Indie Basement is a weekly column on BrooklynVegan focusing on classic indie and alternative artists, “college rock,” and new and current acts who follow a similar path. There are reviews of new albums, reissues, box sets, books and sometimes movies and television shows. There are also special editions like this one counting down the best albums of 2025.

I cannot say that 2025 was my favorite year for lots of reasons — many of us probably shared a few — but as always it was a great one for music and thank goodness for that. In that regard there hasn’t been a lot of zeitgeisty consensus as to the year’s best album (not that the Indie Basement list usually mirrors other publications) and I feel the same just in trying figure out my Top 10. My Top 10 shuffled around right to the 11th hour, including my #1.

I will also admit to being a little self conscious about my list this year, as so many artists who many associate with the ’90s make high showings, but with all of them I think they are making records that rival their “peak” period. There are lots of younger artists, too, including more than a few in the Top 10. I also included tons of runner-ups — scroll down for all of it.

As I usually say, this is not a definitive Best Albums of 2025, just one Gen X dude’s opinion. Check out the BrooklynVegan Top 50 Albums of 2025 list for a much wider range of the year’s best music, and browse the Best of 2025 tag for even more lists.

Check out the Indie Basement list of Best Reissues, Box Sets and Compilations of 2025.

You can hear me and fellow editors Dave, Andrew and Amanda talk about our favorite albums of 2025 on the year-end edition of BV Weekly, and you can listen to my conversations with a bunch of the artists on the Indie Basement list (including three from the Top 10) on the BV Interviews podcast.

I’ve also made a playlist with songs from all 40 albums on this list, plus the runner-ups, non-LP singles, remixes and more of the year’s best music. You can listen to that via TIDAL (my preference), Apple Music and, if you haven’t left them yet, Spotify, below.

Head below for the Indie Basement Favorite albums of 2025 list below…

INDIE BASEMENT: FAVORITE ALBUMS OF 2025

40. The Waterboys – The Life and Death of Dennis Hopper (Sun Records)

A concept double album about actor, filmmaker, artist, and counterculture icon Dennis Hopper, where every song is in a different style, including country, pre-rock pop, doo-wop, ultra-psychedelic rock, cabaret, show tunes, and a few anthems, with help along the way from Bruce Springsteen, Fiona Apple, and Steve Earle. Also: released on legendary label Sun Records! Needless to say, this is not your typical Waterboys album, but it’s brilliant. Bring on the Broadway adaptation!

—

39. FACS – Wish Defence (Trouble in Mind)

Born from the ashes of Disappears, Chicago’s FACS have always been a vibe band — dark, claustrophobic, paranoid — trafficking in repetition, groove, and sometimes unbearable tension. But they’ve never made the same album twice, managing to mutate every time. Wish Defence, which has the distinction of being the last album the late Steve Albini worked on and one of the final records released by Trouble in Mind, finds them letting more melody, light, and beauty into their dark corners than ever before, still powered by equal parts atmospheric texture and brute force. Their best record yet.

—

38. Robert Forster – Strawberries (Tapete)

Over the course of countless albums over the last 50 years — both with The Go-Betweens and solo — Robert Forster has honed his songwriting style with an ear for dialogue and a distinct literary bent. But he’s always done it from the first person. With his ninth solo album, he stopped writing about himself and focused instead on fictional characters. Not that he was treading water before, but letting his imagination run wild seems to have unlocked something new, and you can feel the excitement in these tales of one-night stands, rock stars, and more. Best of all is the playful he-said-she-said title track, a duet with his wife, Karin. Forster is also clearly having a good time musically with his all-Swedish band, led by producer Peter Morén of Peter Bjorn and John. May all artists enjoy such a long and rewarding discography.

—

37. Cass McCombs – Interior Live Oak (Domino)

Cass McCombs has been so consistently good over the last two decades that it’s easy to take him for granted, and if you’ve been guilty of that — or have never really explored his catalog — this is a great place to rectify it. His first record back on Domino after a decade on ANTI-, Interior Live Oak plays like a musical tour through everything he’s done, from cowboy ballads to hazy folk, deserted-highway atmosphere, and baroque beauty, with help from Papercuts’ Jason Quever, Chris Cohen, Sam Evian, and Matt Sweeney. You can’t call it a return to form, as McCombs has never really faltered, but it’s a perfect reminder of just how great he still is.

—

36. Sharp Pins – Radio DDR / Balloon Balloon Balloon (K Recs / Perennial)

A lynchpin of Chicago’s young DIY indie scene, Kai Slater stays very busy: when he’s not making jagged post-punk as one-third of Matador-signed trio Lifeguard, he’s crafting wonderful, jangly power pop with his solo project Sharp Pins. Guided by Voices and Cleaners from Venus are clear influences, but Slater understands that they were students of The Beatles, The Byrds, the Beach Boys, and Big Star — and he is too — putting his own spin and energy on everything. Radio DDR dropped on Bandcamp in 2024 and caught the ear of Pacific Northwest labels K and Perennial, who together gave the album a proper (and slightly expanded) physical release in spring 2025, then followed it with Balloon Balloon Balloon in the fall. Radio DDR is more acoustic, while Balloon Balloon Balloon is louder and looser, but both are filled to the brim with perfectly crafted two-minute earworms.

—

35. Greg Freeman – Burnover (Canvasback / Transgressive)

There are those people who can walk into a vintage clothing store, pick out a bunch of random items, put them all on at once, and somehow make it work. Greg Freeman is like that, mixing genres most couldn’t pull off and making it all seem natural. “Point and Shoot,” the opening cut on his great second album Burnover, sounds like the work of a Pavement/David Berman devotee, but the record quickly widens its scope into all manner of indie rock, country, folk, and ragged Neil Young-isms — not to mention free-jazz territory on the awesome closer “Wolf Pines.” His expressive voice and detailed lyrical observations (so many quotable lines!) bring the whole ensemble together into a perfectly cohesive look.

—

34. Gelli Haha – Switcheroo (Innovative Leisure)

“We wanted to make catchy music,” Angel Abaya says of her debut as Gelli Haha, a collaboration with Sean Guerin. “But we wanted it to be weird. We felt like pop music is too boring and experimental music can be too unpalatable, so we wanted it to meet in the middle.” The world needs more music like Gelli Haha — not so much in sound as in spirit. Switcheroo overflows with joyous, giddy creativity, where “have fun” is the only rule — apart from wearing all red — and you’re invited to dance all night to a parade of colorful bangers that are weird in the most wonderful ways.

—

33. The Beths – Straight Line Was a Lie (ANTI-)

The Beths’ fourth album was born out of a bout of writer’s block suffered by frontperson and songwriter Liz Stokes, who learned that there are no shortcuts when it comes to art. The struggle eventually worked itself out and provided the album’s title, which accompanies yet another fabulous collection of sparkling power pop from one of the best bands doing it today. Alongside the three-minute earworms we’ve come to expect, The Beths add a few new moves to their repertoire, including tender balladry and touches of skronky post-punk. Indecision may have fueled this album’s creation, but the band have never sounded more confident.

