What is the best British indie album of all time?

By YPB Team

Britpop, post-punk, shoegaze, and beyond — British indie has a distinctive voice unlike anywhere else. Which UK indie album do you consider the greatest?

  1. The Queen Is Dead — ranked #11
    The Queen Is Dead
    The Smiths' 1986 album, the cornerstone of British indie — witty, melancholy, guitar-jangly, and utterly definitive.
  2. Loveless — ranked #22
    Loveless
    My Bloody Valentine's 1991 shoegaze masterpiece, a wall of distorted guitar that redefined what sound could be.
  3. OK Computer — ranked #33
    OK Computer
    Radiohead's 1997 rock-and-electronic landmark, anxious, prescient, and profoundly British.
  4. The Stone Roses — ranked #44
    The Stone Roses
    The Stone Roses' 1989 debut, one of the most beloved British albums ever made, fusing indie rock with baggy dance rhythms.
  5. Different Class — ranked #55
    Different Class
    Pulp's 1995 Britpop classic, Jarvis Cocker's wry observations on British class, desire, and celebrity.
  6. If You're Feeling Sinister — ranked #66
    If You're Feeling Sinister
    Belle & Sebastian's 1996 delicate Scottish indie pop gem, bookish and melodic.
  7. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not — ranked #77
    Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
    Arctic Monkeys' 2006 debut, the fastest-selling debut in British chart history, capturing working-class Sheffield life.
  8. The Bends — ranked #88
    The Bends
    Radiohead's 1995 guitar-heavy breakthrough, bridging Britpop ambition with indie rock vulnerability.
  9. Screamadelica — ranked #99
    Screamadelica
    Primal Scream's 1991 acid house/indie rock fusion, one of the most joyful and influential British albums.
  10. Definitely Maybe — ranked #1010
    Definitely Maybe
    Oasis' 1994 Britpop debut, a swaggering collection of anthemic rock songs that became a British cultural phenomenon.
  11. Dog Man Star — ranked #1111
    Dog Man Star
    Suede's 1994 dense and glam-influenced indie rock masterpiece, a flawed but brilliant British statement.
  12. Wet Leg — ranked #1212
    Wet Leg
    Wet Leg's 2022 debut, witty and infectious British indie rock that won the Mercury Prize.
  13. xx — ranked #1313
    xx
    The xx's 2009 debut, sparse and intimate British indie pop of extraordinary emotional restraint.
  14. Dogrel — ranked #1414
    Dogrel
    Fontaines D.C.'s 2019 Irish post-punk debut, a raw and literary voice in the British indie tradition.
  15. Silent Alarm — ranked #1515
    Silent Alarm
    Bloc Party's 2005 post-punk revival debut, tight, angular, and urgent.
  16. Pink Flag — ranked #1616
    Pink Flag
    Wire's 1977 post-punk debut, a pioneering minimal art-punk record that influenced decades of British indie.

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