What is the most influential indie album in history?

Some albums didn't just succeed — they changed the rules, spawned scenes, and sent ripples through decades of music that followed. These are the records that indie, alternative, and even mainstream music owes the most to. Which had the greatest impact? Cast your vote!

1

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.

2

Murmur

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

3

Daydream Nation

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

4

Doolittle

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

5

Loveless

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

6

Slanted and Enchanted

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

7

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.

8

Is This It

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

9

Funeral

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

10

Zen Arcade

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

11

Double Nickels on the Dime

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

12

Spiderland

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

13

Repeater

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

14

The Queen Is Dead

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

15

OK Computer

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

16

Bee Thousand

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