200 Greatest Indie Rock Albums
Criteria: Artists are ranked by their influence, musical and cultural impact, popularity, and innovation. This list considers "indie rock" to be a genre with a discernible sound rather than a designation of label status. Although the genre originated and was cultivated on independent labels, it is no longer exclusive to them.
See below the list for details.
See below the list for details.
Indie Rock Albums
1. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Neutral Milk Hotel
2. Slanted & Enchanted
Pavement
3. The Queen is Dead
The Smiths
4. Spiderland
Slint
5. Doolittle
Pixies
6. Is This It
The Strokes
7. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Pavement
8. Funeral
Arcade Fire
9. Bee Thousand
Guided By Voices
10. I Can Feel the Heart Beating as One
Yo La Tengo
Neutral Milk Hotel
2. Slanted & Enchanted
Pavement
3. The Queen is Dead
The Smiths
4. Spiderland
Slint
5. Doolittle
Pixies
6. Is This It
The Strokes
7. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
Pavement
8. Funeral
Arcade Fire
9. Bee Thousand
Guided By Voices
10. I Can Feel the Heart Beating as One
Yo La Tengo
11. If You're Feeling Sinister
Belle & Sebastian
12. Exile in Guyville
Liz Phair
13. Either/Or
Elliott Smith
14. The Moon and Antartica
Modest Mouse
15. You're Living All Over Me
Dinosaur Jr.
16. Turn On the Bright Lights
Interpol
17. Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
18. Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
19. I Could Live in Hope
Low
20. Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle
Olivia Tremor Control
21. Return to Cookie Mountain
TV On the Radio
22. Emergency & I
The Dismemberment Plan
23. You Forgot it in People
Broken Social Scene
24. 69 Love Songs
The Magnetic Fields
25. Tigermilk
Belle & Sebastian
26. There Is Nothing Wrong With Love
Built To Spill
27. Harmacy
Sebadoh
28. Surfer Rosa
Pixies
29. Kill the Moonlight
Spoon
30. Transatlanticism
Death Cab for Cutie
31. The Smiths
The Smiths
32. Strawberry Jam
Animal Collective
33. Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney
34. The Lonesome Crowded West
Modest Mouse
35. And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Yo La Tengo
36. Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
Bright Eyes
37. Satanic Panic in the Attic
of Montreal
38. Seperation Sunday
The Hold Steady
39. Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
40. LCD Soundstsystem
LCD Soundsystem
41. The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
42. George Best
The Wedding Present
43. I See A Darkness
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
44. Picaresque
The Decemberists
45. Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
TV on the Radio
46. Fever to Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
47. Jamboree
Beat Happening
48. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Spoon
49. Yerself Is Steam
Mercury Rev
50. XO
Elliott Smith
51. Alien Lanes
Guided by Voices
52. Wowee Zowee
Pavement
53. Apologies to the Queen Mary
Wolf Parade
54. The Glow Pt. 2
The Microphones
55. Boxer
The National
56. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
57. Viva Hate
Morrissey
58. Source Tags & Codes
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead
59. Internal Wrangler
Clinic
60. Oh, Inverted World
The Shins
61. No Pocky For Kitty
Superchunk
62. Fun Trick Noisemaker
Apples in Stereo
63. Good News For People Who Love Bad News
Modest Mouse
64. Bakesale
Sebadoh
65. Perfect From Now On
Built to Spill
66. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
of Montreal
67. On Avery Island
Neutral Milk Hotel
68. Give Up
The Postal Service
69. The Reminder
Feist
70. Meat is Murder
The Smiths
71. Set Yourself On Fire
Stars
72. Mass Romantic
The New Pornographers
73. Le Jardin De Heavenly
Heavenly
74. Tallahassee
The Mountain Goats
75. Mag Earwhig!
Guided By Voices
76. Echoes
The Rapture
77. Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Belle & Sebastian
78. Accelerator
Royal Trux
79. Painful
Yo La Tengo
80. Live It Out
Metric
81. Down Colourful Hill
Red House Painters
82. Bug
Dinosaur Jr.
