Indie music came into its own in the 2000s. Rock and shoegaze had their places, but they didn’t offer quite the right blueprint for some emerging bands. Electronics, synths and keyboards were on the rise in tandem too, so a newly cultivated genre for experimental artists at the top of their game was needed. 

So, here you have it, my favourite 20 noughties indie tracks — a modest list that summed up the decade expertly. You might even have even fond recollections of some being rinsed on E4… 

1. ‘Helicopter’ — Bloc Party
2. ‘Last Nite’ — The Strokes
3. ‘I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor’ — Arctic Monkeys 
4. ‘Can’t Stand Me Now’ — The Libertines
5. ‘Electric Feel’ — MGMT 
6. ‘Ride’ — The Vines 
7. ‘Cassius’ — Foals 
8. ‘If You Wanna’ — The Vaccines*
9. ‘Feel Good Inc.’ — Gorillaz 
10. ‘Islands’ — The xx
11. ‘Lonely Boy’ — The Black Keys*
12. ‘Golden Skans’ — Klaxons 
13. ‘The Bucket’ — Kings of Leon
14. ‘Munich’ — Editors
15. ‘Crimewave’ — Crystal Castles
16. ‘Ready For The Floor’ — Hot Chip
17. ’Mr. Brightside’ — The Killers
18. ‘Paper Planes’ — M.I.A.
19. ‘Be The One’ — Jack Peñate 
20. ‘Dog Days Are Over’ — Florence + The Machine

*Eagle-eyed readers will know these absolute rippers were released in 2011, but they just can’t be crossed off this list!