# What is the best indie album of all time?

> From the distorted dream-pop of My Bloody Valentine to the lo-fi intimacy of Elliott Smith, indie has quietly changed how we think about songwriting. Which album moved you most?

*By YPB Team · Published April 17, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/what-is-the-best-indie-album-of-all-time*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Loveless**
   My Bloody Valentine's 1991 sonic cathedral of distortion and melody changed guitar music forever.
2. **Is This It**
   The Strokes' 2001 debut revived guitar rock with effortless cool, launching the indie rock renaissance of the 2000s.
3. **In the Aeroplane Over the Sea**
   Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 lo-fi masterpiece is a surreal, emotionally devastating album unlike anything else in indie.
4. **Funeral**
   Arcade Fire's 2004 debut is a grandiose, grief-soaked indie epic that announced a major new voice in rock.
5. **Yankee Hotel Foxtrot**
   Wilco's 2002 avant-pop landmark survived label rejection to become one of the most acclaimed rock albums of its era.
6. **Either/Or**
   Elliott Smith's 1997 acoustic masterpiece blends confessional lyricism with melodies of quiet, heartbreaking beauty.
7. **Slanted & Enchanted**
   Pavement's 1992 lo-fi debut defined the slacker-rock aesthetic of the '90s with its fractured melodies and wit.
8. **Doolittle**
   The Pixies' 1989 quiet-loud classic inspired a generation of alt-rock bands, including Nirvana's approach to dynamics.
9. **The Queen Is Dead**
   The Smiths' 1986 guitar-pop peak captures Morrissey's wit and Marr's jangly brilliance at their very finest.
10. **Murmur**
   R.E.M.'s 1983 debut helped define college rock with its cryptic lyrics, chiming guitars, and mysterious atmosphere.
11. **The Velvet Underground & Nico**
   Lou Reed and Nico's 1967 debut may not have sold well initially, but it inspired everyone who heard it to start a band.
12. **You Forgot It in People**
   Broken Social Scene's 2002 album is a sprawling, communal indie-rock celebration with ten musicians firing on all cylinders.
13. **Fleet Foxes**
   Fleet Foxes' 2008 self-titled debut blends rich vocal harmonies with folk imagery into a breathtaking debut.
14. **For Emma, Forever Ago**
   Bon Iver's 2008 debut, recorded alone in a Wisconsin cabin, is one of the most intimate and affecting albums in folk-indie.
15. **Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain**
   Pavement's 1994 sophomore album is a warmer, more accessible indie-rock triumph that remains one of the decade's best.

Tags: music, rock, 90s, classics, indie