The National
This band is nowadays known for being based in Brooklyn. However, they originate in Ohio. This band has become one of the biggest names in indie rock with their bleak and melancholic sound. They are also known for their frontman Matt Berlinger's habit of getting very drunk before the gigs and kind of messing up the performance. However, when he handles it, they are pretty amazing live.
The Black Keys
The Black Keys sounds as American as a band can possibly sound, and in this case I mean that in a positive way. They have taken some elements from earthy blues of the Mid-West, some from New York's indie rock bands and some from the nu-garage of Detroit.
DEVO
DEVO, or De-Evolution is one of the pioneers in electronic music, but at the same time, some of their sounds are just pure new wave. They use mean punk guitars and strange space-like synthesisers. Their first albums were just plain weird with their quite lo-fi sounds, but at least they're very original in what they do.
Guided by Voices
This band is one of the most original bands of the 90's. Their albums have ranged from highly produced AOR records to incredibly lo-fi sounding albums that have been recorded drunk. The frontman Robert Pollard is probably the most productive musician ever. He has made incredible number of recordings and the compositions are actually really excellent.
The Amps
This lo-fi indie band is fairly typical for a lo-fi band of the 90's. The laconic female vocals sound terrific above the simple guitar riffs and melodies. The sounds are directly from someone's basement, but the attitude is great.
Circus Devils
This band is Robert Pollards other band. The sounds are much more well-crafted than those in Guided by Voices albums, but at the same time, there is some artistic element missing from these songs. Still, for all the GBV fans, this is a must.
Defiance, Ohio
This lo-fi band sounds on album as I'm sure they would also sound live. The electric guitars sound pure and all the instruments sound kind of raw, while the vocals are effortless. The melodies have similarities to the folk-punk movement of the 00's.
Robert Pollard
I guess it's only natural that this productive musician also has a solo career. In some years, Pollard has put out three full length albums. his solo career is more ambitious than his other bands when it comes to the production, but it's not quite as exciting stuff as the GBV albums.
Jessica Lea Mayfield
Jessica Lea Mayfield plays melodic indie music with some country influences. Some of it sounds like a less-country version of Caitlin Rose. The guitars sound like guitars and everything else is nicely organic.
Seafair
This indie pop band has a unique sound which comes from the use of string instruments. Instead of the usual guitar, cello and double bass with a bow takes the main stage while the main female vocals sing professionally.
Pomegranates
Pomegranates sounds in places like Moby's 90's albums, but when the vocals start it becomes apparent that we're dealing with quite a different kind of artist. The laconic female vocals and echoey guitars draw influences from shoegaze and the result is like a mixture of Pains of Being Pure at Heart and War on Drugs.
Heartless Bastards
This indie pop band really knows how to produce albums. The sounds are modern and classy, while the melodies are inventive and original. Rhythm has as big a part to play in this as the melodies though.
Joseph Arthur
The best feature of this singer-songwriter is his voice. Slightly raspy and vibrating voice oozes authenticity and feeling. The songs are carefully composed and there's nothing bad to say about the sounds either. Excellent new find for me.
Josh Woodward
I found josh Woodwards music over ten years ago when Spotify wasn't really a thing yet. He was one of the first artists to let people load all of his albums for free online. His personal and beautiful indie folk sounds fantastic and not least because of his beautiful trembling voice.
The Lighthouse and the Whaler
This indie folk band sounds like a cliche with its name and with stripped down mandolin sounds that change into full-on studio sounds later on. But if, like me, you like stuff like early Mumford & Sons, this should be good for you as well.
Over the Rhine
Over the Rhine plays beautiful and quiet indie folk. The female vocals are absolutely beautiful. The combination of her voice and the Americana guitars, remind me of the excellent Laura Veirs. The guitar playing is also top notch.
Kim Richey
Kim Richey also plays very beautiful indie folk. Her voice is magical. The clean voice with perfect range brings the shivers easily to my neck. The background is quite simple and subtle to give room for that angelic voice.
Joshua Radin
This singer-songwriter plays absolutely beautiful indie folk. His music is like a sunnier version of the songs in Coen Brothers movie Inside Llewyn Davis. This is songwriting at its best and goes to proof that you can also make beautiful music that doesn't sound depressing.
Songs: Ohia
This indie band was something of a hit some time ago. It's definitely not radio-friendly stuff, but I can see why people who grew up with melancholia would like this Americana tempo, gloomy experience of amazing sounds.
