THE 25 BEST INDIE ROCK ALBUMS EVER . . . ACCORDING TO THE BLOGOSPHERE
Posted on September 8th, 2008 by ekkoThis is an old post that I am reprinting from my old site, because it gets so many hits over there….Yes, I’m a ratings whore. The post is reprinted in its entirety, as it appeared then. The links may be dead.
Okay, so here we go. A few brief words about the responses. First, there were 151 in total–a lot less than I’d hoped for, but more than I expected. Not all responses provided a full list of 25, and not all confined themselves to rock music and/or indie labels. Also, the definition of what is an indie label was a source of contention, with some purists arguing that Matador should be excluded (some folks say has joined the RIAA with respects to some artists), and others arguing that major label imprints (like Enigma) should be considered indie. For the purposes of this list, I excluded only obvious major label releases. Two examples were The Killers (Island Records) and TV On The Radio’s Cookie Mountain album (Interscope).
Also, lots of bands got only a few votes spread out over several records. Good examples of this are Yo La Tengo, Belle & Sebastian, and Jim O’Rourke. For that reason, I’ve decided to make a companion list of the Top Five Indie Labels.
Here we go…
THE TOP TWENTY FIVE INDIE ROCK ALBUMS OF ALL TIME . . . ACCORDING TO THE BLOGOSPHERE.
25. Spoon-Girls Can Tell (Merge Records)
Not the Spoon album I picked (which was Kill the Moonlight), but nevertheless a damn fine one.
The Fitted Shirt (live version).
24. Pixies-Surfer Rosa (4AD)
One of three bands actually represented twice on this list, which was quite a shock to me. I never realized Frank Black’s old band was so popular around these parts.
Debaser (Pixies cover)-Rogue Wave
23. Fugazi-Repeater (Dischord)
The great D.C. punk–or postpunk band–so D.I.Y. they’ve actually turned down big offers by major labels. As far as I know, the only other band on this list that’s done that is Arcade Fire, and they’re still young. Fugazi are Godfathers of indie rock, and should be regarded as such. I’m happy they made the list, although I would have rated them higher. (I picked both this album and 13 Songs.)
22. Death Cab For Cutie-Transatlanticism (Barsuk)
Enjoy it live!
Transatlanticism (with members of Stars)
Bad Reputation (Freedy Johnston cover)–I threw this one in because I couldn’t find a live version of “Interior Decorator.” Plus, this is a fantastic tune.
21. Bloc Party-Silent Alarm (Vice)
I know you’ll be ashamed of me to admit this, but Bloc Party was in my top ten. I just love this album. I can listen to it over and over and still love it. It doesn’t make me think, it didn’t change the face of music, and it isn’t brilliant by any stretch. It’s just a phenomenal rock and roll record.
Groovecopter-Bloc Party vs. Madonna
Every Time is the Last Time (bonus track off Silent Alarm)
So Here We Are (Calico Sequence Remix)
She’s Hearing In The Air Tonight-Bloc Party vs. Phil Collins
20. White Stripes (V2)
I guess you guys think the first was the best.
Jimmy the Exploder (live version)
19. Elliott Smith-Either/Or (Kill Rock Stars)
I’ll admit something: I don’t get Elliott Smith. I don’t dislike him, I just don’t get it. I do like some of his covers, though.
Give Me Love (Give Me Peace On Earth) (George Harrison cover)
Jealous Guy (John Lennon cover)
18. Interpol-Turn On the Bright Lights (Matador Records)
The next Interpol album will be on a major label, so that they can start suing the blogger community that made them popular in the first place. Too bad. I understand the purpose and goal of money and popularity, and due to a commenter I’ve edited this post to reflect that, but it is irritating when our friends become successful and sign up with guys who hate us. Oh well.
17. Modest Mouse-This is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About (Up)
This one gets my vote for best title of all the ones on this list.
16. Slint – Spiderland (Touch & Go)
And another confession: I’d never heard of this band before I started this thing. So, they’re now on the top of my shopping list. Incidentally, I think if you go to this post, where I asked for your lists, you, too, could find quite a few cool albums to track down. Quite a service to y’all, if I do say so myself. Which I just did.
15. Sufjan Stevens-Illinoise (Asthmatic Kitty)
Okay. I may not “get” Elliot Smith, but I flat out can’t listen to Sufjan. Sorry. He’s just totally not my bag.
The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
14. Built to Spill-There’s Nothing Wrong With Love (up)
13. The National-Alligator (Beggars Banquet)
Here’s the first huge surprise: A young band that’s not half as famous as most of the other bands on this list. I would never have expected to see them here. (Although, I did vote for them on my list.)
Secret Meeting (black sessions version)
12. Hold Steady-Separation Sunday (French Kiss)
I’d say this is one of the greatest albums period, indie or no.
