You Must Hear 7

american indie

Last updated: Tue Oct 28 2025 07:55:28 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

Description

American indie encompasses the diverse spectrum of independently-minded rock and pop music emerging from the U.S. alternative scene, characterized by DIY ethics and creative freedom outside major label constraints. The sound ranges from jangly guitar pop to dreamy atmospherics and lo-fi experimentation, unified by an emphasis on authenticity and artistic vision over commercial appeal. It represents a cultural movement valuing grassroots communities and unconventional songwriting approaches.

100 chronological releases

Place	Cover	Date	Artist	Album	Tags	Other places
96		1996-10-10	The Lemonheads	Car Button Cloth	alternative rock american indie
1		1997	Cavestar	Wetlands	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 22 west coast underground # 36
8		1997	Cavestar	Filaments	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 28 west coast underground # 44
70		1997	Artemis	Elysian Fields / Desideradi	american american indie bay area british california england english europe san francisco us indie usa	england # 32 bay area # 50 san francisco # 71 us indie # 83
56		1998	Artemis	Inner Worlds / Sun Stars	american american indie bay area california san francisco us indie usa west coast underground	bay area # 13 san francisco # 50 us indie # 70 west coast underground # 79
81		1998-04-13	Grandaddy	Under The Western Free Way	rock indie rock
85		1998-10-06	Zero One	Zero One	ambient american american indie electronic psychill us indie usa	psychill # 86 us indie # 94
97		1999	Rilo Kiley	Rilo Kiley	american indie indie rock
33		2000	Mystical Sun	After Materia Cloudland	american american indie bay area california san francisco us indie usa west coast underground	san francisco # 20 us indie # 48 west coast underground # 62
90		2001	Electric Skychurch	Sonic Diary	ambient american american indie california los angeles psytrance usa west coast underground	los angeles # 67 west coast underground # 98
79		2001-02-14	Artemis	Undone	american american indie bay area california us indie usa west coast underground	bay area # 66 us indie # 91 west coast underground # 94
62		2001-06-15	Sarah Fimm	Cocooned	american american indie us indie usa	us indie # 76
14		2001-06-26	Saru	Downtempo Dojo (Reissue)	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 33 west coast underground # 47
95		2001-07-30	Preston School of Industry	Goodbye to the Edge City	alternative american indie indie rock seattle	seattle # 82
87		2001-07-31	Blue Tofu	Blue Tofu	american american indie us indie usa west coast underground	west coast underground # 95 us indie # 96
41		2002	Mudville	Mudville (EP)	american american indie new york us indie usa	us indie # 56
86		2002	Sarah Fimm	A Perfect Dream	american american indie chill new age ethereal new age new age electronic new age fusion new york us indie usa	new age electronic # 23 new york # 52 ethereal new age # 79 chill new age # 85 fantasy new age # 93 new age fusion # 93 us indie # 95
15		2003	Celeste Lear	The Echo Inside	american indie california los angeles us indie west coast underground	us indie # 34 west coast underground # 49
22		2003-08	Karmacoda	Ultraviolet Live	american american indie bay area california us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 39 west coast underground # 54
92		2003-08	Karmacoda	Evidence	trip-hop	bay area # 79 us indie # 99 west coast underground # 99
94		2003-09-02	Centro-matic	Love You Just the Same	alt-country american indie americana
55		2004	Keston and Westdal	Super Structure Baby	america american american indie downtempo midwest minneapolis san francisco us indie usa	america # 38 san francisco # 49 us indie # 69 midwest # 72 minneapolis # 89
63		2004	Dios Malos	Dios Malos	american indie
98		2004-01-20	Karmacoda	Transitory Mini EP	american american indie bay area california downtempo trip-hop us indie usa west coast underground	usa # 53 california # 69 bay area # 97 us indie # 100 west coast underground # 100
39		2004-09-01	Holmes Ives	Tetrasomia	american american indie new age us indie usa washington	us indie # 54 washington # 69