—

32. Tropical Fuck Storm – Fairyland Codex (Fire)

As far as thematics go, few indie rock bands have had their finger on the pulse of the last decade quite like Tropical Fuck Storm, holding up a surreal, hyper-colored funhouse mirror to a world going down the drain. “It’s the Golden Age of Arseholes,” Gareth Liddiard declares in “Goon Show,” before adding, “I’ve seen the cellphone footage and it’s raining cats and dogma.” He is both on the nose and rubbing our noses in it amid a phantasmagoric blast of apocalyptic but hooky post-punk. Tropical Fuck Storm avoid specifics — names are rarely mentioned — but they always nail the mood, doing so with a tone that’s both fatalistic and empathetic. On Fairyland Codex, they see the current climate as just the latest natural disaster the Earth must weather before eventually hitting the reset button.

—

31. DECIUS – Decius Vol. II (Splendour & Obedience) (The Leaf Label)

Hedonism is the name of the game with DECIUS, an acid-house-drenched meeting of the minds between Quinn Whalley (Paranoid London/Warmduscher), brothers Luke and Liam May (Trashmouth Records), and Fat White Family frontman Lias Saoudi. Primal urges are at the heart of what DECIUS do, as you might expect from this pedigree, but these four are laser-focused on the dancefloor, delivering four-on-the-floor 120 BPM beats, throbbing synth basslines, squelchy 303s, and simple, anthemic choruses. If you like BRAT, Eusexua, or Peggy Gou, there’s probably something here for you, though tracks like “Birth of a Smirk” and “Queen of 14th St” favor pleasure-center zone-out grooves over big pop hooks. For those looking to sweat it out, DECIUS keep the heat scorching.

—

30. No Joy – Bugland (Hand Drawn Dracula)

Reacquainting yourself with nature and all its flora and fauna might lead some to reach for an acoustic guitar, but for No Joy’s Jasamine White-Gluz — who left Montreal for rural Quebec — it made her shoegaze project more plugged in than ever. Teaming with Fire-Toolz, aka producer, vaporwaver, and onetime screamo vocalist Angel Marcloid, they dug into the dirt and, like David Lynch did in Blue Velvet, found a vibrant, squirmy world underneath the surface. Despite the very digital paths taken to create it, Bugland is the most organic, fully realized No Joy album to date, vibrant and squishy, with the lines blurring between reality and fantasy, rock and electronic music, noise and melody, and insectoid and human into a nuclear-green Jell-O mold of an album that vibrates at previously unheard frequencies.

—

29. Pino Palladino & Blake Mills – That Wasn’t a Dream (New Deal / Impulse)

Like Blake Mills and Pino Palladino’s excellent 2021 debut, Notes With Attachments, this album defies easy categorization. It’s jazz, but also much more, as Mills’ and Palladino’s résumés and collaborators span nearly every genre. Do you like ’60s Lalo Schifrin soundtracks? Prog? Lush instrumental folk? ’80s Windham Hill atmospherics? Flutey Sérgio Mendes–style tropical excursions? It’s all in there. The duo create so much space in these laid-back, deeply groovy tracks that you can hear every instrument clearly, especially Pino’s warm, melodic basslines and Blake’s subtle fretwork, including explorations with the fretless baritone sustainer guitar that, in his hands, can sound as much like brass or woodwinds as a stringed instrument. Utterly transporting.

—

28. Midlake – A Bridge To Far (Bella Union)

For their sixth long-player, Denton, TX’s Midlake turned inward, looking to their own catalog rather than incorporating new influences. The result is the Midlakiest Midlake album yet — and quite possibly their best. For fans, A Bridge To Far is loaded with 100% of your daily requirement of ’70s folk, rock, and prog, sprinkled with flute, gurgling keyboards, and lush harmonies — all part of a complete musical breakfast. Those wishing it were fortified with lyrics about medieval times may want to check out former Midlake frontman Tim Smith’s Harp solo project. Sonically, at least, A Bridge To Far is a near-perfect distillation of everything these Denton baroque folk-rock vets have been making for more than two decades.

—

27. Destroyer – Dan’s Boogie (Merge / Bella Union)

It took 30 years, but Dan Bejar finally embraced his inner lounge singer. Coming after three albums of flirting with dance music, the red velvet curtains you can practically feel behind him on Dan’s Boogie are the perfect backdrop. Of course, Engelbert Humperdinck would never have made a record like this — and that’s thanks to the otherworldly sound design of producer and longtime collaborator John Collins. Dan makes a grand entrance with “The Same Thing and Nothing at All,” which sounds like Las Vegas on Pluto as strings and grand piano drift out of the orchestra in low gravity. There’s a noir vibe here, too, but Collins shoots the album in widescreen Technicolor, while Dan’s signature word-salad style keeps your head spinning. The rumpled tux suits him.

—

26. Panda Bear – Sinister Grift (Domino)

After releasing the fantastic, inventive Sonic Boom collaboration Reset in 2022 and the equally essential Reset in Dub with Adrian Sherwood in 2023, Noah Lennox kept his Panda Bear hot streak going with one of his most satisfying, melodic albums to date. A longtime devotee of Brian Wilson, he once again builds his own distinct sonic universe from sunlit melodies and meticulously layered harmonies. He’s so dialed into the aesthetic here that everything works, from the bouncy opener “Praise” to the Cindy Lee collaboration “Defence” that closes the album. There’s a distinct tropical flair this time — and his daughter Nadja adds Portuguese lyrics to “Anywhere But Here” — while an eerie undercurrent of space-echo dub trippiness provides just enough “sinister” to keep it all from drifting away on an ocean breeze.

—

25. Dutch Interior – Moneyball (Fat Possum)

Too many cooks spoil the kitchen, goes the old adage, but in the case of LA band Dutch Interior, another cliché feels more appropriate: variety is the spice of life. Five of the six members of the twangy, low-key group write and sing, and their distinctive creative — and literal — voices keep things interesting on this pretty, contemplative, and terrific third album. Even with all those contributors, Moneyball feels cohesive thanks to a shared love of ’90s indie rock, alt-country, and slowcore, along with those genres’ original ’60s and ’70s influences. Another bonus of all that talent: everyone brings their A-game, resulting in a tight 10-song, 44-minute record with no duds.

—

24. Guided by Voices – Thick Rich & Delicious (GBV Inc.)

There’s been some talk of Guided by Voices going on indefinite hiatus, but we sure hope not. The current lineup, now a decade strong, is arguably the best the band has ever had, and they’re in the midst of an incredible late-career hot streak that includes Thick Rich & Delicious (which also sounds like the name of an R&B group). The album packs in 15 patented Robert Pollard earworms, loaded with fist-pumping riffs and played with gusto. Bob will no doubt keep making records regardless, but the world would be a worse place without GBV — and if this somehow were their last, they’d be going out on a high.

—

23. The Convenience – Like Cartoon Vampires (Winspear)

New Orleans duo The Convenience made some of the sharpest indie rock of 2025 on their excellent second album. Nick Corson and Duncan Troast — who also play in Video Age — draw from that late-’70s moment when post-punk was turning into new wave and jagged guitars collided with big pop hooks. They keep things fat-free on Like Cartoon Vampires, delivering great songs packed with hooks, memorable choruses, taut riffs, attitude, and not much else, all in under three minutes. Tracks like “Dub Vultures,” “Waiting for a Train,” and “That’s Why I Never Became a Dancer” drip with cool while burning hot with tension. If this reminds you of early Spoon, you wouldn’t be the first — but The Convenience more than hold up to the comparison while very much doing their own thing.