Cattle and the Creeping (live version)
11. Tortoise-Millions Now Living Will Never Die (Thrill Jockey)
10. Minutemen-Double Nickels on the Dime (Sst Records)
9. Pavement-Slanted Enchanted (Matador)
This is another band that got lots of votes for lots of albums. It also (obviously) got lots of votes for this album. Other big vote getters: Brighten The Corners and Crooked Rain Crooked Rain. All classics by any measure.
“Here (Peel Session Summer 1992)”
8. Pixies-Doolittle (4AD)
7. Postal Service-Give Up (Sub Pop)
One of the bestselling indie albums in history. Who says that us blogger nerds only like esoteric, unpopular stuff?
The district Sleeps Alone Tonight
6. Belle & Sebastian-If You’re Feeling Sinister (Matador Records)
5. Sonic Youth-Daydream Nation (Enigma)
The band’s “Sister” album also got a slew of votes. I remember when I saw these guys at the first Lollapalooza. They came out to play acoustic and everyone wanted to hear them scream and stuff, so the crowd started booing them (not me, though). They booed them off the stage! So Kim Gordon gave the audience a loud, “Fuck off!”, smashed her guitar, and the band stormed off. It was so rock and roll.
4. Modest Mouse-Lonesome Crowded West (Up)
3. Arcade Fire-Funeral (Merge)
2. Pavement-Crooked Rain Crooked Rain (Matador)
I was shocked to see three bands get two albums in this list. I’m sure it’s partly due to the limited sample I got. Still, you won’t be disappointed by either of the great Pavement albums on here.
1. Neutral Milk Hotel-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (Merge)
Congratulations to NMH. I don’t have this album (yet), but I’ve heard it in college a bunch a times, and I promise to get it. In honor of their victory today, I’m posting a full show by the band. Excellent soundboard quality. Cop it below.
Track list:
2. Gardenhead / Leave Me Alone
3. Naomi
4. Engine
5. King Of Carrot Flowers pt 3
7. The Fool
8. Oh Comely
9. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea
POSTSCRIPT: THE NEXT FIVE.
These records were bubbling under the top five, with Smog trailing Spoon by only 2 votes.
26. Smog-Dongs of Sevotion (Drag City)
27. Dinosaur Jr.-Bug (Merge)
28. Bright Eyes – i´m wide awake, it´s morning (Saddlecreek)
29. Cat Power-The Greatest (Matador)
30. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Self-Released). It’s nice to see a true DIY release on this list. Way to go, CYHSY. For the record, you were in my top 25.
https://sites.google.com/a/mogmusicnetwork.com/mmn-quantcast-tag/
Comment By: Anonymous
September 9th, 2008 at 2:40 am
I didn’t really like Sufjan either for a while, but give Seven Swans a chance. If not that, at least try out his covers of the Star-Spangled Banner and Bob Dylan’s Ring Them Bells. They’re both really amazing.
Comment By: Anonymous
September 12th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
For another great indie cd check out The Format – Dog Problems. That cd has had me tapping my feet for years and it never gets old.
Comment By: Anonymous
September 13th, 2008 at 2:13 am
I am a fan of the Format, thanks for this list. I would’ve added soul coughing – ruby vroom, nada surf-let go, phantom planet-the guest, silversun pickups
Comment By: Alan Rudy
September 16th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Ok, so I’m old… but, um, ur, uh… and cranky… no mention of the Meat Puppets (II), Replacements (Let it Be) Uncle Tupelo (No Depression), Thin White Rope (The One that Got Away), Big Star (Sister), Dream Syndicate (Days of Wine and Roses), Feelies (the Good Earth), Galaxie 500 (On Fire), Grandaddy (Sumday), Gun Club (Fire of Love or Lucky Jim), Hammel on Trial (Tough Love), Joy Division (Unknown Pleasures), Manu Chao (Próxima Estación: Esperanza), Mekons (Fear and Whiskey), Morphine (Like Swimming), Nick Cave (Let Love In), PJ Harvey (hell, you choose), Pere Ubu (Cloudland), The Fall (This Nation’s Saving Grace), Vic Chesnutt (Drunk or North Star Deserter, Whiskeytown (‘tsup to you)? Apologies, after the fact.
Comment By: coco
September 19th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
Hey you forgot Noiseprint! they rock. It’s like Radiohead/Postal Service and Bjork all mixed up.
http://www.noiseprint.com
Comment By: Anonymous
September 30th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
huh- no libertines, no strokes, no smiths??
Comment By: Anonymous
October 28th, 2008 at 5:21 pm
Libertines, Strokes? They were hyped bands that are not timeless, in my eyes.
