A couple of years ago, when Seattle indie institution Sub Pop Records was celebrating its 20th Birthday, I scrawled up a list of 10 key albums from Sub Pop's first 20 years.Trying to boil down all the label's colossal discography into 10 records, I erred towards the side of history; concentrating on the records that helped earn Sub Pop its rep in the early-'90s. Recently, when looking back upon such a list, I realized it only told half the story.
Sure, Sub Pop introduced grunge (Mudhoney/Nirvana), slowcore (Codeine), emo (Sunny Day Real Estate), and post-punk revivalism (Six Finger Satellite) to the world in those early years, but how could one deny what the label's done over the past decade.
With The Shins, The Postal Service, Iron and Wine, Wolf Parade, Band of Horses, and Fleet Foxes (pictured!), to name many, Sub Pop ushered in a whole new era of way-popular indie outfits through the '00s. And, with 2010 having delivered breakout albums for Beach House and Dum Dum Girls, it doesn't seem like they're slowing down.
So, then, my friend, here they are: the revised, expanded, and expounded upon edition of the Sub Pop countdown: the Top 20 Sub Pop Albums...
Photo © David Belisle
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