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.

Funeral

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

1/17

Is This It

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

2/17

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.

3/17

Turn on the Bright Lights

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

4/17

Sound of Silver

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

5/17

Illinois

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

6/17

Transatlanticism

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

7/17

You Forgot It in People

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

8/17

Alligator

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

9/17

Apologies to the Queen Mary

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

10/17

Merriweather Post Pavilion

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

11/17

Boxer

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

12/17

Vampire Weekend

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

13/17

Fleet Foxes

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

14/17

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

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

15/17

Good News for People Who Love Bad News

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

16/17

Silent Alarm

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

17/17