Mark Kozelek
The funny thing about including Mark Kozelek here is that none of his bands actually originated from Ohio. But he's still from there and started his musical career there, so that's where I'm posting this star of minimalist folk. His guitar playing and voice are a hypnotic experience that should not be missed.
Peggy Honeywell
Peggy Honeywell makes minimalistic and quiet folk music with naked acoustic guitars and dreamy vocals. I can picture a house somewhere in the US countryside where Peggy would be playing these songs on the porch under the stars while other people listen mesmerised.
Southeast Engine
If you like beautiful guitar picking (and why wouldn't you), this music is for you. The vocals are not trained with any measure and that's what makes this music sound completely original. Amazingly beautiful indie folk.
The Ohio Weather Band
The Ohio Weather Band plays simple Americana folk with excellent acoustic guitars. The vocals are high-pitched and weird, which gives this music a magical feel. I could just listen to this kind of music all day every day.
Pure Prairie League
This folk band sounds really ageless. The sounds have been produced really well, which would point to more modern bands, but the overall style with guitar picking and vocal harmonies remind me of the 70's folk greats like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and John Martyn.
John's Little Sister
This bluesy folk artist has some amazing blues influences in her voice. It takes the best elements of deep south and brings a delicate quietness of more northern folk tradition into her music. Above all else, the vocals sound amazing.
The Afghan Whigs
This band is all about the sound. The production is amazing and everything is sealed off with the amazingly strange vocals. The melodies are quite melancholic, but oh so beautiful. There are also some excellent percussions in this music.
Phantods
This indie band takes some elements from gipsy music and makes beautiful rock music out of it. The female vocals sound great and above that there are sharp electric guitars and strange space-like synth sounds.
The Arcs
The Arcs makes bluesy indie rock with some psychedelia influences. This is yet another project by the amazing Dan Auerbach, the lead singer of The Black Keys. This music sounds a lot like The Black Keys, but the sounds are a bit more psychedelic than rootsy.
SamFox
This is yet another band that combines blues elements to a garage sounding guitars and raspy vocals. The male and female vocals blend into each other quite well and the guitars are just beautiful with their raunchy sounds.
Cloud Nothings
I thought that everything that grunge had to offer would have been already seen after the 90's, but apparently I was wrong. Cloud Nothings capture the best parts of that bleak genre and modernises it into a great mix of ego melancholia and hard sounds of grunge.
Bitch Magnet
This is a truly strange band. It kind of sounds like a drummer and a guitar playing just improvising in a cellar. And that's probably really what it is, but they manage to make strange sounds and even stranger rhythms out of this combo.
Scrawl
Scrawl sounds like an authentic 90's lo-fi grunge band. The sounds are a bit muffled and the vocals are not great, but the attitude oozes 90's spirit. The guitars buzz really heavily while the music itself is not that heavy.
Heart Attack Man
Heart Attack Man sounds like a mixture of 90's grunge and early 2000's college rock. But it's definitely not as commercial and plastic as some of the college rock bands of that era. If you like electric guitars and good drumming, this sounds great.
Bad Veins
Bad Veins plays quite aggressive indie rock with buzzing electric guitars and trembling vocals. Some of the guitars actually end up sounding more like electronic instruments than actual guitars. This is like a lo-fi version of college rock, if that kind of thing exists.
Wussy
Wussy plays overdriven electric guitars and 90's style drums in what sounds otherwise more like mid-00's indie rock. The vocals have been doubled between a male and a female singer to create a strange otherworldly sound.
Foxy Shazam
This band manages to sound at the same time completely unique and very ordinary. This kind of sounds like something that might exist in a Jack Black movie. It manages to use every cliche in the book to make a strange mix that actually sounds original.
Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack is one of the best soul artists of all times. His song Across 110th Street is an all time classic that can easily make it to lists of most legendary songs of all times. Womack's raspy and skilful vocals sound phenomenal.
Wild Cherry
This funk band is, more than anything else, known for their hit song 'Play That Funky Music', but the rest of their repertoire is just as good. Amazing bass lines and great singing. Almost all of the album covers feature well moisturised lips.
Ohio Players
This funky soul band really knows how to get the groove on. They sound a little bit like Earth, Wind & Fire, but the sound is not quite as commercial. Early Red Hot Chili Peppers has covered this band. The bass lines are amazing.
The O'Jays
This amazing soul band knows how to get funky, but they also have more theatrical numbers in more traditional soul. It oozes the Motown sound in the style of Marvin Gaye. The vocals are absolutely amazing.