83. Writer's Block
Peter Bjorn and John
84. The Curtain Hits The Cast
Low
85. Silent Alarm
Bloc Party
86. mclusky Do Dallas
mclusky
87. Back in the DHSS
Half Man Half Biscuit
88. On Fire
Galaxie 500
89. London 0 Hull 4
The Housemartins
90. Bows + Arrows
The Walkmen
91. Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
92. Brighten the Corners
Pavement
93. 16 Lovers Lane
The Go-Betweens
94. Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
95. For Respect
Don Cabellero
96. You Can't Hide Love Forever
Orange Juice
97. Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
98. The Photo Album
Death Cab for Cutie
99. Boys and Girls in America
The Hold Steady
100. Fevers and Mirrors
Bright Eyes
Belle & Sebastian
12. Exile in Guyville
Liz Phair
13. Either/Or
Elliott Smith
14. The Moon and Antartica
Modest Mouse
15. You're Living All Over Me
Dinosaur Jr.
16. Turn On the Bright Lights
Interpol
17. Illinois
Sufjan Stevens
18. Whatever People Say I am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
19. I Could Live in Hope
Low
20. Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle
Olivia Tremor Control
21. Return to Cookie Mountain
TV On the Radio
22. Emergency & I
The Dismemberment Plan
23. You Forgot it in People
Broken Social Scene
24. 69 Love Songs
The Magnetic Fields
25. Tigermilk
Belle & Sebastian
26. There Is Nothing Wrong With Love
Built To Spill
27. Harmacy
Sebadoh
28. Surfer Rosa
Pixies
29. Kill the Moonlight
Spoon
30. Transatlanticism
Death Cab for Cutie
31. The Smiths
The Smiths
32. Strawberry Jam
Animal Collective
33. Dig Me Out
Sleater-Kinney
34. The Lonesome Crowded West
Modest Mouse
35. And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out
Yo La Tengo
36. Lifted or The Story Is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground
Bright Eyes
37. Satanic Panic in the Attic
of Montreal
38. Seperation Sunday
The Hold Steady
39. Franz Ferdinand
Franz Ferdinand
40. LCD Soundstsystem
LCD Soundsystem
41. The Suburbs
Arcade Fire
42. George Best
The Wedding Present
43. I See A Darkness
Bonnie "Prince" Billy
44. Picaresque
The Decemberists
45. Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes
TV on the Radio
46. Fever to Tell
Yeah Yeah Yeahs
47. Jamboree
Beat Happening
48. Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Spoon
49. Yerself Is Steam
Mercury Rev
50. XO
Elliott Smith
51. Alien Lanes
Guided by Voices
52. Wowee Zowee
Pavement
53. Apologies to the Queen Mary
Wolf Parade
54. The Glow Pt. 2
The Microphones
55. Boxer
The National
56. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
57. Viva Hate
Morrissey
58. Source Tags & Codes
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead
59. Internal Wrangler
Clinic
60. Oh, Inverted World
The Shins
61. No Pocky For Kitty
Superchunk
62. Fun Trick Noisemaker
Apples in Stereo
63. Good News For People Who Love Bad News
Modest Mouse
64. Bakesale
Sebadoh
65. Perfect From Now On
Built to Spill
66. Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?
of Montreal
67. On Avery Island
Neutral Milk Hotel
68. Give Up
The Postal Service
69. The Reminder
Feist
70. Meat is Murder
The Smiths
71. Set Yourself On Fire
Stars
72. Mass Romantic
The New Pornographers
73. Le Jardin De Heavenly
Heavenly
74. Tallahassee
The Mountain Goats
75. Mag Earwhig!
Guided By Voices
76. Echoes
The Rapture
77. Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Belle & Sebastian
78. Accelerator
Royal Trux
79. Painful
Yo La Tengo
80. Live It Out
Metric
81. Down Colourful Hill
Red House Painters
82. Bug
Dinosaur Jr.