Comment By: someone
July 25th, 2009 at 5:53 am
Errr…ummm…whoever made this list has obviously never had an education. You make a list of the 25 Greatest Indie Alubms and end up leaving out The 25 Greatest Indie Albums. Radiohead, The Stone Roses, The Smiths etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
Comment By: someone
July 25th, 2009 at 5:56 am
Without The Smiths album, The Queen Is Dead, we’d have no Britpop, no Coldplay, no No Doubt, no Blink 182 and believe it or not, possibly no Outkast. Oh but no, that albums is shit isn’t it? Pffft…rethink this list.
Comment By: Mr Music
August 23rd, 2009 at 7:27 am
Don’t worry mate, no-one will ever agree that any list that anyone makes is correct lol because music is about opinions! One mans masterpiece is another mans shit-heap, and i like most of the albums on this list, whether they are the 25 best indie albums ever or not, at least people will read this and listen to the bands presented. Hopefully they will enjoy what they hear
Comment By: ekko
August 30th, 2009 at 2:21 pm
Thi list is sheite.
Comment By: CJ
September 8th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
Hi thanks for the list. A couple of surprises there. It looks like a list made by young people. I am a bit surprised not to see The Replacements “Let it be”, Husker Du “New day rising” or Dream Syndicate “Days of Wine and Roses” without which a good number of your 25 would not exist. Did Pavement and Modest mouse really need two spots? The list has no context.
Comment By: Berkeley Place » THE TOP TEN MOST OVERRATED RAPPERS
September 13th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
[...] and that tend to have longevity in terms of drawing readers and comments. Like my “Best Indie Albums Ever” post that still pisses off hundreds of readers a week. That post was a poll–I asked [...]
Comment By: Al Roker
December 30th, 2009 at 10:52 pm
Indie Music
Pretty bad music.
Every indie band sounds so much alike that all the musicians are interchangeable.
Indie musicians aren’t very good at playing their instruments and probably learned all that they know from The Beatles.
Werewolf by Cocorosie
“Wow, that song Werewolf really speaks to me, I love her voice. I really think that song is what indie music is truly about”
“Really? Well then you must literally know nothing about music as it is nails on chalkboard. But whatever, we all have different opinions. I just think that a line should be drawn somwhere…”
In it’s true definition, indie music is any music that is produced by unsigned or non major label artists.
Today indie music most commonly refers to a genre of music that is heavily influenced by electronic, folk, and rock music. A good and what is probably the best known artist for this genre is Beck.
However the vast majority of indie music today is shit. The main components to an indie band are:
-A singer and a guitarist or a singer/guitarist
-A bass player, preferably a white male or an Asian female
-A guy on a synthesizer
-A drummer who only does 4/4 beats (I got that from another urban dictionary post)
-Some weird, obscure, or just plain obnoxious instrument
In the many horrible “indie music” bands, the musicians barely know how to play their instruments. The guitarist probably only knows the basic kumbayah chords (A, G, E, C, etc.) and power chords.
The synthesizer player will often times only alternate between the same 3 chords throughout the entire song and tune the synth oscillators to a setting that s/he finds the most unique- no matter how horrible it sounds.
And lastly, whatever weird instrument that they have, they will absolutely 100% not know how to play it.
Next are the lyrics which are dreadful. Anyone can write typical indie music lyrics in five seconds. They are usually about a girl with brunnette hair and her surrounding environment.
e.g.
The brown hair covers your eyes
And I see the ocean behind those eyes
You’re like a flower in a vint…
Indie music is god-awful music. the bands seem to think that being popular is bad. boring riffs, boring, drums, no bass, and really bad singers. this music is straight bad. the bands always have to have obnoxious names that start with “the” and then 3 unrelated words. oh and concerts are “shows”.
Indie fan-”hey i heard The unborn trash machine” is going to have a show, but i prefer “the kingdom of toxcity” and “the hairy gumperts” are good too. they are the epitome of indie music.
Indie fan 2-”aww man “the plural nouns” are really good compared to “the running away” but “the many horses” are fantastic. “the of montreal” is great.
Real Rocker- “FUCK YOUR SHIT, FUCKING CRYPTOPSY, INDIE MUSIC SUCKS BALL SACKS”
The practice of strumming slightly distorted guitar to a 4/4, bass, bass tom, drumbeat while wailing words ripped straight out of the rhyming dictionary. Exponents of this art are often seen trying to look like a replica of 1970′s John lennon or, for the more alternative; cardigans, painted nails and eyeliner while banging on about being ‘working class’.
Fortunately, for budding musicians, indie music is so easy to reproduce that most ‘indie fans’ are in a band within two months of picking up a guitar, or drums, playing various covers by their indie heros.