The Isley Brothers
This is one of the best funk bands that ever existed. The bass lines and amazing horns sections together with amazing vocals guarantee a groovy experience. All the instruments are played masterfully. Get your dancing shoes on.
Lakeside
This funk band is a bit more disco than the other ones on this list. The rhythms are highly danceable, but the sounds are a bit more plastic. There are definite 80's elements in this music already even though most of the music was made in the 70's.
Slave
This is probably one of the raunchiest funk bands out there. The bass slaps perfectly and the suggestive high vocals like to get it on. The rhythms keep the steady disco beat on, so it's good for dancing.
Sun
If you like proper 70's funk, Sun is one of the greatest bands in that genre that I have recently discovered. The bass lines bounce skilfully in sync with the excellent drumming. The guitars are used as a percussion and the vocals are excellent. What's not to like.
Aurra
This funk band draws its influences as much from disco as it does from more traditional funk and soul. The bass slapping is skilfully made and the drums play steady grooves that make you want to nod your head along.
Faze-O
Faze-O sounds like a quite typical late-70's funk band that has definitely also listened to their disco albums. The groove is fantastic and a bit more laid back than with most of the bands of that time. The horn section is excellent.
Heatwave
Heatwave plays fast tempo soul music with funk and disco elements. The vocals are quite amazing with their strength and raspiness. The guitars pluck along as more of a percussion instrument than a melodic instrument.
The Rhythm Syndicate
Last but definitely not least of the funk bands in this list is The Rhythm Syndicate. It has the jazziest approach to funk of any of these bands and you might even want to call this acid jazz more than typical funk. This is brilliant stuff and anyone who appreciates excellent instrument skills, should hear it out.
Scott Walker
Scott Walker is one of the most original sounding artists of all times. He has made some really strange music and I'm not the fan of all of his stuff, but when he succeeds, he really succeeds. The tone of his songs is quite old, but there's still some timeless charm in his recordings.
Fred Neil
Fred Neil is one of the classic 60's singers that have been forgotten by most people more recently. It's true that some of his songs sound a bit old nowadays, but his slow paced and effortless style of singing is compelling and the songs have that relaxed atmosphere that make you stop in the middle of all the rush.
Penny & the Quarters
This oldies band sounds very old at the moment, but the trick is that it's actually a quite new recording. The style of the recording is such that it could fool anyone. Classy 60's kind of Americana pop with male and female vocals.
The Stereos
The Stereos play kind of entertainment jazz with barbershop quartet style singing and laid back swing. This is the kind of music that you might expect to hear in a classic black and white movie from the late 50's.
The Valentinos
The Valentinos is an excellent Northern Soul band that was the starting point for the excellent Bobby Womack. The songs are highly danceable and the attitude in the vocals is great. Special mention goes to excellent bass lines.
The Raspberries
The closest influence that pushes through when listening to this band must be John Lennon. This band sounds a lot like Lennon's solo recordings. Great string arrangements, piano and excellent vocal harmonies.
The Human Beinz
It's really difficult to say which genre this band represents. There are definite rock n' roll influences, some nods towards first wave punk and the rolling guitars actually sound a bit like 70's krautrock. The thing is, they made this music in the late 60's when krautrock and punk didn't even exist.
Nick Tolford & Company
This musical combo draws their influences from old rock n' roll, but the sounds are much more modern. The guitars still sound like guitars and everything, but the vocals are more modern and really good at that.
Soledad Brothers
Soledad Brothers have mixed old-school rock n' roll with southern rock and punk. There are some apparent rockabilly tricks in the music as well. This is the kind of music that would be really fun to listen to at the late night clubs after a few beers.
Tweens
Tweens is the modern sound of punk. They use aggressive drum beats and non-melodic female vocals. The guitars have a strange echo that reminds me of some surf rock genres. This music is probably excellent live, but on the album it gets a bit tedious after a while.
The Nico Missile
The Nico Missile plays rock n' roll with a modern echoey sounding electric guitars. The sound is not very melodic, but the attitude is in place. You have to endure a bit of noise to appreciate this band fully.
The Greenhornes
The Greenhornes play seductive 60's style pop music with some hippy guitars and surf rock drumming. The slow tempo makes this music quite hypnotic. The vocals are quite amazing. They're not really strong, but there's great ambiance in them.
