I’ve had a lot of friends do this, so I thought I’d give it a go. This was extremely difficult to make, and I had to make many, many sacrifices to trim this to 40. Also, there were several times when I could have exchanged a cooler “indie” record for what I put, but I tried to keep it honest (i.e. I could have easily fit in MGMT or Fleet Foxes for Panic at the Disco, but what can I say…). Also, I took my iTunes number of plays into account for many of these. So… here we go!

40. The Arcade Fire - Neon Bible

Don’t be fooled Canadians, dude’s from Texas. We get to claim them.

39. Number One Fan - Compromises

Sadly they only put out this one album before disbanding.

38. Blindside - Silence

Rock and roll. C’mon Sweden.

37. Guster - Lost and Gone Forever

Break out your cargo shorts and flip flops, this album is as college as it gets.

36. Panic at the Disco - A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out

Catchy, clever, and well produced. First band to successfully blend pop rock with dance beats.

35. Beck - Sea Change

I wish Beck would stick with this genre. He pulls it off SOOO well.

34. Manchester Orchestra - Like A Virgin Losing a Child

They came out of nowhere and conquered. I can listen to this all day.

33. Underoath - Define the Great Line

The most epic metal album of all time.

32. Radiohead - In Rainbows

Radiohead doesn’t know how to write bad songs. True pioneers.

31. Sunny Day Real Estate - The Rising Tide

Emo before emo was cool.

30. Mars Volta - Deloused in the Comatorium

An amazing, suitable followup to At the Drive In’s sad breakup.

29. Sufjan Stevens - Come on, Feel the Illinoise

I’m feeling the Illinoise, especially on vinyl.

28. Ryan Adams - Love is Hell

Both EPs were great, and it’s amazing as a singular album.

27. The New Frontiers - Mending

Quite possibly one of the only perfect albums I’ve ever heard.

26. The Postal Service - Give Up

This was HUGE, and for good reason.

25. Bright Eyes - Lifted

Conor’s masterpiece. Brilliant.

24. Sigur Ros - Takk

I used music from this in my wedding for crying out loud.

23. Copeland - Beneath Medicine Tree

Pulls my heartstrings like no other record.

22. Mew - And The Glass Handed Kites

I don’t even know how to go about writing music like Mew does, but I’m thrilled they’ve figured it out. Also, winner of worst album cover of all time. Congrats guys.

21. Coldplay - Parachutes

From the first note, you could tell how big they would become.

20. Pete Yorn - Music For the Morning After

I mowed laws to this album for a solid two years.

19. Thrice - Vheissu

Amazing. Amazing. Amazing.

18. Pedro the Lion - Control

The first “concept” record that I flipped out over.

17. Further Seems Forever - The Moon Is Down

This album changed everything for me. Hello Chris Carrabba and “Emo”.

16. Radiohead - Kid A/Amnesiac

When Radiohead finally decided it was okay to be weird. The whole world rejoices. I’m putting these together due to the fact that they were recorded at the same time and I don’t like choosing one over the other.

15. Taking Back Sunday - Tell All Your Friends

Got some pent up teenage angst? Listen to this.

14. Thursday - War All The Time

I’ve driven in the rain screaming the lyrics to this more times than I can count.

13. Jimmy Eat World - Futures

Awesome. Just, awesome.

12. Muse - Absolution

I bought this “Import” at the NYC Virgin Megastore way before it’s U.S. release, and I’m so glad they’ve finally gotten the recognition they deserve.

11. Underoath - They’re Only Chasing Safety

So catchy. Brings so many good high school memories to mind.

10. Bloc Party - Silent Alarm

Every single guitar line/drumbeat/melody on this is quirky and British. Blew my mind on the first listen.

9. Thrice - Artist in the Ambulance

An amazing record from start to finish.

8. Death Cab for Cutie - Transatlanticism

“I need you so much closer.” Enough said.

7. Brand New - Deja Entendu

Great album with great songwriting. Same feelings come to mind as Underoath’s TOCS.

6. Mewithoutyou - Catch For Us The Foxes

I wish Mewithoutyou would stop trying to be weird and make freaking amazing music like this again.

5. Incubus - Morning View

Super nostalgic. This record made me want to play PRS guitars because Mike Einziger is so sweet.

4. Damien Rice - O

Hauntingly beautiful. Perfect.

3. John Mayer - Continuum

Guitar virtuoso? Check. Killer songwriter? Check. Mark likes? Check.

2. Kashmir - Zitilites

I know most, if not all, of you guys have never heard of this band, or this record. For this I am truly sorry.

1. Radiohead - Hail to the Thief

I know many people would have put Kid A here, but this is my most listened to album of all time. I saw Radiohead tour this in 2003 and my mind literally exploded. They had to bring a hazmat team to clean my remains from the floor.

love, 
Mark