Animal Collective is an American experimental pop band formed in Baltimore, Maryland. Its members consist of Avey Tare, Panda Bear, Geologist, and Deakin. The band's work is characterized by an eclectic exploration of styles, including psychedelia, freak folk, noise, and electronica, with the use of elements such as loops, drones, sampling, vocal harmonies, and sound collage. AllMusic's Fred Thomas suggests that the group "defined the face of independent experimental rock during the 2000s and 2010s."

Danger Doom (stylized as DANGERDOOM) was a hip hop project consisting of Danger Mouse and MF DOOM. Their first album, The Mouse and the Mask, was released in 2005, and followed by the Occult Hymn EP in 2006.

Danger Mouse and MF DOOM had previously collaborated on "Social Distortion" from Prince Po's The Slickness, Danger Mouse's remix of Zero 7's "Somersault", and the track "November Has Come" from Gorillaz' second studio album, Demon Days.

MF DOOM had stated that he hoped there would be a second Danger Doom album in which he would "rap from the perspective of the cartoons and in their voices, rather than simply create stories around them". Danger Mouse was also slated to reunite with MF DOOM in 2008, though this never occurred.

Madvillainy is the only studio album by American hip hop duo Madvillain, consisting of rapper MF Doom and producer Madlib. It was released on March 23, 2004, on Stones Throw Records.

The Mountain Goats are an American band formed in Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole member of the Mountain Goats was Darnielle, despite the plural moniker. Although he remains the core member of the band, he has worked with a variety of collaborators over time, including bassist and vocalist Peter Hughes, drummer Jon Wurster, multi-instrumentalist Matt Douglas, singer-songwriter Franklin Bruno, bassist and vocalist Rachel Ware, singer-songwriter/producer John Vanderslice, guitarist Kaki King, and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark.

Throughout the 1990s, the Mountain Goats were known for producing low-fidelity home recordings (most notably, on a cassette deck boombox) and releasing recordings in cassette or vinyl 7-inch formats. Since 2002, the Mountain Goats have adopted a more polished approach, often recording studio albums with a full band.

Brand New was an American rock band from Long Island, New York. Formed in 2000, the band consisted of Jesse Lacey (vocals, guitar), Vincent Accardi (guitar, vocals), Garrett Tierney (bass guitar, vocals) and Brian Lane (drums, percussion); they were joined by Benjamin Homola (percussion) for their live performances. From 2005 to 2013, the band also included Derrick Sherman (guitar, backing vocals, keyboards). The band is recognized as one of the most influential within the 2000s emo scene, celebrated for making artistic statements with their music.

Lacey, Tierney and Lane all played in the band the Rookie Lot, from Levittown, New York. Lacey was also the founding bassist for Taking Back Sunday before leaving. With Accardi in 2000, they formed Brand New in Merrick, New York. The band signed to Triple Crown Records and in 2001 released their debut album Your Favorite Weapon. Their second album, Deja Entendu, was released in 2003 and marked a stylistic change for the band, one that garnered an extremely positive critical reception. The album's first two singles, "The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows" and "Sic Transit Gloria... Glory Fades", both received airplay on MTV2 and Fuse TV, entering the top 40 on the United Kingdom Singles Chart. Deja Entendu was eventually certified gold in the United States.

The discography of DJ Shadow, an American music producer and disc jockey, consists of six studio albums, six live albums, six compilation albums, two remix albums, two mix albums, five extended plays, twenty-eight singles and fourteen music videos. He released his debut single – a split release featuring his track "Lesson 4" and "Real Deal" by American hip hop ensemble Lifers Group – in 1991. After signing to Mo' Wax Records in 1993, he released the singles "In/Flux" and "Lost and Found (S.F.L.)", both of which became minor hits in the United Kingdom. Shadow attained his first top 75 single the following year with "What Does Your Soul Look Like", which peaked at number 59 in the UK. In November 1996, his debut studio album Endtroducing..... was released to critical acclaim. It peaked at numbers 17 and 75 in the UK and the Netherlands respectively, later being certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). The album's first single, "Midnight in a Perfect World", charted at number 54 in the UK. "Stem", the album's second single, became a top fifteen hit in Ireland. Remix singles of the Endtroducing..... tracks "What Does Your Soul Look Like " and "The Number Song" were also issued. The compilation album Preemptive Strike peaked at number 118 on the United States Billboard 200, becoming Shadow's first album to chart in the country. It produced one single, "High Noon", which peaked at number 22 in the UK.

The Pharcyde (currently known as The Far Side) is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani (Emandu Wilcox), Slimkid3 (Trevant Hardson), Bootie Brown (Romye Robinson), and Fatlip (Derrick Stewart). DJ Mark Luv was the group's first disc jockey (DJ), followed by producer J-Swift and then J Dilla. The group is perhaps best known for the hit singles "Drop", "Passin' Me By" and "Runnin'", as well as their first album, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (1992). The group continues to tour and record, both collaboratively and in solo projects—the most recent being Hardson's collaborative EP with DJ Nu-Mark (of Jurassic 5) released in 2014 on Delicious Vinyl.

