What is the best indie rock album of all time?

From post-punk pioneers to bedroom lo-fi legends, indie rock has produced some of the most daring and emotionally resonant albums in music history. Cast your vote for the record that defined the genre.

1

Doolittle

The Pixies' 1989 masterpiece blending loud-quiet dynamics, surf rock, and surrealist lyrics that directly influenced Nirvana and generations of indie rock.

2

Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth's 1988 double album, a sprawling noise-rock landmark that defined alternative music's artistic ambitions.

3

Slanted and Enchanted

Pavement's lo-fi 1992 debut, pioneering slacker rock with detuned guitars and sardonic wit.

4

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 baroque folk-rock opus, one of the most beloved cult records ever made.

5

Funeral

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

6

Is This It

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

7

OK Computer

Radiohead's 1997 landmark blending art rock, electronic textures, and anxious lyricism into a definitive 90s statement.

8

Murmur

R.E.M.'s 1983 debut that helped define the sound of college rock and American indie music.

9

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot

Wilco's 2002 alt-country/experimental rock album, famously rejected by its label and later hailed as a classic.

10

You're Living All Over Me

Dinosaur Jr's 1987 album fusing heavy guitar noise with melodic songwriting, a crucial bridge between punk and indie.

11

The Moon & Antarctica

Modest Mouse's sprawling 2000 existentialist indie rock epic, widely considered their definitive statement.

12

Boxer

The National's 2007 album of literate, melancholic indie rock that solidified the band as one of the most important of their generation.

13

Sound of Silver

LCD Soundsystem's 2007 masterwork merging dance-punk and heartfelt lyrics, considered one of the defining albums of its era.

14

Bee Thousand

Guided by Voices' 1994 lo-fi monument, a chaotic collection of brilliant micro-songs recorded on a 4-track.

15

Either/Or

Elliott Smith's 1997 acoustic indie rock album, intimate and devastating, later made famous by the Good Will Hunting soundtrack.

16

Turn on the Bright Lights

Interpol's 2002 debut, a brooding post-punk revival record dripping with dark atmosphere and New York tension.

17

Perfect from Now On

Built to Spill's 1997 sprawling guitar epic, a landmark of 90s indie rock known for its extended psychedelic jams.

18

Teens of Denial

Car Seat Headrest's 2016 double album of confessional power-pop that brought the solo project to mainstream indie attention.