What is the best indie album with female lead vocals?

Some of indie music's most powerful voices belong to women — fierce, vulnerable, poetic, and unforgettable. Which album with a female lead vocalist moved you most?

1

Exile in Guyville

Liz Phair's 1993 Chicago debut, a frank and feminist indie rock landmark that rewrote the rules.

2

Punisher

Phoebe Bridgers' 2020 emotionally shattering indie folk album, a defining work of her generation.

3

Rid of Me

PJ Harvey's 1993 raw and confrontational indie rock album, Steve Albini-produced intensity from a singular voice.

4

Moon Pix

Cat Power's 1998 lo-fi masterpiece, Chan Marshall's fragile and haunted voice over stark guitar.

5

Puberty 2

Mitski's 2016 raw indie rock album about desire, identity, and alienation, one of the decade's most urgent records.

6

Dig Me Out

Sleater-Kinney's 1997 feminist punk-rock landmark, Carrie Brownstein and Corin Tucker at their most electrifying.

7

Burn Your Fire for No Witness

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

8

Lush

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

9

Are We There

Sharon Van Etten's 2014 powerful indie rock album, emotionally devastating and beautifully produced.

10

Ys

Joanna Newsom's 2006 harp-driven folk opus, an album unlike anything else in indie music.

11

Jubilee

Japanese Breakfast's 2021 joyful and celebratory indie pop masterpiece from Michelle Zauner.

12

The Record

boygenius' 2023 debut, Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus collectively at their very best.

13

Home Video

Lucy Dacus' 2021 razor-sharp autobiographical indie rock album about memory and adolescence.

14

Turn Out the Lights

Julien Baker's 2017 sophomore album, expanding her sparse sound with orchestration while keeping its raw confessional power.

15

Sometimes, Forever

Soccer Mommy's 2022 album blending 90s indie rock with contemporary emotional intelligence.

16

Teen Dream

Beach House's 2010 dream pop breakthrough, Victoria Legrand's voice the defining instrument.