Beach House is an American musical duo formed in Baltimore, Maryland in 2004. The band consists of vocalist and keyboardist Victoria Legrand and guitarist, keyboardist, and backup vocalist Alex Scally.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006 to critical acclaim and has been followed by Devotion (2008), Teen Dream (2010), Bloom (2012), Depression Cherry (2015), Thank Your Lucky Stars (2015), B-sides and Rarities (2017), 7 (2018), and Once Twice Melody (2022).

Vocalist and organist Victoria Legrand, who graduated from Vassar College in 2003, and guitarist Alex Scally, who graduated from Oberlin College in 2004, formed the band in 2004 after meeting in Baltimore's indie rock scene, producing music composed largely of organ, programmed drums, and steel guitar. Of the origins of the band name Scally said: "We’d been writing music, and we had all these songs, and then there was that moment where you say ‘what do we call ourselves?’ We tried to intellectualize it, and it didn’t work. There were different plant-names, Wisteria, that kind of thing. Stupid stuff. But, once we stopped trying, it just came out, it just happened. And it just seemed perfect." In an interview with Pitchfork, Legrand addressed their being a two-member status thus: "[I]t's a way to challenge ourselves: What do you do when it's just the two of you? ... [O]ne of the reasons this has been such a fulfilling experience for me is that with two people, it's so much easier to achieve things that feel exciting and new."

Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed in Ruston, Louisiana, by musician Jeff Mangum. They were active from 1989 to 1998, and again from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psychedelic folk. Mangum wrote surreal and opaque lyrics that covered a wide range of topics, including love, spirituality, nostalgia, sex, and loneliness. He and the other band members played a variety of instruments, including non-traditional rock instruments like the singing saw, uilleann pipes, and Digital Horn.

Neutral Milk Hotel began as one of Mangum's home recording projects. In 1994, he released the song "Everything Is" on Cher Doll Records. The song's exposure convinced him to record more music under this name. In 1996, he worked with childhood friend Robert Schneider to record the album On Avery Island, which received modest reviews and sold around 5,000 copies. Mangum recruited musicians Julian Koster, Jeremy Barnes, and Scott Spillane for the band's second album, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea. Its 1998 release received mostly positive but not laudatory reviews.

Slowdive is an English rock band that formed in Reading, Berkshire, in 1989. The band consists of Rachel Goswell on vocals and guitar, Neil Halstead on vocals and guitar, Christian Savill on guitar, Nick Chaplin on bass and Simon Scott on drums, all of whom have played on the band's debut Just for a Day in 1991. Halstead is the band's primary songwriter.

Goswell and Halstead had known each other since early childhood. The band is one of the most prominent within the shoegaze scene, which rose to prominence in England during the early 1990s. While the band's second album Souvlaki initially received mixed reviews upon release, it has since been recognized as one of the best releases of the 1990s and one of the greatest shoegaze albums of all time.

Daniel Dumile ( DOO-mə-lay; July 13, 1971 – October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and "supervillain" stage persona, Dumile became a major figure of underground hip hop and alternative hip hop in the 2000s. After his death, Variety described him as one of the scene's "most celebrated, unpredictable and enigmatic figures".

Born in London, Dumile moved to Long Island, New York, at a young age. He began his career in 1988 as a member of KMD, performing as Zev Love X. The group disbanded in 1993 upon the death of member DJ Subroc, Dumile's brother. After a hiatus, Dumile reemerged in the late 1990s. He began performing at open mic events while wearing a metal mask resembling that of Marvel Comics supervillain Doctor Doom, who is depicted on the cover of his 1999 debut solo album Operation: Doomsday. He adopted the MF Doom persona and rarely made unmasked public appearances thereafter.

Björk Guðmundsdóttir is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has developed an eclectic musical style over her four-decade career that has drawn on electronic, pop, experimental, trip hop, classical, and avant-garde music.

Cannibal Ox is an American hip hop duo from Harlem, New York, United States. It consists of Vast Aire and Vordul Mega, often accompanied by DJ Cip-One.

Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known as Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born British musician, composer and DJ. He is known for his idiosyncratic work in electronic styles such as techno, ambient, and jungle. Journalists from publications including Mixmag, The New York Times, NME, Fact, Clash and The Guardian have called James one of the most influential or important artists in contemporary electronic music.

Raised in Cornwall, James began DJing at free parties and clubs in the area in the late 1980s. His debut EP Analogue Bubblebath, released in 1991 on Mighty Force Records, brought James an early following; he began to perform across the UK and continental Europe. James co-founded the independent label Rephlex Records the same year. His 1992 debut album Selected Ambient Works 85–92, released by Belgian label Apollo, garnered wider critical and popular acclaim. James signed to Warp in 1993 and subsequently released charting albums such as ...I Care Because You Do (1995) and Richard D. James Album (1996), as well as Top 40 singles such as "Come to Daddy" (1997) and "Windowlicker" (1999); the latter two were accompanied by music videos directed by Chris Cunningham and brought James significantly wider international attention.

Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter and painter. Drawing from folk, pop, rock, classical, and jazz, Mitchell's songs often reflect on social and philosophical ideals as well as her feelings about romance, womanhood, disillusionment and joy. She has received many accolades, including ten Grammy Awards and induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Rolling Stone called her "one of the greatest songwriters ever", and AllMusic has stated, "When the dust settles, Joni Mitchell may stand as the most important and influential female recording artist of the late 20th century".

Mitchell began singing in small nightclubs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and throughout western Canada, before moving on to the nightclubs of Toronto, Ontario. She moved to the United States and began touring in 1965. Some of her original songs ("Urge for Going", "Chelsea Morning", "Both Sides, Now", "The Circle Game") were recorded by other folk singers, allowing her to sign with Reprise Records and record her debut album, Song to a Seagull, in 1968. Settling in Southern California, Mitchell helped define an era and a generation with popular songs like "Big Yellow Taxi" and "Woodstock". Her 1971 album Blue is often cited as one of the best albums of all time; it was rated the 30th best album ever made in Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time", rising to number 3 in the 2020 edition. In 2000, The New York Times chose Blue as one of the 25 albums that represented "turning points and pinnacles in 20th-century popular music". NPR ranked Blue number 1 on a 2017 list of Greatest Albums Made By Women.

Otis Jackson Jr. (born October 24, 1973), known professionally as Madlib, is an American DJ, music producer, multi-instrumentalist, and rapper. He is widely known for his collaborations with MF DOOM (as Madvillain), J Dilla (as Jaylib), and Freddie Gibbs (as MadGibbs). Madlib has described himself as a "DJ first, producer second, and MC last." His stage name is an acronym for "Mind Altering Demented Lessons In Beats".

Otis Jackson Jr. was born on October 24, 1973, in Oxnard, California, to musician parents Otis Jackson, Sr. and Dora Sinesca Jackson. He sampled his first song at 11 years old, sourced from his father's collection. His younger brother is the producer and rapper Michael "Oh No" Jackson. His uncle is the jazz trumpeter Jon Faddis. He was raised in Oxnard, where he began his music career.

Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emerged during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was signed to El-P's Definitive Jux label until it went on hiatus in 2010. In a 2010 retrospective, betterPropaganda ranked him at number 19 at the Top 100 Artists of the Decade.

He released his first album, Music for Earthworms, in 1997, with Float following 3 years later. Labor Days, his third studio album, was released on September 18, 2001. His next release came two years later, titled Bazooka Tooth, released on September 23, 2003. His fourth studio album, None Shall Pass, was released on August 28, 2007. Its titular song became one of Ian's most popular and well-known songs. His seventh record, Skelethon, was released on July 10, 2012. His seventh release, The Impossible Kid, came out on April 29, 2016. His eighth and most recent album, Spirit World Field Guide, came out on November 13, 2020.

Daniel Dale Johnston (January 22, 1961 – c. September 11, 2019) was an American singer, musician and artist regarded as a significant figure in outsider, lo-fi, and alternative music scenes. Most of his work consisted of cassettes recorded alone in his home, and his music was frequently cited for its "pure" and "childlike" qualities.

Johnston spent extended periods in psychiatric institutions and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He garnered a local following in the 1980s by passing out tapes of his music while working at a McDonald's in Dobie Center in Austin, Texas. His cult status was propelled when Nirvana's Kurt Cobain was seen wearing a T-shirt that featured artwork from Johnston's 1983 cassette album Hi, How Are You.

Swans is an American experimental rock band formed in 1982 by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Michael Gira. One of the few acts to emerge from the New York City-based no wave scene and stay intact into the next decade, Swans have become recognized for an ever-changing sound, exploring genres such as noise rock, post-punk, industrial and post-rock. Initially, their music was known for its sonic brutality and misanthropic lyrics. Following the addition of singer, songwriter and keyboardist Jarboe in 1986, Swans began to incorporate melody and intricacy into their music. Jarboe remained the band's only constant member except Gira and semi-constant guitarist Norman Westberg until their dissolution in 1997.

Ariel Marcus Rosenberg, professionally known as Ariel Pink, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter whose work draws heavily from the popular music of the 1960s–1980s. His lo-fi aesthetic and home-recorded albums proved influential to many indie musicians starting in the late 2000s. He is frequently cited as "godfather" of the hypnagogic pop and chillwave movements, and he is credited with galvanizing a larger trend involving the evocation of the media, sounds, and outmoded technologies of prior decades, as well as an equal appreciation for high and low art in independent music.