83. Writer's Block
Peter Bjorn and John
84. The Curtain Hits The Cast
Low
85. Silent Alarm
Bloc Party
86. mclusky Do Dallas
mclusky
87. Back in the DHSS
Half Man Half Biscuit
88. On Fire
Galaxie 500
89. London 0 Hull 4
The Housemartins
90. Bows + Arrows
The Walkmen
91. Elliott Smith
Elliott Smith
92. Brighten the Corners
Pavement
93. 16 Lovers Lane
The Go-Betweens
94. Neon Bible
Arcade Fire
95. For Respect
Don Cabellero
96. You Can't Hide Love Forever
Orange Juice
97. Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
98. The Photo Album
Death Cab for Cutie
99. Boys and Girls in America
The Hold Steady
100. Fevers and Mirrors
Bright Eyes
101. Merriweather Post Pavilion
Animal Collective
102. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix
103. The Charm of the Highway Strip
The Magnetic Fields
104. Up the Bracket
The Libertines
105. Your Arsenal
Morrissey
106. The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified
The Dismemberment Plan
107. Imperial F.F.R.R.
Unrest
108. The Sophtware Slump
Grandaddy
109. Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
110. ...And Don't the Kids Just Love It
Television Personalities
111. Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
112. Trompe Le Monde
Pixies
113. The Body, The Blood, The Machine
The Thermals
114. Before Hollywood
The Go-Betweens
115. Fabulous Muscles
Xiu Xiu
116. Gimme Fiction
Spoon
117. Superchunk
Superchunk
118. The Milk-Eyed Mender
Joanna Newsom
119. Let's Get Out of This Country
Camera Obscura
120. Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
121. Let It Die
Feist
122. Everything All the Time
Band of Horses
123. Terror Twilight
Pavement
124. More Adventurous
Rilo Kiley
125. Dare to Be Surprised
The Folk Implosion
126. The White Birch
Codiene
127. Figure 8
Elliott Smith
128. Alligator
The National
129. The Boy with the Arab Strap
Belle & Sebastian
130. Red Apple Falls
Smog
131. Black Sheep Boy
Okkervil River
132. The Shepherd's Dog
Iron & Wine
133. You Are Free
Cat Power
134. Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear
135. Forever Again
Eric's Trip
136. Red House Painters (Rollercoaster)
Red House Painters
137. Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Deerhunter
138. Ys
Joanna Newsom
139. Everclear
American Music Club
140. Hearts of Oak
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
141. Icky Mettle
Archers of Loaf
142. Secaucus
The Wrens
143. Today
Galaxie 500
144. Gulag Orkestar
Beirut
145. Blood Visions
Jay Reatard
146. Highly Refined Pirates
Minus the Bear
147. Room on Fire
The Strokes
148. I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Yo La Tengo
149. All Hands on the Bad One
Sleater-Kinney
150. Michigan
Sufjan Stevens
151. Sung Tongs
Animal Collective
152. You Turn Me On
Beat Happening
153. Starlite Walker
The Silver Jews
154. Where You Been
Dinosaur Jr.
