What is the best American indie album of all time?

From Midwestern heartland rock to New York art scenes to Southern California DIY, American indie has a rich regional tapestry. Which US indie album stands tallest?

1. 1
   Murmur

   R.E.M.'s 1983 Athens, Georgia debut, the bedrock of American college rock and indie music.
2. 2
   Daydream Nation

   Sonic Youth's 1988 New York noise-rock double album, the artsy vanguard of American independent music.
3. 3
   Doolittle

   Pixies' 1989 Boston indie rock masterpiece, a blueprint for alternative rock's loud-quiet dynamics.
4. 4
   Slanted and Enchanted

   Pavement's 1992 Stockton, California debut, the quintessential lo-fi American indie rock record.
5. 5
   In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

   Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 Athens, Georgia folk-rock epic, one of the most cherished American indie records.
6. 6
   Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

   Wilco's 2002 Chicago-rooted art-rock landmark, a distinctly American experimental rock album.
7. 7
   The Moon & Antarctica

   Modest Mouse's 2000 Issaquah, Washington existentialist epic, vast and lonely like the American West.
8. 8
   Either/Or

   Elliott Smith's 1997 Portland-era acoustic indie folk album, intimate and deeply American in its heartbreak.
9. 9
   Illinois

   Sufjan Stevens' 2005 orchestral folk concept album dedicated to the state of Illinois, a distinctly American vision.
10. 10
    Bee Thousand

    Guided by Voices' 1994 Dayton, Ohio lo-fi monument, a scrappy Midwestern indie classic.
11. 11
    Sound of Silver

    LCD Soundsystem's 2007 New York dance-punk masterwork, a deeply NYC indie album.
12. 12
    Boxer

    The National's 2007 Brooklyn-born melancholic indie rock album, articulate and deeply American.
13. 13
    Punisher

    Phoebe Bridgers' 2020 Los Angeles-infused indie folk album, a new American indie classic.
14. 14
    Puberty 2

    Mitski's 2016 raw indie rock album about American alienation, identity, and desire.
15. 15
    Lost in the Dream

    The War on Drugs' 2014 Philadelphia-rooted Heartland rock album, hazy and majestic.
16. 16
    Exile in Guyville

    Liz Phair's 1993 Chicago debut, a defining statement of American indie feminism.

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