Top 25 Independent Albums Of The Past 20 Years: 1993 - 2013

1. The Dead Will Walk, Dear - The National Lights (Bloodshake - 2007)
2. Dragonslayer - Sunset Rubdown (Jagjaguwar - 2009)
3. Funeral - Arcade Fire (Merge - 2004)
4. One Foot In The Grave - Beck (K Records - 1994)
5. All Hail West Texas - The Mountain Goats (Emperor Jones - 2002)
6. In The Aeroplane Over The Sea - Neutral Milk Hotel (Merge - 1998)
7. Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain - Pavement (Matador - 1994)
8. Bon Iver - Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar- 2011)
9. 69 Love Songs: Volume One - The Magnetic Fields (Merge - 1999)
10. The Trials Of Van Occupanther - Midlake (Bella Union - 2006)
11. Destroyer's Rubies - Destroyer (Merge - 2006)
12. The Monitor - Titus Andronicus (XL - 2010)
13. High Violet - The National (4AD - 2010)
14. Put Your Back N 2 It - Perfume Genius (Matador - 2012)
15. The Shepard's Dog - Iron & Wine (Sub Pop - 2007)
16. CYHSY - Clap Your Hands Say Yeah (Self-Released - 2005)
17. Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop - 2008)
18. Broken Dreams Club EP - Girls (True Panther - 2010)
19. Black Sheep Boy - Okkervil River (Jagjaguwar - 2005)
20. Let's Get Out Of This Country - Camera Obscura (Merge - 2006)
21. Wuts Goin Thru Yer Head - Little Jungles (Self-Released - 2011)
22. Smith Westerns - Smith Westerns (Hozac - 2009)
23. White Magic - ceo (Modular - 2010)
24. In Evening Air - Future Islands (Thrill Jockey - 2010)
25. Boys And Girls In America - Hold Steady (Vagrant - 2006)

Honorable Mentions:

Moment Bends - Archictecture In Helsinki (V2 - 2011)
Everything All The Time - Band Of Horses (Sub Pop - 2006)
I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning - Bright Eyes (Saddle Creek - 2005)
Person Pitch - Panda Bear (Paw Tracks - 2007)
Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea - Silver Jews (Drag City - 2008)

Suffering Season

October

October, I love you like no other
As the days grow shorter and the nights grow longer
My heart grows fonder
With a change in the weather comes a change in the leaves
Orange, crimson and brown now replace the green
Around a campfire tall tales will be spun
They'll fright and excite
Every age, everyone
For let it be known on a fateful night soon
The dead will roam free 'neath the light of the moon
There'll be pumpkins on porches and candy in bags
Flashlights like torches and fun to be had
There'll be tricks and treats and costumes and masks
Apple cider in jugs, there'll be whiskey in flasks
Cornfields still stand though their ears have been picked
They now host ghost hayrides for parents and kids
Oh October, I love you like no other
You're the end of the summer, you're the harsh winter's mother
You're a spirit who breathes with a pulse all it's own
You're the bite in the air and the chill in our bones
You're the wind that picks up when we're walking on home
All alone in the dark, you're the bump in our home
I love you so much so I'll leave you with this
In October we trust, what you give is a gift.