"Indie rock isn't a genre easily defined, especially in the context of the 2010s. "Indie" is a word that once simply implied independent music, aka music that was created by an artist who isn't signed to a major label—or maybe any label at all. But now "indie" is more widely used to signify a certain sound. Even so, the records on this list are far from uniform in style. Here you'll find everything from Madrid garage rock to pop-tinged dance rock to rollicking folk, but they're all indie in spirit. Some artists on this list, like Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend, graduated long ago from independent labels, but they still—believe it or not—fly under the radar when it comes to the larger sphere of pop music. You can find other artists, like The Beths and Weyes Blood, still playing clubs. Meanwhile, Bon Iver collaborated with Kanye West in the 2010s, and Courtney Barnett landed on Barack Obama's 2018 playlist."