M Ross Perkins
This singer-songwriter plays quite retro-sounded psychedelic pop-rock. The sounds are directly from the 60's, but something, maybe in production tells that we're dealing with a more modern artist. The sharp electric guitars sound very authentic.
Dan Auerbach
I've already mentioned many of this guys other projects, but I still do need to mention his solo career as well. Where The Black Keys can be described as garage blues, his solo stuff is a mix between garage and psychedelic rock.
Jaded Era
It took me some years after the 90's to realise that there actually was a very distinctive 90's sound. Jaded Era sounds exactly like the 90's. Alternative rock to be more precise. Something in the electric guitars and the rhythm section tell immediately that this is the decade we're talking about.
Dink
This band is strange. They have interesting rhythms and simple bass lines and the vocals are un-melodic in the style of early Red Hot Chili Peppers. The guitars sound very 90's. I guess there are some similarities to bands like Fatboy Slim as well.
Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments
This alternative rock band sounds lot like punk just because the sounds are so lo-fi and the composition is so simple. In the long run, this music is a bit boring, but if you just tune into one song here and there, it's quite good.
Cobra Verde
This alternative rock band plays aggressive and not very melodic songs that have a certain lo-fi quality. It's a bit like a college rock band with a lo-fi production. The guitars are the best part of this band.
Vacation
This indie punk band plays strange lo-fi sounds with non-melodic chants. This isn't really about making songs, it's about having fun and jumping up and down. The rock organs are a strange addition to otherwise very sloppy guitar sound.
New Bomb Turks
New Bomb Turks make fast hard rock that could maybe also called punk rock. Something in the sounds actually reminds me of the fastest songs by the Guns n' Roses, Hanoi Rocks or Mötley Crüe. Fast and aggressive.
Times New Viking
This lo-fi punk band sounds quite modern even though the songs sound like they were recorded at someone's cellar in the 80's. It just sounds like that sound is kind of intentional. Non-melodic and fast songs with aggressive female vocals.
Gaunt
Gaunt as is close as it can get to first wave punk in this post. The guitars buzz aggressively and the vocals are not sung with any kinds of rules. This music is probably excellent live, but on the album it just sounds a bit boring.
Herzog
Herzog plays punk rock with quite good sounds. The vocals have been muffled to give it a more punk-attuned sound, but you can hear from the guitars that we're dealing with a more modern creation.
Death of Samantha
This punk rock band has a punk attitude, but the guitars sound more like they would be from a psychedelic rock band. This contrast makes this band more interesting than some of the other punk bands on this list.
Leggy
This band is a prime example of the sound that late 80's and early 90's feminist girl punk bands had. The vocals are a bit out of tune and the sounds sound like the album was recorded in a warehouse somewhere, but there's still skill in playing the instruments.
Damn the Witch Siren
If the band above represents feminist punk, this sounds a lot more like feminist electro-punk. It's not necessarily that aggressive, but the sounds are still groundbreaking. The synthesisers buzz menacingly while the vocals sound really mean.
Playing to Vapors
This indie rock band has kind of cliche sounds. The clear guitars and space-like synth sounds remind me of many other bands like this. Even the high-pitched vocals make me think of a dozen of other 00's indie bands. It's still good music, just not very original.
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One pilots is a modern indie band that uses lots of electronic sounds and state-of-the-art production to make rhythmic indie electro-pop. There are even some rap parts in the mix. It's still quite melodic.
Walk the Moon
I'm maybe a bit annoyed by this band actually. They're making everything that sounds exactly like a rule book to 00's indie pop. Annoying chants, looping guitar riffs and pounding disco drumming. If you like all the 00's hipster stuff, then this is probably good in it's own genre.
Paper Morning
This indie rock band has a quiet and menacing approach to it's sounds. In places it sounds a lot like post-rock, but there are still lots of vocal parts which again sound more like 70's rock. The sounds on the other hand are very modern.
Lung
This is the kind of sound that bands have to find these days to sound original. This indie rock band uses cellos or double bass to make aggressive and scary indie rock. It's like the indie rock version of Apocalyptica.
NOMADS
I can't help it, but I love beautiful and melodic post-rock. Even though many of these bands sound exactly like each other, it's always a pleasure to hear great and otherworldly melodies where clear electric guitars chime.
The End of the Ocean
The End of the Ocean is kind of a typical post-rock band that knows how to grow songs from quiet echoey guitars into great big guitar walls and how to grow excitement from quiet to loud building songs slowly.