93		2004-10-12	American Music Club	Love Songs For Patriots	american indie
76		2004-12	Waterjuice	Melbaphonics	ambient american american indie bay area california dub electronica west coast underground	bay area # 60 west coast underground # 91
31		2005	Wavering Saints	Collusion e.p.	alternative american indie experimental indie indie rock lo-fi lo-fi indie slowcore	lo-fi indie # 42 experimental indie # 66
47		2005	Osiris Indriya	Reach Within	american american indie downtempo electronic seattle us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 62 west coast underground # 73
89		2005-02-11	Artemis	Gravity	american indie bay area california san francisco west coast underground	bay area # 77 san francisco # 84 west coast underground # 97
71		2005-11-01	Lovespirals	Free & Easy	downtempo	us indie # 84 west coast underground # 88
7		2006	UNA	The Rain Is Over And Gone	american american indie california los angeles usa west coast underground	west coast underground # 41
11		2006	Paul & Price	Sounds Like Sex	american american indie california chillout downtempo los angeles lounge us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 30 west coast underground # 45
30		2006	Return to Mono	Involution	american american indie bay area california demoscene west coast underground	west coast underground # 61 demoscene # 84
53		2006	Evolve	Happy Hour in the Gene Pool (Remastered)	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 67 west coast underground # 76
64		2006	Lisa Papineau	Night Moves	american american indie us indie usa	us indie # 77
75		2006	Lisa Papineau	Red Trees	american american indie us indie usa	us indie # 88
21		2006-02-24	Eiafuawn	Birds in the Ground	indie folk	slowcore # 25 indie folk # 61 slacker rock # 81
13		2006-07-01	Jette-Ives	In the Deep	ambient electronica american american indie downtempo electronica electropop female vocalists indie pop lounge pop trip-hop us indie usa washington	us indie # 32 washington # 48 ambient electronica # 57
72		2006-07-25	Sutro	How Things Transpire	american american indie bay area chillout san francisco smooth jazz us indie usa west coast underground	bay area # 52 san francisco # 72 us indie # 85 west coast underground # 89
99		2006-07-25	Midlake	The Trials Of Van Occupanther	folk indie rock pop soft rock yacht rock	folk # 4 american # 34 soft rock # 78 yacht rock # 100
12		2007	Mudville	Side Trax	american american indie new york us indie usa	us indie # 31
24		2007	UNA	UNA	american american indie california demoscene los angeles trip-hop us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 41 west coast underground # 56 demoscene # 81
25		2007	Bootstrap	Cecille	alternative alternative rock american indie dream pop grunge indie pop indie rock lo-fi post-punk proto-punk punk rock rock rock n roll screamo soundtrack space rock swing us indie	us indie # 42
61		2007	Karmacoda	Illuminate (Sola Musa)	american american indie bay area california us indie usa west coast underground	bay area # 26 us indie # 75 west coast underground # 83
78		2007	Ielo	Below Zero - Minus 1	american indie california us indie west coast underground	us indie # 90 west coast underground # 93
74		2007-03-13	Keston and Westdal	Truth is Stranger	america american american indie britain british california downtempo england english midwest minneapolis san francisco us indie usa	english # 3 england # 35 san francisco # 76 america # 76 midwest # 82 us indie # 87 britain # 88 minneapolis # 96
88		2007-03	Karmacoda	Illuminate	american american indie bay area california trip-hop us indie west coast underground	bay area # 75 west coast underground # 96 us indie # 97
58		2007-06-19	Worldwide Groove Corporation	Chillodesiac Lounge vol. 1: FEVER	american american indie chillout nashville us indie usa	us indie # 72 nashville # 86
34		2007-09-16	Lovespirals	Motherless Child EP	american american indie california us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 49 west coast underground # 63
91		2007-10-02	Dive Index	Mid/Air	american indie chillout east coast new york us indie usa	new york # 61 east coast # 73 us indie # 98
