Interesting article. I agree that number one should be Pavement. Slanted and Enchanted is one of the best records I've ever heard, however I wish Relationship of Command was in the top ten.

as soon as i clicked on #1 i knew it was gonna be pavement.

i like pavement, but they are not that great. i actually prefer bands that try to sound like pavement above pavement. hockey night or shinobu, i'll take those.

The term "indie-rock" is so misleading. It's like the best and worst of college radio (when college radio was actually good) all on one list. When I think "indie-rock", I think of bands like Pavement and Arcade Fire not the Misfits or Dead Kennedys.

Ok, why the hell does Punknews.org keep publishing anything that an over-rated magazine like Blender put out? I'm surprised they didn't put Nirvana as number one or more than anything two since they are experts and clearly Nirvana is two at best. Give me a break. Anyway what the fuck does it matter that those bands are on the list anyway I thought they were punk not Indie? Same thing goes for 3/4 of the bands on their but whatever again. I'm sure bands that hated being labeled in the 80s and 90s are going to love being labeled a genre of a type of person that loves to date rape 14 year old girls. But again its Blender so it doesn't matter what a magazine that actually does think Avril Lavigine is punk says.

Elliott Smith doesnt break the top 35 and Neutral Milk Hotel isnt in the top 10? and btw, while Lonesome Crowded West and Either/Or are two fantastic "indie rock albums", they arent even the best by their respected artists.

Elliott Smith's best was "X/O", and Modest Mouse's finest was "The Moon and Antartica"

but i did agree with "Let It Be" at the top of the list, that and the Pixies.

not that bad of a list. some of those should be ranked way higher, though.
-nic

57. Bikini Kill, Pussy Whipped, Kill Rock Stars, 1993
The original riot grrrls: cute when they’re angry

Okay, seriously, who the fuck reads this magazine? I don't even know what to call "cute when they're angry" (smarmy? counter-productive? trying way too hard to be cutesy?) but this magazine needs a serious overhaul. oh, and i agree with somene above me, Neutral Milk Hotel should be waaaaay higher.

It's an alright list. Pavement is a decent (if not entirely predictable) choice for the top slot. Good to see 'Mats so high on the list. Either/Or should have been top 10, at least. Also surprised not to see BSS' You Forgot it in People.

Reservations aside, as far as Blender goes, I was expecting much, much worse.

They need to look up the definition of "Indie Rock"

Art Brut? The only "Top 100 List" Art Brut deserves to be on is "The Top 100 Bands that Rhyme With 'Fart Shoot.'" 'Tis true!

im not one of those guys that thinks that older stuff is immediately better than new albums but seriously like 60% of these albums were release after 2001....seemed a little odd.

I don't get the point of this sort of list. All it does is have the people who like the #1 album feel smug that they like that band, and the people that don't like it disagree with the list. Meh.

indie-rock sucks.

At first I was thinking, 'oh, not just indie rock, but bands that are on independent labels?' but Then there were some bands that were on Major Labels. I guess my point is: When were the Dead Kennedys indie rock?

Also, it was surprising that out of all the punk bands, Black Flag wasn't mentioned. They usually get tossed somewhere in the 90s on these type of lists.

Why the fuck is Arcade Fire's "Funeral" in the top 10? That record...jesus christ, it's good, but it is by NO MEANS that good. Way way overrated.

From what I saw, that list could have been much worse. However, Blender is still by far the worst music magazine I have ever picked up.

Sorry guys, Bee Thousand deserves to be higher up than #31. I'm surprised it edged out Neutral Milk Hotel, though.

blenders articles are all about finding the common wisdom and then going against it in the most haughty way possible, thereby pissing off the most people and getting more attention. go check out their worst lyricsits list, made no sense except as an "anti" rant.

Blender is such a joke.

most of these bands aren't even from indiana!

Wow, Emergency & I in the 90s? Are you kidding?

Also, when they say indie-rock, I can only conclude that they mean... what, independently released? Dead Kennedys sure as fuck aren't in the same genre as Feist and Pavement. Yet a lot of these seem to be major label releases (I think).

So in conclusion, I guess I'm just saying fuck Blender.

Any "best indie" list that puts "In the aeroplane over the sea" at number THIRTY TWO and then puts hype shit like MIA and Arcade Fire ahead of it is best used for toilet paper.