If These Trees Could Talk
Like the two bands above, this band sounds a lot like every other post-rock band out there, but I just can't help but liking the great and otherworldly melodies and chiming electric guitars. The drummer is very good as well.
Infinite Number of Sounds
Yet another post-rock band. There is, however, something noteworthy in this band. Their sounds are a lot more lo-fi than the other bands on this list. Despite of this, the style of making songs is very similar.
Small Wood House
Small Wood House makes beautiful and echoey shoegaze. The songs are well composed changing rhythms and melodies to make it interesting. The sounds are kind of muffled and strange, but I guess that's one of the things that makes shoegaze appealing.
Nine Inch Nails
Anyone who knows Nine Inch Nails, knows also that it's very difficult to place it in any particular genre. They have used so many different sounds and styles that it's impossible to pin point their genre. I like the haunting, more beautiful songs from them rather than their industrial metal sounds from the early 90's.
Come Wind
I guess you could call Come Wind a post-rock band as well, but then again, the vocals are like from any other indie folk band. It's just that instead of acoustic sounds, there are chiming electric guitars like in the post-rock bands mentioned above.
Trepanning Trio
This must be the weirdest band on this list. There are some strange blinks and clanks. and the accordion is playing simple sounds in the background. It's a bit like the Icelandic band Múm, but even stranger.
Jason Molina
Jason Molina makes quiet and heartbreaking music with just a piano or with just a guitar. The sound is very minimalist. This kind of only works well if you're listening to it by yourself without any distraction.
The Black Swans
This folk band plays quiet and simple music that draws its beauty from authentic acoustic sounds and simple melodies. The vocals are trembling beautifully even if they are against all official rules of singing. Some of the songs kind of remind me of Tindersticks.
Jerry Douglas
Jerry Douglas makes beautiful country and folk music with some beautiful slide guitars. The sound is kind of an American cliche, but the melodies are very beautiful and I like the songwriting quite a lot. The fiddle parts are just amazing.
Magnolia Electric Co.
This band kind sounds like a subtle version of Beirut. I guess it's the trumpet that makes me think like that. When the vocal parts start, it actually sounds a bit more like Neil Young. Great country folk Americana.
Old Hundred
This folk band relies on the authentic trad folk sounds, but the songs have a bit more character and the vocals sound more modern. There's a certain type of quiet beauty in the sounds. The drummer is very good.
Red Wanting Blue
This band sounds quite amazing with the rough raspy vocals. The guitars are simple and the whole composition is very simple, but Americana folk could hardly sound any better with vocals like these. Great melodies as well.
The Mills Brothers
The Mills Borthers make music that sounds very old now, but all the same, I really enjoy their relaxed and bluesy country tunes. The guitars are very laid back in playing small solos throughout the songs.
Blessed Union of Souls
This band is quite corny with it's gospel lyrics and tacky sounds, but the songwriting is actually quite alright. The vocals are also quite pleasant. It's just difficult to take it seriously when the lyrics are what they are.
A Day in the Life
This singer-songwriter type of band plays groovy acoustic guitars and has quiet 90's style vocals. The whole band sounds a lot like the 90's. The music is a bit boring in the long run, but one song here and there sounds quite alright.
Mary Lynn
Mary Lynn is a modern singer-songwriter, who makes classy indie pop-rock with excellent sounds and good song-writing. Her vocals are really enjoyable in all of their skill and indie tones. Normal band sounds are accompanied by some strange effects.
Sam Goodwill
Sam Goodwill plays melodramatic singer-songwriter music with dark and quiet sounds. The slow-tempo rhythms have some groove that makes the music sometimes sound more like soul than rock. The production is very good, yet strange.
Ellery
Ellery makes beautiful and ambitious indie rock. Her voice is quite phenomenal and that alone is a reason to listen to this music. The songs are not necessarily that original, but the sounds are good and it makes at least me feel good.
Cities & Coasts
This indie rock band uses some 60's style surf rock sounds, but the main sound is still closer to 00's indie rock. The songs are quite simple and therefore not that original, but this would be great music to listen to on the beach in the summer.
Divebomb
This band is like straight from the rule book of how to make college rock of the 00's. Heavy sounding guitars, a bit out-of-tune vocals and fast tempo drumming. So, in other words, there's nothing very original about this band, but if you happen to like the genre, go ahead and listen.
Joshua Jesty
This playlist ends with another college rock artist that is a bit classier than the one above. Still, the sounds are based on overdriven electric guitars and simple melodies. The drummer is obviously busy as you should be in this kind of music.
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