The 22 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time

From wall-of-noise classics that pioneered the sound to lo-fi cult favorites and modern revivalists keeping the haze alive, this lineup spans decades of blissed-out guitar worship. Which record earns the crown?

1. 1
   Loveless

   My Bloody Valentine's 1991 masterpiece that invented the shoegaze template with pitch-bent, distorted guitar walls.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Colour Trip

   Ringo Deathstarr's 2011 debut, a buzzy, hook-driven slice of the nu-gaze revival.
   942pts
3. 3
   Nowhere

   Ride's 1990 debut, one of shoegaze's most celebrated and enduring guitar-wash albums.
   888pts
4. 4
   Spooky

   Lush's 1992 album blending dreamy shoegaze textures with sharper pop songcraft.
   826pts
5. 5
   Ashes Grammar

   A Sunny Day in Glasgow's 2009 album, a lush, layered dream-pop take on shoegaze.
   826pts
6. 6
   Souvlaki

   Slowdive's 1993 album widely regarded as the genre's warmest, most melodically perfect record.
   668pts
7. 7
   Shot Forth Self Living

   Medicine's 1992 debut, a noisier, more abrasive strand of American shoegaze.
   565pts
8. 8
   Blonder Tongue Audio Baton

   Swirlies' 1993 cult classic prized for its lo-fi, tape-warped take on shoegaze.
   565pts
9. 9
   Delaware

   Drop Nineteens' 1992 debut, an American shoegaze cult favorite of blissed-out noise pop.
   565pts
10. 10
    Whirlpool

    Chapterhouse's 1991 debut, a key record in the original shoegaze scene's rise.
    439pts
11. 11
    The Comforts of Madness

    Pale Saints' 1990 debut, a critically loved early entry blending shoegaze with post-punk.
    439pts
12. 12
    Pipe Dreams

    Whirr's 2013 album, a heavier, fuzzed-out entry in the modern shoegaze revival.
    439pts
13. 13
    Isn't Anything

    My Bloody Valentine's 1988 debut LP that laid the noisy, melodic groundwork for shoegaze.
    439pts
14. 14
    Going Blank Again

    Ride's 1992 sophomore album, a brighter and more anthemic evolution of their sound.
    439pts
15. 15
    Doppelganger

    Curve's 1992 album pairing shoegaze guitars with industrial-tinged electronic beats.
    439pts
16. 16
    Raise

    Swervedriver's 1991 debut fusing shoegaze haze with muscular, driving riffs.
    282pts
17. 17
    Just for a Day

    Slowdive's 1991 debut album of hazy, reverb-drenched dream pop.
    282pts
18. 18
    Guilty of Everything

    Nothing's 2014 debut merging shoegaze wash with heavier post-hardcore roots.
    282pts
19. 19
    Pygmalion

    Slowdive's experimental 1995 album stripping shoegaze down to ambient minimalism.
    282pts
20. 20
    Ferment

    Catherine Wheel's 1992 debut mixing heavier guitar crunch with shoegaze atmosphere.
    282pts
21. 21
    Oshin

    DIIV's 2012 debut that helped spark the shoegaze revival with jangling, hypnotic guitar lines.
    282pts
22. 22
    Winks & Kisses

    Airiel's 2004 album, a cult favorite carrying classic shoegaze haze into the 2000s.
    282pts