—

22. The Besnard Lakes – The Besnard Lakes Are the Ghost Nation (Full Time Hobby)

Like Wes Anderson or Clipse, Montreal’s The Besnard Lakes have found one thing they do exceptionally well and continue to refine it, album after album. In their case, it’s grand, music-of-the-spheres rock — all slow-burn majesty, soaring harmonies carried on layers of guitars and analog synthesizers as they drift toward the sun, leaving behind a blurry trail not unlike the artwork that graces their covers. Each record is a variation on the theme, it’s always awesome, and they could keep doing this forever without it getting old. The Besnard Lakes Are the Ghost Nation is another perfect vision realized. Long live The Besnard Lakes.

—

21. Stealing Sheep – GLO (Girl Life Online) (G-IRL Records)

Arty Liverpool trio Stealing Sheep began with proggy folk-pop on their 2012 debut Into the Diamond Sun, but by 2015’s Not Real, they’d transformed into something closer to Hot Chip or Metronomy — and they’ve continued evolving ever since. Their sixth album, GLO (Girl Life Online), is a concept record described as “a commentary on the girl gaze, identity performance, and navigating culture through a female lens,” set to the biggest bangers of their career. Mixing techno, dubstep, 2-step, house, Big Beat, and other club subcultures while keeping pop songs and their unique chemistry at the core, it’s tempting to read GLO as a response to BRAT. Perhaps — but it stands firmly on its own.

—

20. Doves – Constellations for the Lonely (EMI North)

For a band whose last four albums all went Top 5 in the UK, Doves still feel underappreciated in 2025. They remain at the top of their game, kings of anthemic, widescreen rock that folds in classic R&B, psych, hip hop, trip hop, and dance music. Constellations for the Lonely is another stunner, gorgeously produced and packed with soaring, string-filled choruses that make your skin tingle. Its 10 songs are all highs, each filled with magical little moments that layer together into something even greater. Jimi Goodwin’s world-weary voice is always a pleasure, but Jez Williams leads the album’s best track, the orchestral masterpiece “Cold Dreamin’,” which sits somewhere between David Axelrod and Minnie Riperton. Across 25 years, Doves have yet to disappoint.

—

19. Mei Semones – Animaru (Bayonette)

The undeniably talented Mei Semones’ debut is the kind of album you could play for MOJO-reading music snobs, metalheads, jazz lovers, emo fans, or your grandparents, and they’d all find something to love. It’s apparent right from the opening track, “Dumb Feeling,” which fills the air with bossa nova guitars straight out of a ’60s Jobim record — before fuzzed-out indie rock chords enter the picture, alongside strings that flutter like blossoms in the breeze. Animaru is an unusual blend of tropicalia, indie rock, and chamber pop that feels familiar, friendly, satisfying, and uniquely hers. Mei and her band are remarkably skilled, with songs that can pivot on a math-rock dime from gentle to loud, sweet to aggressive, while always remaining firmly in control. An extremely impressive debut — where will Mei go next?

—

18. Snapped Ankles – Hard Times, Furious Dancing (The Leaf Label)

The title of London band Snapped Ankles’ fourth album is cribbed from Alice Walker, but it absolutely nails the vibe of our current moment. As the name implies, this is protest music through dance, as the band takes aim at multinational corporations, real estate speculators, and anyone else making life harder than it needs to be — all atop irresistible, synth-driven, funky post-punk. With most tracks clocking in around 140 BPM, it is indeed furious, sounding like a teeming mass that grows with every song and every relentless beat. Everything clicks here, including the KLF-inspired (but unmistakably Snapped Ankles) cover art, resulting in the group’s best, most fun, and most cathartic record yet.

—

17. Wet Leg – moisturizer (Domino)

The footnotes of indie rock history are littered with former buzz bands who fumbled the ball on their second album, but Wet Leg complete a (chez) long(ue) pass for a touchdown with moisturizer. While it may not have an instant, ubiquitous hit like their debut, this is a stronger batch of songs overall — hookier, sharper, saucier, more varied, and more fun. Also: more in love. “I melt for you,” Rhian Teasdale sings at one point. “I liquidize.” The shift from the early-onset midlife crisis of their first album to grappling with romantic hurdles helps avoid the sophomore slump, along with a nonstop run of memorable bangers like “mange tout,” “cpr,” “pokemon,” and “u and me at home.”

—

16. Sorry – COSPLAY (Domino)

The title of London band Sorry’s third album nods to their willingness to try on new styles, though everything is still filtered through their downbeat, low-key, electronics-infected rock sensibility — whether they’re sampling Guided by Voices or cribbing from Burt Bacharach and Tony Basil. COSPLAY, the band’s best record by a mile, also finds Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen searching for meaning, identity, and connection in an increasingly fractured world. It’s a lonely album, one where even love feels fleeting. “I think we’re losing now / I think we’re fucking it up / But it felt so good / When we were drifting in the dark,” Lorenz sings on “Echoes,” her voice cracking into falsetto. Sorry don’t sound like Tricky, but COSPLAY comes from a similar place as Maxinquaye: sultry and sinister, evoking urban wastelands and post-industrial ruins with a deep romantic streak. Deeply affecting, and again, Sorry’s best by a mile.

—

15. M(h)aol – Something Soft (Merge)

If you like your post-punk spare, disaffected, darkly funny, socially conscious, and sharp as hell, few did it better in 2025 than Dublin trio M(h)aol. Their second album is an eviscerating gut punch, delivered with a smile while locking eyes with you. The production, courtesy of the band’s Jamie Hyland, is perfectly blown-out, packed with great touches — from the vintage touch-tone-phone hook on “1-800-Call-Me-Back” to the machine-gun staccato effects on “I Miss My Dog” that Model/Actriz would envy. Then there’s the rhythm section, built like an Italian sports car and daring you not to dance. Not much “soft” here, but who needs it when the album cuts this deep?

—

14. Greentea Peng – TELL DEM IT’S SUNNY (GTP / AWAL Recordings)

Greentea Peng’s fantastic debut, MAN MADE, was one of 2021’s most underrated albums, blending reggae, hip hop, acid jazz, soul, trip hop, and more with her signature psilocybin-enhanced glow. Four years and one mixtape later, she’s done it again. In many ways it’s more of the same, but TELL DEM IT’S SUNNY is even more confident — off the charts in both swagger and flow — with immaculate production from Danger Mouse associates St. Francis Hotel and MAN MADE producer Earbuds. For fans of Little Simz, Lauryn Hill, and Tricky, Greentea Peng sits squarely at the center of that Venn diagram.

