What is the best indie album of the 2000s?

By YPB Team

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 — ranked #11
    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 — ranked #22
    Is This It
    The Strokes' 2001 debut that reinvigorated rock music with a razor-tight, New York cool aesthetic.
  3. Yankee Hotel Foxtrot — ranked #33
    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 — ranked #44
    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 — ranked #55
    Sound of Silver
    LCD Soundsystem's 2007 masterwork merging dance-punk, emotional sincerity, and disco.
  6. Illinois — ranked #66
    Illinois
    Sufjan Stevens' 2005 sprawling concept album about the state of Illinois, blending chamber pop and folk with orchestral ambition.
  7. Transatlanticism — ranked #77
    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 — ranked #88
    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 — ranked #99
    Alligator
    The National's 2005 breakthrough record, bringing literate post-punk to a wider audience.
  10. Apologies to the Queen Mary — ranked #1010
    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 — ranked #1111
    Merriweather Post Pavilion
    Animal Collective's 2009 psychedelic pop landmark, beloved for its euphoric emotional textures.
  12. Boxer — ranked #1212
    Boxer
    The National's 2007 melancholic indie rock album, a landmark of articulate emotional songwriting.
  13. Vampire Weekend — ranked #1313
    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 — ranked #1414
    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 — ranked #1515
    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 — ranked #1616
    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 — ranked #1717
    Silent Alarm
    Bloc Party's 2005 debut, a post-punk revival record that defined UK indie's angular sound of the era.

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