82		2007-10-10	Mind Soup	Love Songs For Gifted Children	america american american indie midwest ohio us indie usa	ohio # 69 america # 85 midwest # 87 us indie # 92
68		2007-10-23	Lovespirals	Long Way From Home	american american indie california us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 81 west coast underground # 87
6		2008	Worldwide Groove Corporation	Butterflies Remixed	american american indie us indie usa	us indie # 27
60		2008	Keston and Westdal	One Day to Save All Life	america american american indie britain british downtempo england english midwest minneapolis san francisco us indie usa	england # 7 america # 50 san francisco # 60 us indie # 74 midwest # 76 britain # 81 minneapolis # 92
77		2008	Waterjuice	Liquid Journeys	american american indie bay area california electronica west coast underground	bay area # 61 west coast underground # 92
26		2008	Dive Index	Collisions - The Mid/Air Remixes	american american indie los angeles new york usa
67		2008-04-10	Celeste Lear	Looking Up From underwater	american indie california downtempo electronic female vocalists los angeles trip-hop us indie usa west coast underground	los angeles # 17 us indie # 80 west coast underground # 86
43		2008-05-01	Celeste Lear	Untitled Album	american indie california los angeles us indie west coast underground	us indie # 58 west coast underground # 68
27		2008-12-25	Sarah Fimm	Barn Sessions	american american indie new york us indie usa	us indie # 45
83		2008-12-25	Sarah Fimm	White Birds	american american indie chill new age ethereal new age new age electronic new age fusion new york us indie usa	new age electronic # 28 new york # 43 ethereal new age # 76 chill new age # 82 new age fusion # 89 us indie # 93
48		2009	Michael Maricle	French Press	american american indie seattle usa west coast underground	west coast underground # 74
59		2009	Michael Maricle	Reflections	american american indie seattle us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 73 west coast underground # 81
20		2009-02-16	Jette-Ives	Vexed - The Remixes	american american indie dance house minimal techno tech house usa washington	washington # 53
49		2009-03-07	Under	More Pleasant Grey	california	bay area # 8 san francisco # 41 us indie # 63
84		2009-03-10	Arbouretum	Song of the Pearl	alternative alternative country american indie country rock	alternative country # 59
69		2009-08	Sarah Fimm	Red Yellow Sun	american american indie new york us indie usa	new york # 7 us indie # 82
51		2009-12-18	Mind Soup	Besides	america american american indie midwest ohio us indie usa	america # 28 ohio # 30 us indie # 65 midwest # 69
36		2009-12	Sarah Fimm	The Vanishing Sessions (B-Sides Part I)	american american indie chill new age ethereal new age new age ambiant new age electronic new age fusion new age instrumental new york us indie usa	new age instrumental # 25 fantasy new age # 44 us indie # 51 new age fusion # 52
9		2010	Sarah Fimm	Karma Phala Project	american american indie new york us indie usa	us indie # 29
66		2010-01-05	Osiris Indriya	Break On Through EP	american american indie downtempo electronic seattle us indie usa west coast underground	seattle # 11 us indie # 79 west coast underground # 85
65		2010-02-14	Artemis	Auralei	american american indie california us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 78 west coast underground # 84
38		2010-10-11	Dive Index	The Surface We Divide	american american indie east coast new york new york city us indie usa	east coast # 29 new york city # 42 us indie # 53
32		2010-11-12	Mane Horse	Untitled Album	american indie screamo
3		2011	Sarah Fimm	Flames	american american indie us indie usa	us indie # 24
4		2011	Mimi Page	New - Single	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 25 west coast underground # 38
5		2011	Mimi Page	Gravity	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 26 west coast underground # 40
52		2011-01-13	Return to Mono	Framebreaker	american american indie california us indie usa	us indie # 66
23		2011-03-12	Saru	Tsunami (Special Edition)	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 40 west coast underground # 55