—

13. Horsegirl – Phonetics On and On (Matador)

Chicago/NYC trio Horsegirl were signed to Matador and released their debut album while still in high school, but they truly came into their own with this second LP, recorded at Wilco’s Loft studio with kindred spirit Cate Le Bon producing. According to the band’s Penelope Lowenstein, Le Bon told them, “I think so long as things are playful and we find sounds that feel exciting and follow that path, creating kind of a creative energy in the studio, then there’s no way this won’t turn out good.” She was right. The DIY post-punk instincts of their early releases remain, but the band have become stronger songwriters and players, and turning the volume down just a notch works wonders. Phonetics On and On glows with charmingly rough-hewn arrangements, vocal interplay, and sticky hooks and choruses.

—

12. Automatic – Is It Now? (Stones Throw)

The first thing you hear on Is It Now? is bongos, followed by the crack of a whip before the rhythm section kicks in. Welcome to the land of dubby disco, slightly new territory for LA trio Automatic, who previously trafficked in icy synth-pop. For their third album, the band melted a little ice off their coldwave sound, recording mostly live to analog tape with Florence + The Machine drummer Loren Humphrey as producer. He also contributes additional percussion, and alongside drummer Lola Dompe and the group’s array of vintage rhythm boxes, the result is funkier, more human grooves that dramatically open up Automatic’s sound. Is It Now? is alive, exciting, and a major upgrade.

—

11. Little Simz – Lotus (AWAL Recordings)

One of the most fulfilling creative partnerships of the last decade — whipsmart London rapper Little Simz and visionary producer Inflo — came crashing down last year, but while there’s no denying the magic they made together, Simz is doing just fine on her own, as Lotus proves again and again. Working with producer Miles Clinton James (KOKOROKO), the album isn’t far removed from the lush grooves of 2021’s Mercury Prize–winning Sometimes I Might Be Introvert, but this time Simz sounds more grounded, more street-level. Playful standout “Young” nods to Amy Winehouse, the irresistible “Enough” features Yukimi of Little Dragon, and opener “Thief” addresses Inflo head-on: “Know you thought my career right now would be failing / But my ship won’t stop sailing.” Lotus may not have the singular focus of Introvert, but it’s lighter on its feet, more fun, and suggests that with Little Simz, the best is still to come.

—

10. The Belair Lip Bombs – Again (Third Man)

Australian quartet The Belair Lip Bombs call their music “yearn-core,” mixing indie rock with country and power pop. That’s a very 2025 combination, but their second album feels like it could have existed at almost any point over the last 50 years, pulling from twangy ’70s AM radio rock, ’80s college radio, the ’90s country resurgence, and the recent wave of Aussie indie that gave us Courtney Barnett and Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever. With warm charm, simple but clever wordplay, and the amazing pipes of singer/guitarist Maisie Everett at the center — backed by her very capable bandmates — The Belair Lip Bombs deliver one instantly likable song after another. It’s also the kind of record that lets you know they’re going to be great live. If you’re a fan of Wednesday’s Bleeds and The Beths’ Straight Line Was a Lie, Again fits perfectly between them.

—

9. Suede – Antidepressants (BMG)

“If Autofiction was our punk record,” Suede frontman Brett Anderson posits, “Antidepressants is our post-punk record.” This writer has always thought of Autofiction as Suede’s goth album, and Antidepressants leans even further into that lineage. Of course, goth grew out of the original post-punk scene, and the touchstones here are The Cult circa Love, The Chameleons, Bauhaus, Siouxsie, and Faith-era Cure — not Floodland or Fields of the Nephilim. It’s a natural, even perfect extension of Suede’s signature “beautiful trash” glam sound, and the jagged yet manicured arrangements on their 10th album — they’ve now released as many since reforming as they did the first time around — suit a band in their 50s still rocking out credibly. Bassist Mat Osman told us there were nearly 50 songs in contention, eventually whittled down to these 11 gems. Without a doubt, Suede’s best album since Coming Up.

—

8. Baxter Dury – Allbarone (Heavenly)

Baxter Dury has been flirting with dance music since his appearance on Étienne de Crécy’s Super Discount 3, but he dives headfirst into disco on Allbarone, made with super-producer Paul Epworth. Having lived in Paris, French Touch suits him well, and his shabby-chic, marble-mouth delivery — full of stream-of-consciousness swearing and poppy choruses sung by a rotating cast of female vocalists (with various accents) — gets a serious glow-up without losing its charm. Tracks like “Alpha Dog,” “Return of the Sharpheads,” and “Hapsburg” seem to answer the question: what if Daft Punk made an album with Serge Gainsbourg, except he’s English and from the gritty side of London? If that sounds appealing, it should.

—

7. Viagra Boys – viagr aboys (Shrimptech Enterprises)

The first line of “Man Made of Meat,” the opening track on Viagra Boys’ gleefully debauched fourth album, is the definitive Viagra Boys moment committed to tape. Specifically, it’s Sebastian Murphy’s delivery of the line “Overweight freaks ride around on wheelchairs motorized by electric motors made by goblins in a factory overseas,” capped by a perfectly timed wet belch on the word “factory.” Accident or meticulously planned? Who knows — and who cares? It’s perfect, and it tells you exactly what kind of record you’re in for (though if you’ve decided to listen to Viagra Boys, you probably already know). Even without the scatalogical punctuation, “Man Made of Meat” would be a classic big-riff dance-rock burner, one of many rippers here that skate full-speed along the clever/stupid line blindfolded. On viagr aboys, the band fully hone their party-forward, sleazoid mutant punk into a greasy point, stuffing songs with quotable lines, undeniable grooves, and the occasional emission of noxious gases.

—

6. Marie Davidson – City of Clowns (DEEWEE)

This list includes plenty of contenders for Club Album of the Year — DECIUS, Stealing Sheep, Gelli Haha — but the crown goes to Essaie Pas’ Marie Davidson. City of Clowns is a sleek, sexy, banger-filled electronic record that doubles as a defiant takedown of tech bros, reply guys, DM creeps, and other villains of our screen-addled age. Made with her Essaie Pas partner Pierre Guerineau and co-produced by Stephen and David Dewaele of Soulwax (whose label, DEEWEE, also released the album), City of Clowns sounds incredible: gleaming like polished steel, minimal yet skyscraper-huge. Every element matters, from the icy synth lines of “Statistical Modelling” to the mix of early drum machines, organic percussion, and stabbing basslines throughout. Most impressive of all, it’s an anti-tech electronic album — Marie has her cake, eats it too, then offers you a bite before smashing it on the floor and dancing all over it.

—

5. Hannah Cohen – Earthstar Mountain (Bella Union / Congrats Records)

Named after a beautiful but inedible mushroom found near her Catskills home, Hannah Cohen’s fourth album is similarly otherworldly — but far more digestible. Earthstar Mountain indulges in lush ’70s textures, from the Fleetwood Mac–ish title track (featuring Sufjan Stevens), to a Dusty Springfield homage that sounds closer to Minnie Riperton and sneaks in Buckaroo Banzai quotes, to a sumptuous take on Ennio Morricone’s “Una Spiaggia,” featuring Clairo on harmonies and clarinet. Glittery standout “Summer Sweat” hints at where Cohen may head next (disco). Though guests abound, there’s no doubt this is Hannah’s show, and Earthstar Mountain is a new plateau.