155. Reveille
Deerhoof
156. More Parts Per Million
The Thermals
157. Snowball
The Field Mice
158. The Sunlandic Twins
of Montreal
159. The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire
mclusky
160. You're A Woman, I'm A Machine
Death from Above 1979
161. The New Romantic
Pretty Girls Make Graves
162. Favourite Worst Nightmare
Arctic Monkeys
163. Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
The Go Betweens
164. Fiestas and Fiascos
Lifter Puller
165. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Bright Eyes
166. Palomine
Bettie Serveert
167. Gone Glimmering
Chavez
168. Up for a Bit with the Pastels
The Pastels
169. Perfect Teeth
Unrest
170. Strangers from the Universe
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
171. So Jealous
Tegan and Sara
172. Let's Stay Friends
Les Savy Fav
173. You Are the Quarry
Morrissey
174. Oracular Spectacular
MGMT
175. Dum-Dum
The Vaselines
176. Today's Active Lifestyles
Polvo
177. You Could Have It So Much Better
Franz Ferdinand
178. Antics
Interpol
179. The Crane Wife
The Decemberists
180. Good Health
Pretty Girls Make Graves
181. Feels
Animal Collective
182. Night Falls Over Kortedala
Jens Lekman
183. The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
184. In Case We Die
Architecture in Helsinki
185. Bang Bang Rock & Roll
Art Brut
186. All Hail West Texas
The Mountain Goats
187. Shake the Sheets
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
188. Employment
Kaiser Chiefs
189. Blank Wave Arcade
The Faint
190. The Albemarle Sound
The Ladybug Transistor
191. Will Anything Happen
Shop Assistants
192. Bossanova
Pixies
193. Bizarro
The Wedding Present
194. Cryptograms
Deerhunter
195. Featuring "Birds"
Quasi
196. Fuckin' A
The Thermals
197. Whip-Smart
Liz Phair
198. Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Andrew Bird
199. Dear Science
TV on the Radio
200. Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One
Olivia Tremor Control
Animal Collective
102. Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Phoenix
103. The Charm of the Highway Strip
The Magnetic Fields
104. Up the Bracket
The Libertines
105. Your Arsenal
Morrissey
106. The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified
The Dismemberment Plan
107. Imperial F.F.R.R.
Unrest
108. The Sophtware Slump
Grandaddy
109. Vampire Weekend
Vampire Weekend
110. ...And Don't the Kids Just Love It
Television Personalities
111. Strangeways, Here We Come
The Smiths
112. Trompe Le Monde
Pixies
113. The Body, The Blood, The Machine
The Thermals
114. Before Hollywood
The Go-Betweens
115. Fabulous Muscles
Xiu Xiu
116. Gimme Fiction
Spoon
117. Superchunk
Superchunk
118. The Milk-Eyed Mender
Joanna Newsom
119. Let's Get Out of This Country
Camera Obscura
120. Sound of Silver
LCD Soundsystem
121. Let It Die
Feist
122. Everything All the Time
Band of Horses
123. Terror Twilight
Pavement
124. More Adventurous
Rilo Kiley
125. Dare to Be Surprised
The Folk Implosion
126. The White Birch
Codiene
127. Figure 8
Elliott Smith
128. Alligator
The National
129. The Boy with the Arab Strap
Belle & Sebastian
130. Red Apple Falls
Smog
131. Black Sheep Boy
Okkervil River
132. The Shepherd's Dog
Iron & Wine
133. You Are Free
Cat Power
134. Veckatimest
Grizzly Bear
135. Forever Again
Eric's Trip
136. Red House Painters (Rollercoaster)
Red House Painters
137. Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.
Deerhunter
138. Ys
Joanna Newsom
139. Everclear
American Music Club
140. Hearts of Oak
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
141. Icky Mettle
Archers of Loaf
142. Secaucus
The Wrens
143. Today
Galaxie 500
144. Gulag Orkestar
Beirut
145. Blood Visions
Jay Reatard
146. Highly Refined Pirates
Minus the Bear
147. Room on Fire
The Strokes
148. I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
Yo La Tengo
149. All Hands on the Bad One
Sleater-Kinney
150. Michigan
Sufjan Stevens
151. Sung Tongs
Animal Collective
152. You Turn Me On
Beat Happening
153. Starlite Walker
The Silver Jews
154. Where You Been
Dinosaur Jr.
