Pitchfork has been celebrating the 1990s all of October and they've just published a new list: The 25 Best Indie Pop Albums of the ’90s. From their intro:
The genre that would come to be known as indie pop first emerged during the late 1970s and early ’80s in Great Britain. Weary of punk’s anger and aggressive masculinity, bands like Television Personalities, Orange Juice, and the Pastels began to make music that retained its uncompromising DIY spirit while channeling a more melodic sound, releasing their music on community-driven independent (“indie”) labels like Postcard and Creation. NME’s massively influential C86 compilation would further cement the burgeoning scene’s association with jangly, shambolic guitar music. One year later, the beloved label Sarah began releasing 7" singles—an intentionally accessible format, in accordance with its founders’ anti-capitalist principles—tied together by handmade artwork and the pursuit of sweet pop sounds.