—

4. CMAT – EURO-COUNTRY (CMATBABY / AWAL Recordings)

“I don’t know anyone that’s making anything that’s like my music,” Irish singer Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson told MOJO ahead of her third album as CMAT — and she’s right. Certainly not anything like “The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station,” an orchestral space-rock jam where she skewers the celebrity chef before reminding herself, “Don’t be a bitch / The man’s got kids and they wouldn’t like it.” Nor “Lord, Let That Tesla Crash,” which blends grief and gallows humor into one of the year’s most affecting ballads. EURO-COUNTRY plays like a greatest-hits collection from an artist still ascending, stuffed with giant pop hooks and endlessly quotable lines, all unmistakably from one singular voice. There really is no one else like CMAT — and she’s only just getting started.

—

3. Stereolab – Instant Holograms on Metal Film (Duophonic / Warp)

2025 was a banner year for ’90s-era artists, but even among the comebacks, Stereolab’s return was a surprise. Unlike Pulp, who’d been road-testing new songs in 2024, Stereolab announced in April that their first album in nearly 15 years would arrive in just over a month. The real shock was how good Instant Holograms on Metal Film turned out to be — and how natural it felt. This is the Stereolab you remember: jazzy chords, hypnotic rhythms, xylophones, flutes, brass, interwoven vocals, politicized lyrics paired with “bah dee bah” hooks, and all manner of cool analog synths. Laetitia Sadier says she was more actively involved than ever before, and working with new collaborator Cooper Crain of Bitchin Bajas, the group rediscovered their mojo. This Hologram isn’t an illusion — it’s real, and it’s an unexpected miracle.

—

2. Saint Etienne – International (Heavenly)

2025 may have been the year of the ’90s comeback — Pulp, Stereolab, who am I forgetting? — but Saint Etienne decided it was time to call it quits. They went out in style. Their final album contains just about everything you could want from a Saint Etienne record, with help from an impressive list of friends: The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, Vince Clarke, Erol Alkan, Confidence Man, Xenomania, Nick Heyward, and more. A crowded guest list can be a red flag, but everyone here understood the assignment. Highlights include the slice-and-diced “Glad,” made with Tom Rowlands and Doves’ Jez Williams; the fizzy Confidence Man collaboration “Brand New Me”; and the dubby techno rush of “Take Me to the Pilot,” produced by Orbital’s Phil Hartnoll. The rest isn’t far behind, bringing Saint Etienne’s suave, sophisticated career to a close on a very high note.

—

1. Pulp – More (Rough Trade)

“I was born to do this / shouting and pointing,” Jarvis Cocker sings on the opening track of Pulp’s first album in 24 years. He’s kept shouting and pointing an art form in his post-Pulp projects, but somehow it all lands harder when he’s back with the band that made him famous. Comeback records carry impossible expectations, and Pulp somehow overdeliver, blending great new songs with a couple of long-unused older ones polished to perfection, plus all the signature moves — sexy whispering, horny lyrics, disco — and a few surprises. (When Jarvis drops a raised-eyebrow “are you sure?” in “Grown Ups,” it’s fan service of the best kind.) A lot has happened since the last Pulp album, including the death of bassist Steve Mackey in 2023, which helped inspire More through Jarvis’ “choose happiness wherever you are” outlook. The album reflects on mortality in Cocker’s singular way, but it’s also full of ease, camaraderie, and fun — qualities largely missing from Pulp records since Different Class. “I am not aging, I am just ripening,” Jarvis sings later, adding, “and life’s too short to drink bad wine.” More has already aged beautifully and deserves to be savored.

—

Just bubbling under here’s 41-50:

Cate Le Bon – Michelangelo Dying (Mexican Summer)
Smerz – big city life (Escho)
Tunng – Love You All Over Again (Full Time Hobby)
Soulwax – All Systems Are Lying (DEEWEE)
Sextile – yes, please. (Sacred Bones)
Sloan – Based on the Best Seller (Murderrecords / Yep Roc)
Bambara – Birthmarks (Wharf Cat / Bella Union)
The Horrors – Night Life (Fiction)
Chime Oblivion – Chime Oblivion (DEATHGOD)
The Hives – The Hives Forever Forever The Hives (PIAS)

And an 80-way tie for 51:

Activity – A Thousand Years In Another Way (Western Vinyl)
Adrian Sherwood – The Collapse of Everything (On-U Sound)
Art d’Ecco – Serene Demon (Paper Bag Records)
Ashes and Diamonds – Ashes and Diamonds Are Forever (Cleopatra)
bar italia – Some Like It Hot (Matador)
Billie Marten – Dog-Eared (Fiction)
Billy Nomates – Metalhorse (Invada)
Black Country, New Road – Forever Howlong (Ninja Tune)
Brian Eno & Beatie Wolfe – Luminal / Lateral (Verve)
The Bug Club – Very Human Features (Sub Pop)
Cate Le Bon – Michelangelo Dying (Mexican Summer)
The Chameleons – Arctic Moon (Metropolis Records)
Cory Hanson – I Love People (Drag City)
Cousines Like Shit – Permanent Earthquake (Seayou Records)
The Darkness – Dreams on Toast (Canary Dwarf Ltd / Cooking Vinyl)
Das Koolies – Pando (Strangetown)
Dean Wareham – That’s the Price of Loving Me (Carpark)
Deerhoof – Noble and Godlike in Ruin (Deerhoof)
DJ Koze – Music Can Hear Us (Pampa)
Edwyn Collins – Nation Shall Speak Unto Nation (AED)
Ela Minus – DÍA (Domino)
Ex-Vöid – In Love Again (Tapete)
Florry – Sounds Like… (Dear Life)
Franz Ferdinand – The Human Fear (Domino)
Freckle – Freckle (GOD? / Drag City)
Gina Birch – Trouble (Third Man)
The Gnomes – Introducing the Gnomes (Dog Meat Records)
The Gotobeds – Masterclass (12XU)
Gruff Rhys – Dim Probs (Rock Action)
Guerilla Toss – You’re Weird Now (Sub Pop)
Gwenno – Utopia (Heavenly)
Hand Habits – Blue Reminder (Fat Possum)
Hollie Cook – Shy Girl (Mr Bongo)
Hunx and His Punx – Walk Out on This World (Get Better Records)
Immersion with SUSS – Nanocluster Vol. 3 (SWIM~)
Insecure Men – A Man for All Seasons (Fat Possum)
Ivy – Traces of You (Bar None)
Jenny Hval – Irish Silver Mist (4AD)
Just Mustard – WE WERE JUST HERE (Partisan)
Kangding Ray – SIRĀT
Kieran Hebden & William Tyler – 41 Longfield Street Late ’80s (Temporary Residence Ltd)
Le Volume Courbe – Planet Ping Pong (Duophonic)
Lifeguard – Ripped and Torn (Matador)
Lindstrøm – Sirius Syntoms (Feedelity)
Living Hour – Internal Drone Infinity (Keeled Scales)
Luke Haines & Peter Buck – Going Down To The River… To Blow My Mind (Cherry Red)
Marc Ribot – Map of a Blue City (New West)
Matt Berry – Heard Noises (Acid Jazz)
Miki Berenyi Trio – Tripla
Modern Nature – The Heat Warps (Bella Union)
Mogwai – The Bad Fire (Rock Action)
Moon Mullins – Hotel Paradiso (Ruination Records)
Mozart Estate – Tower Block in a Jam Jar (Cherry Red)
The Moonlandingz – No Rocket Required (Transgressive)
The Murder Capital – Blindness (Human Season)
Mythologen – Eurovision (YEAR001)
Oneohtrix Point Never – Tranquilizer (Warp)
P.E. – Oh! (Wharf Cat)
Peel Dream Magazine – Taurus (Topshelf)
Poor Creature – All Smiles Tonight (River Lea Records)
Population II – Maintenant Jamais (Bonsound)
Pynch – Beautiful Noise (Chillburn Recordings)
Quad90 – QUAD90 (Last Night in Glasgow)
Richard Dawson – End of the Middle (Domino)
Ribbon Skirt – Bite Down (Mint Music)
Rose City Band – Sol Y Sombra (Thrill Jockey)
SAVAK – SQUAWK! (Ernest Jennings Record Co)
Silver Synthetic – Rosalie (Curation Records)
Sophia Kennedy – Squeeze Me (City Slang)
Sparks – MAD! (Transgressive)
Steve Gunn – Music for Writers (Three Lobed Recordings)
Superchunk – Songs in the Key of Yikes (Merge)
The Tubs – Cotton Crown (Trouble in Mind)
Tortoise – Touch (International Anthem)
Tunde Adebimpe – Thee Black Boltz (Sub Pop)
Ty Segall – Possession (Drag City)
U.S. Girls – Scratch It (4AD)
Water From Your Eyes – It’s a Beautiful Place (Matador)
The Weather Station – Humanhood (Fat Possum)
Wednesday – Bleeds (Dead Oceans)
William Tyler – Time Indefinite (Psychic Telephone)
Wombo – Danger in Fives (Fire Talk)
Young Knives – Landfill (Gadzook)

