What is the best indie album of the 2000s?

Blog rock, post-punk revival, and experimental folk all collided in the 2000s to create an unforgettable era for independent music. Vote for the decade's defining album.

1

Funeral

Arcade Fire's 2004 debut, an expansive orchestral indie rock album about loss and community that launched a generation of epic indie bands.

2

Is This It

The Strokes' 2001 debut that reinvigorated rock music with a razor-tight, New York cool aesthetic.

3

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wilco's 2002 art-rock landmark, famously rejected by its label before becoming one of the most acclaimed albums of the decade.

4

Turn on the Bright Lights

Interpol's 2002 brooding post-punk debut, one of the definitive records of the early 2000s NYC scene.

5

Sound of Silver

LCD Soundsystem's 2007 masterwork merging dance-punk, emotional sincerity, and disco.

6

Illinois

Sufjan Stevens' 2005 sprawling concept album about the state of Illinois, blending chamber pop and folk with orchestral ambition.

7

Transatlanticism

Death Cab for Cutie's 2003 emotional breakthrough, beloved by a generation of indie fans for its heartfelt lyricism.

8

You Forgot It in People

Broken Social Scene's 2002 Canadian indie rock masterpiece, a sprawling collective effort with an extraordinary sense of warmth.

9

Alligator

The National's 2005 breakthrough record, bringing literate post-punk to a wider audience.

10

Apologies to the Queen Mary

Wolf Parade's 2005 debut, produced by Isaac Brock, a vital piece of the mid-2000s indie rock renaissance.

11

Merriweather Post Pavilion

Animal Collective's 2009 psychedelic pop landmark, beloved for its euphoric emotional textures.

12

Boxer

The National's 2007 melancholic indie rock album, a landmark of articulate emotional songwriting.

13

Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend's 2008 self-titled debut, blending Afropop rhythms with Ivy League indie pop for an immediately distinctive sound.

14

Fleet Foxes

Fleet Foxes' 2008 debut, a lush pastoral folk album of layered harmonies that announced a new era in indie folk.

15

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

Bright Eyes' 2005 alt-country/folk album, Conor Oberst's most cohesive and emotionally direct statement.

16

Good News for People Who Love Bad News

Modest Mouse's 2004 major-label breakthrough featuring 'Float On,' the perfect indie crossover hit.

17

Silent Alarm

Bloc Party's 2005 debut, a post-punk revival record that defined UK indie's angular sound of the era.