100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums Ever - Pollstar -- The Concert Hotwire 100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums Ever??? Amazon.com recently published its list of “The 100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums of All Time,” with Guided by Voices’ 1994 release “Bee Thousand” at the top of the pile.
Before I get to the rest of the list – and which albums I think they totally snubbed – here are
Amazon.com’s rules for defining what exactly is the oh so hip genre of “indie rock”:
“The term “Indie Rock” is undeniably tricky. We challenge anyone to definitively define what is and what is not indie rock--you will fail. For the purposes of compiling this list we’ve decided to use a combination of hard and fast rules and gut instinct. Our hard and fast rules are listed below, but as for gut instinct – you just kind of have to know. For example: John Oates put out a rock record called Phunk Shui on an indie label, however, in no way should Phunk Shui be mistaken for indie rock. Likewise, Black Flag put out many seminal punk albums on SST, but we’re not talking about punk or grunge or classic post-kraut-rock, we’re talking about indie rock. Are Black Flag really indie rock? Not to our ears.”
Only one album per artist is allowed, no EPs or singles, no greatest hits collections or compilations of previously released tracks and albums on the list must have originally been released on an independent label.
Here’s the 10 most grandpa-cardigan- wearing, geek-chic-glasses-sporting albums ever, according to
Amazon.com. For the full list, click
here and then come back and tell us what albums you think they’ve left off.
1.
Bee Thousand by Guided by Voices
2.
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel
3.
Spiderland by
Slint
4.
Exile In Guyville by
Liz Phair
5.
Imperial f.f.r.r. (Deluxe Edition) by Unrest
6.
Slanted & Enchanted by Pavement
7.
If You're Feeling Sinister by
Belle & Sebastian
8.
Surfer Rosa by Pixies
9.
Either/Or by Elliott Smith
10.
Bakesale by
Sebadoh
First of all, I hope this list isn’t in order from best to worst because I definitely don’t think Guided by Voices’
Bee Thousand should be sitting at the tiptop. I’m sure GBV fans would argue with me but I’ve just never cared for the band. I would trade
Either/Or by Elliott Smith or
If You’re Feeling Sinister by Belle & Sebastian faster than you could spot a bunch of hipsters wearing old-school Pumas and hoodies at a local rock show.
Spoon is sitting in #19 with
Kill the Moonlight but I think that album should be replaced with the band’s
Girls Can Tell. And what about #21 – which is Bright Eyes’
Lifted Or the Story Is In The Soil, Keep Your Ear To The Ground. I much prefer I
’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning.
Oh, and if I could make one more trade I would switch spot #51,
Stereolab’s
Emperor Tomato Ketchup for the band’s
Margerine Eclipse.
Here’s a few albums I think were left off the list:
Komeda’s
What Makes It Go,
My Morning Jacket’s
It Still Moves,
Interpol’s
Turn On the Bright Lights,
Mason Jennings’
Birds Flying Away,
Yeah Yeah Yeahs’
Fever To Tell,
The Strokes’
Is This It,
The Rentals’
Return of the Rentals,
Modest Mouse’s
This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About,
The Decemberists’
Her Majesty the Decemberists,
Wilco’s
A.M.,
Ben Kweller’s
Sha Sha,
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks’
Pig Lib and Jets to Brazil’s
Orange Rhyming Dictionary.
What do you think?
Check out
Amazon.com’s list
here.