Here’s the Indie Basement Best of 2025 playlist that has songs from all of the above albums plus more of the best stuff from this year. You can listen via Tidal, Apple or if you must, Spotify:

Looking for more? Browse the Indie Basement archives.

And check out what’s new in our shop.

The 20 Best Britpop Albums of 1995

20. Echobelly – On

Where Echobelly’s debut album (1994’s Everybody’s Got One) was as shiny as Britpop got, the band scuffed things up just a little for its follow-up, and made On with American production team Sean Slade and Paul Q Kolderie (Buffalo Tom, Hole, Radiohead’s The Bends). The guitars rip and roar a touch more, but songs like “Great Things,” “King of the Kerb,” and “Pantyhose and Roses” remain chipper, sugar-sweet and ridiculously catchy. Like on their debut, On‘s most distinctive feature remains singer Sonya Aurora Madan whose crystal clear voice really makes things soar.

19. Salad – Drink Me

London group Salad was led by Dutch musician and model Marijne van der Vlugt who was also a VJ for MTV Europe at the same time she was in the band. She was a striking presence in the band with a clear, powerful voice that cut through the often jagged guitars — all of which set them apart from the rest of the Britpop pack. Certainly no other group was releasing anything quite as wonderfully odd as “Motorbike to Heaven” or “Drink the Elixir” at the time. Despite being on a major label (Island Records subsidiary Red), Salad were just a little too odd for mainstream popularity — though Drink Me did briefly enter the UK Top 20 — but it does, however, make the album ripe for rediscovery (they’re also back in action).

18. Menswe@r – Nuisance

Every genre seems to have its blatantly commercial group that pays close attention to the competition, trying to beat them at their own game while proclaiming what they really want to be is famous. Menswe@r were that band for Britpop, a group that felt like they were conceived in the pages of the hype-heavy British music press or at a scene-y Camden pub like The Good Mixer. In fact, the band’s Johnny Dean and Chris Gentry managed to get a quote about Menswe@r in an issue of Select when the band was just an idea in their head, and Melody Maker put them on the cover before they’d released a single. (MM did the same for Suede.) Musically, the group swiped ideas from all the other popular bands: Like Elastica, they ripped off Wire (“Daydreamer”) and brought in a string section a la Oasis or Blur for swoony ballad “Being Brave.” Pulp and Suede are also clearly points of reference from the hairstyles down. But as far as style-forward disposable pop goes, Nuisance is enjoyable fluff and, unlike some groups, Menswe@r don’t attempt to hide what they’re doing.

17. Various Artists – The Help Album

Some of the biggest artists in the UK and Ireland, including most of the Britpop Elite, contributed new songs to this high concept benefit album aiding the War Child charity. The concept was inspired by John Lennon’s “Instant Karma” — the idea that all art should be released to the world as soon as it’s made. So 20 artists went into the studio on September 4, 1995 and the album was in the shops five days later. Some of the Britpop highlights: Radiohead’s “Lucky,” which would appear two years later on OK Computer; a new, terrific acoustic version of Oasis b-side “Fade Away” featuring Johnny Depp and Kate Moss; Suede covering Elvis Costello’s “Shipbuilding” (also famously covered by Robert Wyatt); Blur in playful instrumental mode on “Eine kleine Lift Musik”; The KLF’s Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty as The One World Orchestra with a cover of The Magnificent Seven theme (their first music in four years); Salad and Specials frontman Terry Hall covering “Dream a Little Dream of Me”; and The Charlatans covering Sly & The Family Stone’s “Time for Livin’.” The biggest deal was a cover of The Beatles’ “Come Together” by The Smokin’ Mojo Filters (aka Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher and Paul Weller), but the secret best song is Sinead O’Connor’s cover of Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billy Joe.”

16. Shack – Waterpistol

Shack were one of those bands who seemed poised for stardom but just couldn’t catch a break or get out of their own way. Led by brothers Michael and John Head, who spent most of the ’80s in orchestral indie band The Pale Fountains, Shack updated the ’60s merseybeat sounds of their Liverpool hometown, which landed them sonically somewhere between The La’s and The Stone Roses. Recording of their second album took place in 1991, but went over schedule as Michael Head struggled to finish songs; when the album was finished, the studio burned down along with the album’s masters. The only finished copy of the record was in the possession of producer Chris Allison…who accidentally left the tape in a rental car. The DAT tape was eventually tracked down but by the time it was back in the hands of the group, their label had folded. Waterpistol finally saw release in 1995, by which time Shack had been broken up for a couple years already, with Michael Head falling into heroin addiction. Drama and back luck aside, Waterpistol is a fantastic record that felt very of the moment in 1995, full of shoulda-been-hits like “Dragonfly,” “Mood of the Morning” and “Walter’s Song.” A lost classic that is well worth seeking out.

15. The Verve – A Northern Soul

The Verve started off as a deeply psychedelic band, known more for Nick McCabe’s awesome, tripped out guitar pyrotechnics and frontman Richard Ashcroft’s million-mile stare than catchy melodies. That all changed with The Verve’s second album, which they made with Oasis producer Owen Morris. McCabe’s playing was still very cosmic but was now in service of hooky rock songs that also made better use of Ashcroft’s powerful pipes. (Drummer Pete Salisbury and bassist Simon Jones, meanwhile, were one of the best rhythm sections of the ’90s.) Tracks like “This is Music” and “A New Decade” were still pretty far out, but it was singles “On Your Own” and “History” that proved The Verve could give the Gallaghers a run for their money in the sweeping ballad department.