The main exponents of this art improve little from these meagre beginnings – eventually writing songs of their own, with the requisite 4/4 drumbeat and strummed chords. Those who make it big will be touted by the NME or the Guardian as being ‘the next big thing’ while getting rave reviews for their university tours of britain. Examples of these can be seen everywhere in Britain from Oasis to Radiohead.
Indie fans will further try to convince people that indie music is original from the introduction of a piano or (ghasp)a clarinet into the formulaic peice or, in the other direction, playing some power chords and sounding like Nirvana. Unfortunately this does little to relieve the boredom in indie music as the same hash is re-hashed again and again.
A: Who’s your favourite band?
B: The Toes, they’re the next big thing according to the NME. I saw them in the Camden Monarch.
A: Oh i’ve heard of them. My band does a few covers of their songs. Still don’t think they’ll beat Radiohead for songs that mean so much to me though.
B: I know what you mean; radiohead redefined music as we think of it.
A: you’re right there, mate. Oh i learned a new chord – ‘B’
B: Show me…..
Sub standard music + hype + fashion/fad = Indie
The music is repetitive, simple and stolen from the past.
The fans think it’s the best music of all time, not knowing that the above is true.
And of course, there are tonnes of the fans because who in being ‘individual’, are all the same.
Indie Kid “I luv the Kooks, they’re so original!11
No-one has EVER done guitar-based pop about girls before!!
Indie music is breaking all trends!”
Someone with more than one braincell “It IS a trend, you feckless tit”
Comment By: Raph
January 13th, 2010 at 9:10 am
Wow dude, i think you should get laid
Comment By: The Most Brutal Song Ever - Ultimate Metal Forum
January 30th, 2010 at 8:07 am
[...] them in most lists of the top 10 greatest indie rock albums including Blender, Amazon, and "The Blogosphere." Granted, those aren't the most enlightened sources. But I just can't think of a single reason [...]
Comment By: Hibbee Jeebees
April 19th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
First: get a life. Second: stop going to sites just to post crap about it. Third: learn a little bit about what real music is. I love Indie, but I listen to countless other non-Indie bands. Get out of your little “genre bubble” that you’ve made and stop trying to be cool.
Comment By: ekko
April 19th, 2010 at 5:04 pm
I’m not “trying.” I am cool. And I have clearly explained that my site is about independent music because (a) major artists don’t need my help; and (b) the major labels don’t want to be blogged about, not because indie music is “cooler.” You douchebag.
Comment By: Anonymous
May 15th, 2010 at 8:37 am
REM should be here, along with the Replacements. Zen arcade is also a big hole. And where’s Big Star and the Velvet Underground? But I agree with putting 2 pavement and pixies albums. A go neutral milk hotel!
Comment By: Immer
June 15th, 2010 at 7:07 am
For me, no one of these is better than “is This It”, of The Strokes…
Comment By: Joe
July 6th, 2010 at 10:22 am
No Bee Thousand?
Comment By: where is your mind
July 20th, 2010 at 12:11 pm
Wow, how come an indie rock album list contains more american bands then english bands? I think that’s ignorant. I’m no near being English, I’m Turkish, and you sir, made a mistake by not choosing Strokes.
Comment By: you made a mistake
July 20th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Where is the Stone Roses? Are you out of your mind? That was the worse indie list I have ever seen.
Comment By: ekko
July 21st, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Me sir didn’t pick anything. This was a poll, not my own personal picks.
And the Strokes are NOT independent of the RIAA.
Comment By: Music Beef
July 26th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
So everyone knows that not everybody will be happy with the list…. but in the future an artist should only appear once!!! if there is more then one album in the list from the same artists… it kinda makes the list Bais… Im just saying no My bloody Valentine, Radiohead, the smiths, Yo la Tengo…..yeah there are a lot of classics missing.
Comment By: WTF.. Seriously....
August 3rd, 2010 at 9:54 am
Where are The Strokes??
Comment By: ekko
August 3rd, 2010 at 11:54 am
Uhhhhh . . . they’re on RCA. last time I checked, that was about as corporate as you can get. they may be a good band, but they sure as hell ain’t independent.
Comment By: Sam Martin
August 14th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
Seems very US weighted. This look would very different indeed if compiled in the UK. But it’s given me some new albums to check out, so cheers.
Comment By: ekko
August 14th, 2010 at 1:16 pm
It’s amazing to me how many people make the same comment. Of COURSE it’s weighted–my readers were the voters! My voters tend to like the music I like, too–we are a little musical community.
Comment By: Jamar Montane
August 27th, 2010 at 9:59 am
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Comment By: ekko
August 27th, 2010 at 3:31 pm
What?
Comment By: The history of Neutral Milk Hotel
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:35 am
[...] path, but instead as a landmark of independent creation, that has been proven to be undeniable again, and [...]