The 100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums of All Time 1. Bee Thousand by Guided by Voices 2. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel 3. Spiderland by Slint 4. Exile In Guyville by Liz Phair 5. Imperial f.f.r.r. (Deluxe Edition) by Unrest 6. Slanted & Enchanted by Pavement 7. If You're Feeling Sinister by Belle & Sebastian 8. Surfer Rosa by Pixies 9. Either/Or by Elliott Smith 10. Bakesale by Sebadoh 11. 69 Love Songs Volume 1 by The Magnetic Fields 12. Daydream Nation by Sonic Youth 13. Michigan by Sufjan Stevens 14. We Have the Facts and We're Voti… by Death Cab For Cutie 15. I See A Darkness by Bonnie "Prince" Billy 16. No Pocky for Kitty by Superchunk 17. Dig Me Out by Sleater-Kinney 18. Give Up by The Postal Service 19. Kill the Moonlight by Spoon 20. I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One by Yo La Tengo 21. Lifted Or The Story Is In The So… by Bright Eyes 22. Diary by Sunny Day Real Estate 23. Moon Pix by Cat Power 24. Funeral by Arcade Fire 25. Black Candy by Beat Happening 26. The Glow Pt. 2 by The Microphones 27. Yellow House by Grizzly Bear 28. Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Ante… by godspeed you black emperor! 29. 24 Hour Revenge Therapy by Jawbreaker 30. Zen Arcade by HÜsker DÜ 31. Repeater + 3 Songs by Fugazi 32. Let It Be [Expanded Edition] by The Replacements 33. Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective 34. Let's Get Out of This Country by Camera Obscura 35. Person Pitch by Panda Bear 36. Our Endless Numbered Days by Iron & Wine 37. When Your Heartstrings Break by Beulah 38. I Am A Bird Now by Antony & The Johnsons 39. You Forgot It In People by Broken Social Scene 40. This Nation's Saving Grace by The Fall 41. Gulag Orkestar by Beirut 42. Mass Romantic [Remastered] by The New Pornographers 43. On by Imperial Teen 44. On Fire by Galaxie 50045. How Memory Works by Joan Of Arc 46. Advisory Committee by Mirah 47. Red House Painters I by Red House Painters 48. Agaetis Byrjun by Sigur Ros 49. Wild Love by Smog 50. And Don't The Kids Just Love It by Television Personalities 51. Emperor Tomato Ketchup by Stereolab 52. Liberty Belle And The Black Diam… by The Go Betweens 53. Sing No Evil by Half Japanese 54. Pussy-Whipped by Bikini Kill 55. The Mysterious Production of Eggs by Andrew Bird 56. The Decline And Fall Of Heavenly by Heavenly 57. Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty B… by TV On The Radio 58. Fabulous Muscles by Xiu Xiu 59. Set Yourself On Fire by Stars60. Daddy's Highway by The Bats 61. Neon Golden by The Notwist 62. TNT by Tortoise 63. Destroyer's Rubies by Destroyer 64. Rejoicing in The Hands by Devendra Banhart 65. Coquelicot Asleep In The Poppies… by Of Montreal 66. Milk Man by Deerhoof 67. Will You Find Me by Ida 68. Oh, Inverted World by The Shins 69. Feast of Wire by Calexico 70. The Fawn by The Sea And Cake 71. Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floa… by Spiritualized 72. II & III by Camper Van Beethoven 73. The R&B of Membership by The Delta 72 74. The Curtain Hits The Cast by Low 75. Furnace Room Lullaby by Neko Case 76. Jane From Occupied Europe by Swell Maps 77. The Smell Of Our Own by The Hidden Cameras 78. Nothing Feels Good by The Promise Ring 79. De Stijl by The White Stripes 80. The Ugly Organ by Cursive 81. The Sea and the Bells by Rachel's 82. The Last Match by The Aislers Set 83. Save Yourself by Make Up 84. Hearts Of Oak by Ted Leo/Pharmacists 85. Vivian Girls by Vivian Girls 86. Worn Copy by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 87. Cure For Pain by Morphine 88. The Power Out by Electrelane 89. The Milk-Eyed Mender by Joanna Newsom 90. Louden Up Now [Explicit] by (!!! Chk Chik Chick)91. Gallowsbird's Bark by The Fiery Furnaces 92. Horses In The Sky by Silver Mt. Zion 93. Alligator by The National 94. Waiter: 'You Vultures!' by Portugal The Man 95. The Discovery of a World Inside … by The Apples In Stereo 96. Trans Am by Trans Am 97. Ultimate Alternative Wavers by Built To Spill 98. To Survive by Joan As Police Woman 99. Passover by The Black Angels 100. Dangerous Magical Noise by The Dirtbombs 
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