14. Blur – The Great Escape

After the one-two punch of 1993’s Modern Life is Rubbish and 1994’s Parklife, there was a lot of pressure on Blur to one up themselves again. Of course, anything short of amazing was gonna be a letdown, and at the time this third serving of quirky British life felt like one Full English Breakfast too many. (Blur were full, too; the band looked to Magic America for 1997’s self titled album which, woohoo, gave them their first U.S. hit.) But with the distance of 25 years, The Great Escape is actually a really good album, from singalong hits “Stereotypes” and “Charmless Man” (one of the great Blur singles), to the swaying “Best Days” and bouncing “Top Man.” Blur and The Great Escape really excel at sweeping mood pieces and three of their best are here: “The Universal,” “He Thought of Cars” and “Yuko and Hiro.” Even the none-more-Blur “Country House” sounds pretty good now.

13. Paul Weller – Stanley Road

Never one to get too comfortable with his surroundings, Paul Weller has had a pathological need to reinvent himself over the years. He broke up The Jam at the height of their stardom to form the politically active, suave pop group The Style Council, which he then disbanded in 1989 just after turning 30. He changed things up again for his ’90s solo career, making the kind of earthy, soulful rock you might expect from Traffic or Joe Cocker. At the same time a new crop of British groups (Supergrass, Blur, Pulp) looked to The Jam and The Style Council for inspiration. It all made it a perfect time for a Weller comeback. Having primed things with 1993’s Wild Wood, Paul really delivered with the million-selling Stanley Road that featured a host of collaborators, including Steve Winwood, his old Style Council cohort Mick Talbot and big fan Noel Gallagher. Stanley Road‘s sound fit right in between Oasis and The Charlatans and on the album’s lead single, “Changing Man,” he even addressed his need to blow things up and start again — “Numbed by the effect, aware of the muse, too in touch with myself, I light the fuse” — all while cementing his Modfather status.

12. Sleeper – Smart

Louise Wener and Jon Stewart, who had been in a number of college bands together before moving to London, took out an ad in Melody Maker: “Bass player and drummer wanted. Influences The Pixies and The Partridge Family.” Sleeper were born. Wener was a charismatic frontwoman and an even better lyricist, riviling Jarvis Cocker with witty, relatable tales of romantic angst, mid-20s ennui and sex in the suburbs. All that can be found on Sleeper’s debut album, Smart, which kicks off with three fantastic singles: love-the-one-you’re-with Top 20 UK hit “Inbetweener,” the Pixies-ish “Swallow,” and decidedly randy “Delicious.” The nine songs that follow are nearly as good. The IT Girl, released in 1996, is even better but Sleeper  wouldn’t last much longer, breaking up in 1998 after their third album; Wener then put her observational talents to good use as a novelist (her debut, 2002’s Goodnight Steve McQueen, is terrific). Sleeper reformed in 2017 and released the very good The Modern Age in 2019.

11. Gene – Olympian

London group Gene were dogged by comparisons to The Smiths, due mostly to frontman Martin Rossitter’s at times uncanny vocal resemblance to Morrissey, but also their purple-prosed lyrics and a propensity for sticking some of their best songs on b-sides. Those comparisons were fairly superficial, though, with guitarist Steve Mason drawing more from Small Faces’ Steve Marriott or Paul Weller than Johnny Marr, and Rossitter offering a more positive, romantic, us-vs-the-world outlook than Moz. Gene also tended to swing for the fences with big riffs and bigger anthemic choruses, and their debut album, Olympian, finds them connecting with real power, whether it was swaggering rock like “Haunted by You,” “Car That Sped” and “To the City,” or more windswept numbers like “London, Can You Wait” and the title track. To See the Sights, released the next year, collects non-LP singles and b-sides from this era and is, to further that Smiths comparison, their Hatful of Hollow and a great companion to Olympian.

10. The Charlatans – The Charlatans

The Charlatans are survivors, having started as part of the Manchester music scene in the wake of The Stone Roses and Happy Mondays. But they have managed to change with the changing times, surviving a few major setbacks and tragedies, while maintaining their own identity and Hammond organ-led sound. As Madchester’s high faded, guitars began figuring in a little more prominently into their sound. While 1994’s Up to Our Hips stumbled, The Charlatans sorted themselves out by the time of their self-titled fourth album, which found them sounding more confident than ever, adopting a Stones-y Exile on Main Street vibe that put them right in heart of Britpop. The Charlatans was a #1 album for them, with terrific hit singles “Crashin’ In,” “Just When You’re Thinkin Things Over” and “Just Lookin’.” Another impressive pivot for one of the UK’s most resilient bands of the last 30 years.

9. Teenage Fanclub – Grand Prix

Glasgow’s Teenage Fanclub haven’t altered their musical course much since forming in the late ’80s, making a brand of jangly guitar pop that owes much to Big Star, Beach Boys and The Byrds. With a high level of quality that continues to this day, Teenage Fanclub have done it without ever really playing music industry games, just happy to crank out good record after good record. But in the mid-’90s, the Fannies’ classic sound fit right in with the Britpop revival. It also coincided with the release of what is arguably their best album, Grand Prix, which to play off the album’s Formula One cover art, has them firing on all cylinders. It helps to have three very good songwriters, and Grand Prix was their first record where guitarist Raymond McGinley’s work rose to the level of his bandmates Norman Blake and Gerrard Love. Some of Teenage Fanclub’s all-time best songs are here: Love’s “Sparky’s Dream” and “Don’t Look Back,” Blake’s “Mellow Doubt” and “Neil Jung” and McGinley’s “About You” and “Verisimilitude.”

8. Boo Radleys – Wake Up!

The Boo Radleys began life as died-in-the-wool, noise-loving shoegazers but main songwriter Martin Carr always had a fondness for classic pop songwriting that fought its way through the noise of their early records. The band dabbled in straight-up guitar pop on 1993’s Giant Steps, which is also around the time their label, Creation, signed a band named Oasis whose runaway success really changed everything for the label and the existing roster. Where bands like Ride and The Boo Radleys were once content to make “cool” indie records, there was now pressure to compete with the Gallaghers in the charts. Carr came from the same school of pop as The Kinks, The Beatles and The Zombies and proved to be a natural, with The Boo Radleys making the transition effortlessly on their fourth album, Wake Up! The ebullient, horn-filled first single “Wake Up Boo!” is a song, like Katrina & The Waves’ “Walking on Sunshine,” that was made to be played the minute the weather gets nice, and was a Top 10 hit for the band that stayed in the UK singles charts for most of the spring and summer. While that was the only hit on the album (which also went to #1) but “It’s Lulu” and “Find the Answer Within” shoulda been smashes, too.

