What is the best indie album of the 2010s?

The 2010s brought bedroom pop, the return of lo-fi, and a new wave of emotionally intense singer-songwriters. Which album from this decade meant the most to you?

1

Bon Iver, Bon Iver

Bon Iver's 2011 second album, moving from cabin-folk isolation to lush orchestral indie pop in a stunning leap.

2

Modern Vampires of the City

Vampire Weekend's 2013 masterpiece, exploring mortality and faith with their most sophisticated songwriting to date.

3

The Suburbs

Arcade Fire's 2010 Grammy-winning double album, a wistful meditation on suburban America and lost youth.

4

Teen Dream

Beach House's 2010 dream pop breakthrough, all lush reverb and bittersweet nostalgia.

5

Currents

Tame Impala's 2015 psychedelic transformation into electronic pop, one of the defining albums of the decade.

6

Puberty 2

Mitski's 2016 breakthrough, raw and intense indie rock about alienation, identity, and desire.

7

Carrie & Lowell

Sufjan Stevens' 2015 devastating and sparse folk album about grief, childhood, and his late mother.

8

Teens of Denial

Car Seat Headrest's 2016 double album of confessional power-pop that brought Will Toledo's bedroom project to wide acclaim.

9

Burn Your Fire for No Witness

Angel Olsen's 2014 album, a raw and haunting folk-rock statement that established her as a singular indie voice.

10

Lush

Snail Mail's 2018 debut, a remarkably assured confessional indie rock album from a teenage Lindsey Jordan.

11

High Violet

The National's 2010 album, a lush and melancholic mid-life indie rock statement.

12

Are We There

Sharon Van Etten's 2014 breakthrough, a powerful indie rock album exploring love, loss, and self-discovery.

13

A Crow Looked at Me

Mount Eerie's 2017 devastating album about grief following the death of his wife, raw and almost unbearably intimate.

14

Stranger in the Alps

Phoebe Bridgers' 2017 debut, an emotionally transparent folk-rock album that heralded one of indie's great new voices.

15

Halcyon Digest

Deerhunter's 2010 album, a dreamy and hypnotic blend of shoegaze, pop, and psychedelia.

16

Lost in the Dream

The War on Drugs' 2014 expansive shoegaze-meets-Heartland-rock album, a slow-burn masterpiece.

17

Sprained Ankle

Julien Baker's 2015 debut solo album, a spare and emotionally devastating set of guitar-and-voice indie folk songs.