Indie Rock Vinyl Records – The Vinyl Room

Record alert · Indie Rock

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Indie rock on vinyl: independent labels, singles and new bands

In short: Indie rock comes from “independent”: it originally meant bands on independent labels away from the major record companies. Today the term stands for guitar-based music with a mind of its own – from The Smiths and Pavement to the White Stripes, Blur and Snail Mail. The Vinyl Room currently has 289 indie records.

What is indie rock?

Labels such as Rough Trade and 4AD in England and Sub Pop and Matador in the US gave young bands a home from the eighties onwards. Out of them came The Smiths, the Pixies and Pavement, later Blur, The White Stripes, the Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. Today vinyl is an important format for many indie bands: new albums often come out in coloured, limited editions.

What to look for

Limited first editions – for example on coloured vinyl or with inserts – differ from later pressings; how sought after they are depends on the edition. Catalogue number, label and runout matrix together tell you whether you have a first pressing. You’ll also find many indie records with us still sealed.