Well, it's all the bands name-checked by indie bands and reviewers these days showing up highly I guess.

But really, it's not like there is such a drastically different list than what's been being pushed for the last 20 years or so anyway. Some shuffling of the order. But, I would not be too surprised if you could go find a 20 year old article with 60 or 70 of those hundred choices still in tact.

This.

There's nothing especially "indie" about those choices.

It's the fucking Beatles. And "indie" kids aren't the only ones who like Pet Sounds nor have they ever been. And Pink Floyd? Even Radiohead far transcends "indie". Even though they've long been embraced by the indie crowd, their reach has always extended beyond that.

Check out this indie hive mind top 20 I found on the internet:

1. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper
2. The Beach Boys - Pet Sounds
3. The Beatles - Revolver
4. Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited
5. The Beatles - Rubber Soul
6. Marvin Gaye - What's Going On
7. The Rolling Stones - Exile on Main St.
8. The Clash - London Calling
9. Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
10. The Beatles - The White Album
11. Elvis Presley - The Sun Sessions
12. Miles Davis - Kind of Blue
13. The Velvet Underground - VU & Nico
14. The Beatles - Abbey Road
15. The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced?
16. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks
17. Nirvana - Nevermind
18. Bruce Springsteen - Born to Run
19. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks
20. Michael Jackson - Thriller

Guess where I found this.

Its not a terribly exciting read, but I think it covers all the bases for someone who may have never heard the album in its entirety, as opposed to hearing singles on a classic rock station. Having read it a couple of times over, there's nothing "technically" wrong with it. Boring? Possibly. Horribly written? Nope.

same here. fucking work of art. sounds incredibly fresh to this day (imo).

i'm not saying it's wrong, i'm saying its bad. but hey, whatevs, i dont like mushrooms either so its cool

Nah, I know. I just was curious. I mistook "horrible writing" to be grammatical, and syntax errors.

genesis

and

smashing pumpkins

They have some of those, too.

List was pretty bad, especially because they said top 100 albums of all time. I don't really think that most of the top 100 albums were made by indie bands, or that Green Day made one of them. Where are the blues and jazz albums? Abbey Road is great, but I don't think its even the best beatles album.

They didn't really have many indie albums on the list. It's a pretty mainstream list with a little indie flavoring here and there. One jazz album - Bitches Brew. Pretty much the same token R&B and pop that you'll see on any list like this - Marvin Gaye, Michael Jackson.

Maybe indie isn't the right word, but its very skewed that way.

It's about 20% skewed that way.

Look up Rolling Stone's top 500 albums of all time. Just look over the top 20 or so if you don't feel like slogging through the whole thing.

For the mere fact that they think that Arcade Fire made the 65th best album of all time I'll stick with my opinion. Looking over it again though there is less indie music than it seemed like when I looked at it the first time.

I will also say that any list that has a kanye west album as one of the top 100 albums of all time and doesn't mention illmatic is a waste of time.

yes, it is.

I just think it's kind of funny that they can essentially take the same generic top 100 you'd see from any mainstream source anywhere, throw Arcade Fire and Neutral Milk Hotel in there, and suddenly it's totally indie.

Yeah man I see what you mean, but still think its totally indie. About 50% of lists like these are a given, stuff like the Beatles and Michael Jackson, so the other things show what kind of list it is. How many mainstream lists have Elliot Smith, The Smiths, The Strokes, Neutral Milk Hotel and others in the top 100, let alone as high as they are on this list.

Meat Loaf is in the top 40, every time I scroll through this list I find a new reason to dislike it.

there's a few more than just those two, but yeah i agree with you that it's about 20%.




and meatloaf? *blech*

or what Leon just said.

The Meatloaf even made me stop and blink, but I think the fact that certain records (Smiths, Elliot Smith, etc) are included is just a sign that those records are starting to show their influence. I mean, how long was it before Pet Sounds and Raw Power were regarded as classics? Now its passe' to include them on a list--and highly at that.

I dig Remain in Light in the Top 10. Brilliant album all the way through and would be in my Top 20 if I were to make a list.

Big thanks to Chris Blackwell for being the catalyst for the Caribbean vacations that got this album made.

DOTSM should also be in the Top 10. It's one album that gets panned nowadays because of its stoner legacy and over-exposed singles, but I remember when I first heard that album at age 14 and it changed the way I listened to music. Still to this day I say that out of the most influential 60-70s British bands (Kinks, Who, Beatles, Stones) I was always seeking out the Floyd's output over the others, simply because it clicked with me.

Document was the beginning of the end of REM for me. Never really liked it much but don't hate either like I hate Green.

In case you don't know this, "Steve McQueen" is the same album as "Two Wheels Good." It was released as "Steve McQueen" in the UK and "Two Wheels Good" in the US. I've always been a big fan and it might have even made my listmania. That said, I have yet to find anyone who listened to it for the first time in the last five years who thought it was worth a second listen. It is wimp rock reeking of 80's production and has a high cheese factor.

I don't really like the list as a whole but I do really like the pick of "Rocket to Russia" over the Ramones debut. There's plenty I hate on here though and few picks that are both unconventional and good.

I agree that there's nothing on here that I would be shocked to see on a Rolling Stone magazine list. At the same time, it does have a decidedly 'indie approved' slant to, especially as you move higher up the list.

You can see it in the writeups:







Also, the biggest difference for me is if you take most RS lists and remove the 15 worst picks, you end up with a pretty good list. This would be an ok list of mostly good albums.

Some other random comments:

I really hate Beck and the Smashing Pumpkins.

Green Day and Meat Loaf don't belong anywhere near a top 100 album list

Too much rap for my taste.

I don't hate Michael Jackson but I hate his inclusion over 60's/70's soul greats

I loved the Talking Heads in the early 80's. They were probably my favorite band. I don't think they've aged that well though and find myself hitting next whenever they come up on random on my ipod.

Odd pick on the Smiths debut. I still love the Smiths but never liked the debut in part because there's a lot of overlap with "Hatful of Hollow" and there isn't a single song that I prefer the version on the debut.

I feel much the same way as Derris about Document (probably says a lot about how old we were when it came out and it's influence on our future listening.)

BTW, I randomly pulled out Green a couple weeks ago and I don't think that album is nearly as bad as people remember it being. In fact, it's mostly pretty damn good.

I'm going to have to revisit Green and Out of Time one of these days and see if they're really as bad as I've always thought they were.

Stand is so bad that if you threw it in the middle of Exile, I'd end up hating Exile.

I still love 'em both. Then again, I'm an unapologetic fan of their stuff up to and including "Up". (yes, including "Monster")

I could probably go without ever hearing "Stand", "Radio Song" or "Shiny Happy People" ever again but the rest is cool with me. Love "Get Up" still. May pull that out today....