Keep in mind, this is the same magazine that rated Greg Graffin as one of the worst lyricists ever. On that same list were people like Kevin Federline and Fred Durst. Clearly, they have some issues.

blender, get yourself a damn proofreader.

in skimming through the top 20 alone we find 'spideland,' 'unkwon pleasures,' and 'mumu.'

awful.

This actually isn't that bad of a list as far as these things go. There's a lot of stuff which i haven't heard and Damaged not being in the top 20 is pretty inexcusable. That said Sleater Kinneys "Dig Me Out" should have made the list probably within the top 30 as Sulfan Stevens' Illinoise shoud have been higher up too. The redeeming factor of this list is the top 3. Its hard to think of better albums than those. Buzzcocks - Different Kind of Tenion should have made the list too.

I'm going to echo the complaints that NMH isn't in the top ten. I like that album a decent amount. While it is by no means a favorite of mine, it is easily one of the most influential albums for the "indie rock" sound.

Side note: Why is it that people who listen to all the hip bands that bite from NMH get horribly offended when anyone implies that said band sounds like NMH?

who else noticed 'new oder' ???

lol

Pavement? are you kidding? theres dozens of albums on that list that were WAY more important than that them. Any Kerplunk is above Fresh Fruit?

let it be should be number one

so what do they mean by indie rock? like seriously, this list makes no sense

Once again, Blender lives up to their reputation of being profoundly off-base.

"I took a piss in every ocean. So fuck the world"

http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?ID=2982
THe link to 20-11 is broken but it has the best albums on the list.

20. The Hold Steady, Separation Sunday, French Kiss, 2005

19. Sleater-Kinney, Dig Me Out, Kill Rock Stars, 1997

18. Joy Division, Unkwon Pleasures, Factory, 1971

17. The White Stripes, White Blood Cells, Sympathy for the Record Industry, 2001

15. X, Wild Gift, Slash, 1981

14. De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising, Tommy Boy, 1989

13. Hüsker Dü, Zen Arcade, SST, 1984

12. Dinosaur J., You’re Living All Over Me, SST, 1987

11. Minutemen, Double Nickels on the Dime, SST, 1984

Sigh....nothing pisses people of more than a list.

they put albums made this year and the last few. they predict the future. you better buy stock in these albums now as they're gonna be landmarks in 20 years.

Bitching and complaining by Punknews.org users? No way!

terrible unformatted list

terrible unformatted list

Arcade Fire...they can't be serious?

Milo Goes To College is my least favorite Descendents album :(

Gay.

This list should have ha "needless to say" by Choke.

Fugazi's Reteater number 47 and Dismembermet Plan's Emergency and I in the 90s both should be ranked much higher.

#39 Pavement- Cooked Rain Cooked Rain?
Isn't it crooked rain?

67. Hüsker Dü, New Day Rising, SST, 1985
Midwest hardcore survivors in punk-vs.-pop death match

In which Bob Mould’s howling guitar fought Grant Hart’s sensitively surly songs about girls and books to a tense, thrilling stalemate.

i like the "sensitively surly songs about girls", considering they are both gay.

Fugazi & Superchunk were both heavily courted by majors throughout their careers & plowed their own path while making killer music. They both should be at least in the top 10!!!!

p.s. Fuck Modest Mouse

p.s.s. A lot of these albums had major label support to them.

re: misfits walk among us

they describe it as fist-pumping hardcore. have they even heard that album?

once again, seam gets completely overlooked.

in some way, attached to major labels:

99, 97, 96, 83, 80, 69, 61, 56, 53, 38, 37, 30, 29, 23, 15, 14, 7, 4, 2

nearly 20% of the list.

good one, blender.

all that these mags and tv shows do now is make lists. i hope a list of the top 100 lists is soon to follow!

http://thisblogisover.wordpress.com/

anyone else thinks 24 hour revenge therapy should be on this list

Yes pavement should of been higher, same with The Decendents. The one that's really should of been left on the cutting room floor, number 63 Nirvana- Bleach. Blender just couldnt help themselves with their putting the most over rated band to ever play rock on the list somehow. Bleach was god awful even by Nirvana standards at least go with Insesticide.

Slint, NMH, Dismemberment Plan, and sufjan all shoulda been higher. and why was everything so fucking poorly spelled

Le tigre? That band should have their heads cut off then shoved up their asshole to eat their feces.