7. Black Grape – It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah

Happy Mondays crashed and burned during the making of their 1992 album Yes Please!, with frontman Shaun Ryder and other members of the band dealing with serious drug problems. Instead of disappearing off the face of the earth, Ryder and Mondays dancer/vibes man Bez rebounded surprisingly quickly, forming Black Grape in 1993, enlisting Ruthless Rap Assassins members Paul “Kermit” Leveridge and Ged Lynch as well as producer and songwriting partner Danny Saber. Past excesses thankfully hadn’t dimmed Ryder’s lyrical wit one bit, and the fresh start and new collaborators brought out the best in him. It’s Great When You’re Straight…Yeah, a title that referenced Ryder’s new cleaned-up lifestyle, rivals Happy Mondays’ Pills N’ Thrills N’ Bellyaches for sheer pleasure. The cover art, featuring a Pop Art illustration of Carlos the Jacklyn, referenced other things. Musically, Black Grape resembles Ryder’s old band, but adapted to the mid-’90s with Kermit as a great vocal foil, and some of Britpop’s anthemicism baked into singles “The Reverend Black Grape,” “In the Name of the Father” (which takes swipes at the Catholic Church) and “Kelly’s Heroes” (which sounds lot like Madonna’s “Express Yourself”). Few artists manage a second act like this, let alone one so good.

6. Cast – All Change

The La’s 1990 self-titled debut album is one of the direct precursors to Britpop and while frontman and songwriter Lee Mavers never made another album, sideman John Power proved more than up to the task of leading his own band, Cast. Enlisting Peter Wilkinson from Shack (another Liverpool band who had trouble with labels and frontmen), they formed a group who favored songs over bravado and drama. It was a formula that worked. Songs like “Alright,” “Sandstorm,” and “Finetime” sounded like classics from the get-go, with earworm choruses that stick in your head on first listen. John Leckie’s production — with layer upon layer of guitars and harmonies — makes everything pop. The real appeal of All Change is just how effortless it all seems. These songs don’t sound like they were written as much as they were always there just waiting to be heard.

5. Radiohead – The Bends

Nobody would call Radiohead Britpop now, and nobody really did in 1995 either, but The Bends definitely has more in common with Blur and Oasis than the proggy widescreen grandeur they would debut with OK Computer. These are pop songs played on guitars — lots of guitars — and tracks like “Fake Plastic Trees,” “High and Dry,” “Bones” and “The Bends” became the template for many new Britpop groups in the second half of the ’90s. (See: Travis, Stereophonics, Longpigs, Coldplay.) John Leckie’s production helps tracks like “Just” and “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” achieve liftoff, and The Bends is also notable as the record where they met Nigel Godrich, who engineered the record and would go on to form a beautiful friendship with the band that lasts to this day. Before The Bends, Radiohead were that band who did “Creep,” but with this it was clear they would never be stuck in the land of One Hit Wonders.

4. Elastica – Elastica

Led by Justine Frischmann — who had been an early member of Suede and for much of the ’90s was one half of Britpop’s #1 Power Couple with Blur’s Damon Albarn — Elastica were a breath of fresh air when they released “Stutter,” their 1993 debut single that mixed punk, new wave and heaps of attitude. If you weren’t paying attention then, you certainly were by the time of their third single, “Connection,” that borrowed (and later paid for) its riff from Wire’s “Three Girl Rhumba.” When the song kicks in at the 20 second mark, you’ve got one of 1994’s most undeniable hooks. The band were not shy about paying homage to bands they loved: “Line Up” also borrowed heavily from Wire, and “Waking Up” tipped its hat to The Stranglers’ “No More Heroes.” The wait for their debut album seemed like forever, and when it was finally released in March of 1995 it became the fastest selling UK album since Oasis’ Definitely Maybe the year before and held onto the title till Arctic Monkeys’ Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not in 2006. More than half of Elastica‘s songs had already seen release on singles (including some b-sides) which made it a little disappointing for fans at the time, but it now just sounds like a start-to-finish classic.

3. Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?

In the storied Blur Vs Oasis battle of 1995, when the band’s respective singles “Country House” and “Roll With It” were released on the same day in the UK (August 14), Blur debuted at #1 with the Gallaghers coming in at #2. But Oasis won the war just a couple months later when their second album was released and made them worldwide superstars. (Blur’s 1995 album, The Great Escape, was very good but just a little too British for mainstream international appeal.) Songwriter Noel Gallagher was at the top of his confident game; he was still swiping bits from his heroes but had also figured out Oasis’ style by this point, mixing equal parts melody and swagger, with sing-a-long choruses that sound good even when the lyrics don’t make a lot of sense (often). Beyond singles like “Wonderwall,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger” and “Champagne Supernova,” Morning Glory‘s deep cuts, like “Cast No Shadow,” are just as good. While their boasts of “bigger than the Beatles” were tiresome, for a while Oasis made a very good argument.

2. Supergrass – I Should Coco

Supergrass frontman Gaz Coombes was only 19 when the band’s debut album was released in May of 1995 (his bandmates weren’t much older) and the record gets much of its charm from the trio’s unbridled youthful energy that they managed to capture on tape. Its staying power, though, comes from the songs which are smart, insanely catchy and much more sophisticated than they first seem. I Should Coco incorporates a wide range of influences, including punk (“Caught by the Fuzz,” “I’d Like to Know), glam (“Lose it,” “Time”), ’60s psych (“We’re Not Supposed To”), and Britpop forebears the Kinks and Madness (“Alright,” “Mansize Rooster”), but they jumble them together to make an infectious, distinctive sound. Supergrass were also ferociously talented musicians, with drummer Danny Goffey’s playing keeping those energy levels high as the band tear though the album’s 13 tracks in just 40 minutes, and that’s including the six-minute spaced out, proggy “Sofa of My Lethargy”. I Should Coco was a huge hit in the UK — it was label Parlophone’s biggest selling debut since The Beatles’ Please Please Me — and earns extra Britpop points for its title which incorporates Cockney Rhyming Slang.

1. Pulp – Different Class

Having led Pulp to general critical and public indifference since the early-’80s, Jarvis Cocker put the group on hold to study film at London’s Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where he had his mind expanded by raves and met Steve Mackey who would help usher in a new, more formidable lineup of the band. (He also met a girl from Greece with a thirst for knowledge who studied sculpture, memories of which would come in handy later.) With the ’90s, Cocker’s lyrical observations became sharper, his stage presence more assured, and Pulp’s glammy disco snapped into sharp focus. 1994’s His N’ Hers was their best yet by a mile, but it did not prepare the world for the record Pulp would release the next year, a massive leap forward that had Cocker and Pulp working at the height of their powers and that perfectly aligned with Peak Britpop. His time at Saint Martin’s College was inspiration for “Common People,” a tale of upper class slumming that would quickly become Pulp’s signature anthem. The album, Different Class, followed suit with 11 more brilliant tales of Misshapes, mistakes, and misfits, including: “Disco 2000,” one of a few unrequited love songs here, this one set to a riff nicked from Laura Brannigan’s “Gloria”; “Sorted for E’s and Wizz” found Jarvis out of his head at a rave; and “Monday Morning” laid out the drudgery of mid-’20s endless post-college partying against ska backing. The hooks are plentiful and the quotable lines are endless, and while the record is exceedingly British it is somehow relatable to anyone who’s ever felt out of place. “Blur Vs Oasis” may have been the hot topic in the British press in 1995, but Different Class rendered the debate instantly moot.