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?

Exile in Guyville

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

1/16

Punisher

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

2/16

Rid of Me

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

3/16

Moon Pix

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

4/16

Puberty 2

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

5/16

Dig Me Out

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

6/16

Burn Your Fire for No Witness

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

7/16

Lush

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

8/16

Are We There

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

9/16

Ys

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

10/16

Jubilee

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

11/16

The Record

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

12/16

Home Video

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

13/16

Turn Out the Lights

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

14/16

Sometimes, Forever

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

15/16

Teen Dream

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

16/16