There’s something in rock music that loves a list – I think Robert Frost said that. The latest rock list comes from the good people at Entertainment Weekly, who have decided to chronilce twenty-five years of indie rock. As they know the importance of cred to the indie crowd, they make sure to establish themselves first as true fans:

“Why do we (Entertainment Weekly) love indie rock? Because it shuns everything that is prefab, safe, typical. It's about freedom, expression, passion -- no rules, man!”

Even though their list is hip and with it, they do establish some ground rules:

1.     Only one album may represent each year.

2.     All bands had to have been signed to an independent label for the album.

3.     The list only includes bands.

Here’s the list according to Entertainment Weekly:

1984: The Replacements, Let It Be

1985: The Smiths, Meat Is Murder

1986: R.E.M., Life's Rich Pageant

1987: Dinosaur Jr., You're Living All Over Me

1988: Sonic Youth, Daydream Nation

1989: The Pixies, Doolittle

1990: Fugazi, Repeater

1991: My Bloody Valentine, Loveless

1992: Pavement, Slanted and Enchanted

1993: Built To Spill, Ultimate Alternative Wavers

1994: Guided By Voices, Bee Thousand

1995: Archers Of Loaf, Vee Vee

1996: Belle And Sebastian, If You're Feeling Sinister

1997: Modest Mouse, The Lonesome Crowded West

1998: Neutral Milk Hotel, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

1999: Sleater-Kinney, The Hot Rock

2000: Yo La Tengo, And then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out

2001: The Shins, Oh, Inverted World

2002: Interpol, Turn on the Bright Lights

2003: The White Stripes, Elephant

2004: Arcade Fire, Funeral

2005: Bright Eyes, I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning

2006: The Hold Steady, Boys and Girls in America

2007: Spoon, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

2008: Radiohead, In Rainbows

Not really a bad list. It’s nice to see The Hold steady get some props, and there really isn’t a ‘bad’ album in the bunch. I would have liked to see Yankee Hotel Foxtrot as the representative from 2002, but the point of lists, as Robert Frost knew, is to foster just these sorts of discussions. [Brooklyn Vegan]