What is the best indie album — band or solo artist?

Whether it's a full band or a solitary artist with a four-track recorder, indie music thrives on creative independence. Which album — band or solo — is the genre's finest?

1

Funeral — Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire's 2004 debut band album, a communal orchestral indie rock achievement about loss and community.

2

Either/Or — Elliott Smith

Elliott Smith's 1997 solo record, intimate acoustic folk of extraordinary personal depth.

3

Boxer — The National

The National's 2007 band album, a collective literary indie rock statement of melancholic brilliance.

4

Illinois — Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens' 2005 solo orchestral folk vision, one man's sprawling 50-state concept.

5

Is This It — The Strokes

The Strokes' 2001 band debut, five New Yorkers reinventing rock cool for a new century.

6

For Emma, Forever Ago — Bon Iver

Bon Iver's 2007 solo debut, Justin Vernon alone in a cabin creating something miraculous.

7

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot — Wilco

Wilco's 2002 band album, a collaborative experimental rock deconstruction of Americana.

8

Punisher — Phoebe Bridgers

Phoebe Bridgers' 2020 solo album, a singular indie folk vision of quiet devastation.

9

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea — Neutral Milk Hotel

Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 album — technically a band but driven entirely by Jeff Mangum's singular vision.

10

Merriweather Post Pavilion — Animal Collective

Animal Collective's 2009 band album, a collective psychedelic pop experiment yielding euphoric results.

11

Carrie & Lowell — Sufjan Stevens

Sufjan Stevens' 2015 solo grief album, voice and guitar stripped to their most vulnerable.

12

The Record — boygenius

boygenius' 2023 band debut, three indie solo stars becoming greater than the sum of their parts.

13

Sound of Silver — LCD Soundsystem

LCD Soundsystem's 2007 band album, James Murphy leading a dance-punk collective to a career peak.

14

Puberty 2 — Mitski

Mitski's 2016 solo album, one artist's raw and urgent indie rock statement.