2		2011-04-08	Karmacoda	Love Will Turn Your Head Around - Single	american american indie bay area california us indie west coast underground	us indie # 23 west coast underground # 37
54		2011-05-05	Sarah Fimm	Near Infinite Possibility	american american indie ethereal new age new age electronic new age fusion new york us indie usa	ethereal new age # 20 new age fusion # 65 us indie # 68 new age electronic # 98
37		2011-05-20	Mystical Sun	Cassiopeia	american american indie bay area california san francisco us indie usa west coast underground	san francisco # 28 us indie # 52 west coast underground # 65
57		2011-05-20	Mystical Sun	Mystical Sun	american american indie bay area california chill new age ethereal new age new age ambiant new age electronic san francisco us indie usa west coast underground	new age ambiant # 15 bay area # 18 ethereal new age # 27 chill new age # 32 san francisco # 56 fantasy new age # 69 us indie # 71 west coast underground # 80 new age electronic # 91
46		2011-06-08	Mimi Page	Harmonious HeartBEATS	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 61 west coast underground # 72
45		2011-08-02	Karmacoda	Eternal	american american indie bay area california us indie usa west coast underground	bay area # 6 us indie # 60 west coast underground # 71
44		2011-09-12	Mimi Page	A Lullaby for the Lonely (EP)	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 59 west coast underground # 69
35		2011-12-01	Mimi Page	This Fire	american american indie california los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 50 west coast underground # 64
19		2012-05-01	Celeste Lear	Cloud 9.1	american indie california los angeles us indie west coast underground	us indie # 38 west coast underground # 52
73		2012-05-23	Mystical Sun	26000	american american indie bay area california chill new age ethereal new age ethnic fusion new age ambiant new age electronic new age electronica new age instrumental san francisco us indie usa west coast underground	new age electronic # 49 bay area # 53 new age ambiant # 56 ethereal new age # 60 chill new age # 63 san francisco # 74 new age instrumental # 74 new age electronica # 78 us indie # 86 ethnic fusion # 87 west coast underground # 90
28		2012-10-18	Artemis	Sephyra	american american indie california san francisco us indie usa west coast underground	san francisco # 12 us indie # 46 west coast underground # 60
40		2013-11-01	Evolve	Deeper Than the Sea	american american indie california electronica los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 55 west coast underground # 67
50		2016-07-14	Brother Sun Sister Moon	Luminous	american american indie california demoscene electronica female vocalists los angeles us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 64 west coast underground # 75 demoscene # 89
100		2017-05-05	Blondie	Atomic/Atomix	american indie female vocalists new wave new york pop post-punk	new york # 100
17		2017-06-06	Mystical Sun	Net Singles	american american indie bay area california psybient us indie usa west coast underground	us indie # 36 west coast underground # 50
80		2022-03-05	Helvetia	Dishes Are Never Done but Good Luck	american indie lo-fi slacker rock slowcore	slacker rock # 12
10			Bridge Underwater	Rainy Day Songs	acoustic alternative alternative rock ambient american american indie chillout electronic experimental indie indie folk indie pop indie rock instrumental lo-fi noise philadelphia rock	experimental indie # 42 philadelphia # 45
16			Dj Sid-the Apocalypze	In Her Camaro	american american indie dance disco electronic techno trance us indie usa	us indie # 35
18			Lovers and Poets	Lovers and Poets	american california los angeles	us indie # 37 west coast underground # 51
29			Dj Sid-the Apocalypze	Liquid Relaxation	american american indie breaks chillout downtempo electronic lounge pop trip-hop us indie usa	us indie # 47
42			Dj Sid-the Apocalypze	Twilight Zizone	american american indie electronic instrumental hip-hop trip-hop us indie usa	us indie # 57

Related genres

• american
• usa
• us indie
• west coast underground
• california
• los angeles
• bay area
• san francisco
• new york
• downtempo