155. Reveille
Deerhoof
156. More Parts Per Million
The Thermals
157. Snowball
The Field Mice
158. The Sunlandic Twins
of Montreal
159. The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire
mclusky
160. You're A Woman, I'm A Machine
Death from Above 1979
161. The New Romantic
Pretty Girls Make Graves
162. Favourite Worst Nightmare
Arctic Monkeys
163. Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express
The Go Betweens
164. Fiestas and Fiascos
Lifter Puller
165. I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning
Bright Eyes
166. Palomine
Bettie Serveert
167. Gone Glimmering
Chavez
168. Up for a Bit with the Pastels
The Pastels
169. Perfect Teeth
Unrest
170. Strangers from the Universe
Thinking Fellers Union Local 282
171. So Jealous
Tegan and Sara
172. Let's Stay Friends
Les Savy Fav
173. You Are the Quarry
Morrissey
174. Oracular Spectacular
MGMT
175. Dum-Dum
The Vaselines
176. Today's Active Lifestyles
Polvo
177. You Could Have It So Much Better
Franz Ferdinand
178. Antics
Interpol
179. The Crane Wife
The Decemberists
180. Good Health
Pretty Girls Make Graves
181. Feels
Animal Collective
182. Night Falls Over Kortedala
Jens Lekman
183. The Hour of Bewilderbeast
Badly Drawn Boy
184. In Case We Die
Architecture in Helsinki
185. Bang Bang Rock & Roll
Art Brut
186. All Hail West Texas
The Mountain Goats
187. Shake the Sheets
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
188. Employment
Kaiser Chiefs
189. Blank Wave Arcade
The Faint
190. The Albemarle Sound
The Ladybug Transistor
191. Will Anything Happen
Shop Assistants
192. Bossanova
Pixies
193. Bizarro
The Wedding Present
194. Cryptograms
Deerhunter
195. Featuring "Birds"
Quasi
196. Fuckin' A
The Thermals
197. Whip-Smart
Liz Phair
198. Andrew Bird & the Mysterious Production of Eggs
Andrew Bird
199. Dear Science
TV on the Radio
200. Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One
Olivia Tremor Control
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Edited By: Ryan
Last Updated: 2012-09-12
WHAT WILL BE INCLUDED
• what the general public often considers "indie rock" to be, those artists in the indie rock genre who have remained on indie rock labels their entire career.
• key indie rock bands (like Modest Mouse and TV on the Radio) which have been signed away from their indie labels and are now on major labels.
• Dance-punk, twee pop and various genres often considered to be offshoots of indie rock
WHAT WILL BE INCLUDED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS
• bands that are on indie labels in one country, but a major in another (such as Phoenix).
• British indie bands. In Britain, the genres that America calls "indie rock" and "alternative" are one genre, called simply "indie". This makes it difficult to those unfamiliar to the genre to deduce which bands are actually "indie rock" and which are merely alternative bands signed to an indie label.
• select post-punk and college rock bands that also happen to be apart of the indie rock genre (The Smiths, Pixies)
• Non-"rock" artists that are considered to be apart of the "indie rock" genre (Animal Collective)
WHAT WILL NOT BE INCLUDED
• artists (such as Creed and The Offspring) who were or are signed to indie label, but were never considered "indie rock" in the first place.
• Most 1980's "college rock" and "post-punk" bands (R.E.M., Hüsker Dü)
• most, if not all, Britpop artists.
• Certain artists that have never been considered to be "indie rock" which used to be on a major label but have left to become an independent-label or unsigned artist (Nine Inch Nails, XTC)
Last Updated: 2012-09-12
WHAT WILL BE INCLUDED
• what the general public often considers "indie rock" to be, those artists in the indie rock genre who have remained on indie rock labels their entire career.
• key indie rock bands (like Modest Mouse and TV on the Radio) which have been signed away from their indie labels and are now on major labels.
• Dance-punk, twee pop and various genres often considered to be offshoots of indie rock
WHAT WILL BE INCLUDED ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS
• bands that are on indie labels in one country, but a major in another (such as Phoenix).
• British indie bands. In Britain, the genres that America calls "indie rock" and "alternative" are one genre, called simply "indie". This makes it difficult to those unfamiliar to the genre to deduce which bands are actually "indie rock" and which are merely alternative bands signed to an indie label.
• select post-punk and college rock bands that also happen to be apart of the indie rock genre (The Smiths, Pixies)
• Non-"rock" artists that are considered to be apart of the "indie rock" genre (Animal Collective)
WHAT WILL NOT BE INCLUDED
• artists (such as Creed and The Offspring) who were or are signed to indie label, but were never considered "indie rock" in the first place.
• Most 1980's "college rock" and "post-punk" bands (R.E.M., Hüsker Dü)
• most, if not all, Britpop artists.
• Certain artists that have never been considered to be "indie rock" which used to be on a major label but have left to become an independent-label or unsigned artist (Nine Inch Nails, XTC)