What is the most influential indie album in history?

Some albums didn't just fit into indie music — they defined it, shaped it, and made everything that followed possible. Vote for the record with the biggest cultural footprint.

The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground's 1967 debut, the proto-indie album that everyone says influenced them, even if few bought it at the time.

1/16

Murmur

R.E.M.'s 1983 debut that essentially invented the template for American indie rock and college radio.

2/16

Daydream Nation

Sonic Youth's 1988 noise-art-rock landmark that opened the major label door for alternative music.

3/16

Doolittle

Pixies' 1989 album, whose loud-quiet dynamics directly influenced Nirvana's Nevermind and the grunge explosion.

4/16

Loveless

My Bloody Valentine's 1991 shoegaze masterpiece that spawned an entire genre and still sounds futuristic.

5/16

Slanted and Enchanted

Pavement's 1992 debut that defined lo-fi indie rock and influenced countless bedroom recording artists.

6/16

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Neutral Milk Hotel's 1998 record, discovered online before internet music culture existed, a blueprint for cult indie fandom.

7/16

Is This It

The Strokes' 2001 debut that single-handedly revived guitar-based indie rock at the dawn of the digital era.

8/16

Funeral

Arcade Fire's 2004 debut that demonstrated indie bands could fill arenas without selling out.

9/16

Zen Arcade

Hüsker Dü's 1984 double album, a hardcore-to-indie bridge that proved punk could have emotional depth.

10/16

Double Nickels on the Dime

Minutemen's 1984 sprawling DIY double album that defined the ethos of American indie independence.

11/16

Spiderland

Slint's 1991 post-rock/post-hardcore album that quietly invented an entire genre heard in 1000 bands since.

12/16

Repeater

Fugazi's 1990 debut, the ultimate indie ethics statement — D.I.Y. at its most principled and influential.

13/16

The Queen Is Dead

The Smiths' 1986 album that defined British indie's mixture of melancholy and mordant wit for all time.

14/16

OK Computer

Radiohead's 1997 record, changing what rock bands could aspire to and influencing the next decade of indie.

15/16

Bee Thousand

Guided by Voices' 1994 lo-fi standard-bearer that proved craft mattered more than production budgets.

16/16