A subdued and dark album which fit my autumn mood perfectly.
http://www.myspace.com/skrietsthlm

03. A Place to Bury Strangers - Exploding head. Great album I only which the vocals were a little bit higher, but great none the less.
http://www.aplacetoburystrangers.com/

04. Tap Tap - On my way. Maybe not as perfect as their debut album but great anyway. Maybe it's just that the surprise factor of hearing them for the first time isn't as big this time. I think it will grow on me though.
http://www.myspace.com/taptapmusic

05. Pascal - Orkanen närmar sig (The hurricane is approaching). Technically this won't be released until January 2010 [however] since we have been working with it since July it has made a big impact in me this year. Pascal's best and heaviest album so far. Really great stuff!
http://www.kyssmig.com/

06. Brian Eno & David Byrne - Everything that happens will happen today. Maybe I'm getting old but I really enjoyed this quite mellow album from two of my favorite artists. Nice to see them working together again. It's not as close to being as good as "My life in the bush of ghosts" (which is one of my favorite records) but very enjoyable anyway.
http://www.everythingthathappens.com/

07. Antennas album ("Feeling feline tonight") making great success in Austria and topping their indie charts for week. Also the band having a successful tour in Europe following the album.

08. Bat For Lashes - Two suns. An album filled with gauzy vintage synths and odes to teenage love . It's bravely backward-looking and weirdly prescient at the same time. If only all pop could be this good.
http://www.batforlashes.com/

09. Existensminimum - OK boys. Magnus returned with a synth driven pure pop album and I just love it to pieces.
http://www.existensminimum.com/

10. The Bear Quartet - 89. I never been a huge fan of The Bear Quartet but this album is so fucking good I just couldn't stop listening to it.
http://www.thebearquartet.com/

---------------------------
Daggan runs the label Novoton and is one of the founders of Klicktrack. Next year he is looking forward to releasing new albums by Pascal, Paper, Norma and Antennas.
http://www.novoton.se/
http://www.klicktrack.com/

So, 2009 is coming to an end and time for reflection is upon us - and thanks to Avi for inviting us to do it here on It's a Trap. Our chosen subject for this year-end retrospect is the All Scandinavian SpaceScan series, a continuous trip around MySpace designed to give our readers and ourselves new, interesting musical experiences.

Every Friday without exception throughout the year we have presented two Scandinavian acts and here are 15 of the songs and artists we think stand out among the 94 so far (it's always hard to kill darlings, so we've simply ignored the Top 10 theme). As this is handed in there are still a handful of Fridays left, but a deadline is a deadline and the world is not always fair...

Anyway, here it is; the SpaceScan flashback of 2009 listed chronologically. Hope you enjoy it.

Who: Vinnie Who
Country: Denmark
Featured: January 30
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/vinniewhoofficial

Who: Joensuu 1685
Country: Finland
Featured: February 6
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/joensuu1685

Who: 200
Country: Faroe Islands
Featured: February 13
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/200baby

Who: Kiasmos
Country: Iceland
Featured: March 27
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/kiasmos

Who: Parachutes
Country: Iceland
Featured: April 17
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/parachutesmakesongs

Who: Day Eleven
Country: Finland
Featured: April 24
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/dayeleven

Who: Sebastian Lind
Country: Denmark
Featured: May 1
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/sebastianlind

Who: SKRIET
Country: Sweden
Featured: May 8
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/skrietsthlm

Who: Let Me Play Your Guitar
Country: Denmark
Featured: June 5
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/letmeplayyourguitar

Who: I Am Sound
Country: Norway
Featured: June 5
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/iamsoundnorway

Who: The Works
Country: Denmark
Featured: July 3
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/theworksprojects

Who: High Hat
Country: Faroe Islands
Featured: September 4
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/highhatband

Who: Feldberg
Country: Iceland
Featured: October 30
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/feldbergmusic

Who: Kråkesølv
Country: Norway
Featured: November 6
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/krakesolv

Who: Pixie Carnation
Country: Sweden
Featured: November 20
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/pixiecarnation

---------------------------
All Scandinavian is a blog focusing on music in a wide variety of genres and styles from Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark and the Faroe Islands (so strictly speaking the Nordic countries, but all good North and Nordic domains were taken).
http://allscandinavian.com

01. Joensuu 1685 - I'm on fire
02. TALK 1
03. Boy Omega - Dinosaur drugs
04. Katatonia - Forsaker
05. Moloken - Die fear will
06. TALK 2
07. Rising - Dead kings
08. The Cardigans - Erase/rewind
09. The Amazing - Dragon
10. TALK 3
11. The First Miles - Black heart
12. [ingenting] - Medan vi sov
13. Skriet - Kärlekens land
14. TALK 4
15. Abandon - It's all gone

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.

01. Zacke ft. Movits - Spela mig på radion
02. TALK 1
03. Florence Valentin - Såld är såld
04. Ikons - Guns (Pistol Disco remix)
05. Logh - Death to my hometown
06. TALK 2
07. Thåström - Långtbort
08. Le Corbeau - Night stroll
09. Skriet - Fåglarna
10. TALK 3
11. Kongh - Unholy water
12. C.Aarmé - Blodet
13. TALK 4
14. The Bell - On and on
15. Heroes & Zeroes - Cipramillion
16. Ison & Fille - Jag skratter idag
17. TALK 5

Reminder: my show airs every week on Sundays and Mondays at 11pm ET on Sirius XMU. That's channel 26 on Sirius, 43 on XM and 831 for DirecTV subscribers.