The Best Indian Indie Albums of the 2010s

The 2010s were the decade Indian independent music stopped waiting for permission. At the start of it, most bands still sold CDs at gigs and hoped for a slot on music television. By the end, streaming had arrived, Hindi guitar bands could fill halls, Delhi rap was selling out tours and producers from Mumbai to Bengaluru were releasing on international labels.

This page picks 20 albums from that decade, 2010 to 2019, that still hold up as full records. It isn't a vote, and it isn't a list of the most-streamed. Every record below is on Apple Music India, and every year, track count and title comes from Apple, checked on 28 October 2026. Where Apple's date is a later digital release rather than the original, we say so. We've kept to full albums, plus a couple of records the artist presents as albums. Singles and EPs are left out.

For the full history, see essential Indian independent albums. For the decade before, see Indian indie albums from before streaming.

How we picked

• Released 2010–2019, on Apple Music India now. If we couldn't find it on Apple, it isn't here, however good it is.
• One album per artist. The Local Train, Parvaaz and Indian Ocean each made two strong records this decade. We picked one and point to the other.
• The whole record, not a hit. We asked whether the album works from start to finish.
• Range. Rock, folk, rap, electronic, metal, ska and fusion are all here, because that is what the decade was.

2010–2013: the old guard and the new sound

• Indian Ocean – 16/330 Khajoor Road (2010, 7 tracks). Named after the Delhi address where the band rehearsed for years, this was Indian Ocean's first studio album after the death of founding member Asheem Chakravarty in 2009. More: Indian Ocean albums; Indian Ocean.
• Skyharbor – Blinding White Noise: Illusion & Chaos (2012, 10 tracks). Guitarist Keshav Dhar's project began as a bedroom recording and grew into one of the first Indian progressive metal records to find a real audience abroad. For more heavy records, see best Indian metal albums.
• Swarathma – Topiwalleh (2012, 10 tracks). The Bengaluru folk-rock band's second album is sharper and more political than their debut. Swarathma; Swarathma band.
• The Ska Vengers – The Ska Vengers (2012, 13 tracks). A Delhi band playing ska, rocksteady and dub with a political edge, at a time when almost nobody else in India was. Apple lists the debut from 22 December 2012. They followed it with XX in 2016.
• Coshish – Firdous (2013, 10 tracks). Long, patient Hindi progressive rock with lyrics that read like Urdu poetry. It never chases a hook, which is why it has lasted. Coshish; Coshish band.

2014–2016: the Hindi turn and the new regions

• Parvaaz – Baran (2014, 8 tracks). The Bengaluru band's debut, with lyrics in Urdu and Kashmiri. It includes "Beparwah", later used in the film Vodka Diaries. Their second album, Kun (2019), is just as strong. Parvaaz; Parvaaz band.
• The Down Troddence – How Are You? We Are Fine, Thank You (2014, 10 tracks). Thrash and groove metal from Kannur, Kerala, with Malayalam folk song worked into the riffs. Apple lists the original from 2014; a 21-track 10th-anniversary edition followed at the end of 2024. The Down Troddence.
• Prateek Kuhad – In Tokens & Charms (2015, 10 tracks). The Delhi singer-songwriter's first album, released 21 January 2015, with songs in English and Hindi. It set the template for a decade of quiet, close-miked Indian love songs. More: Prateek Kuhad albums.
• Nucleya – Bass Rani (2015, 7 tracks). Udyan Sagar's breakout album brought Indian street sounds, from wedding brass to folk vocal samples, into bass music. Apple lists it from 7 September 2015. Nucleya; context: best Indian electronic albums.
• Thaikkudam Bridge – Navarasam (2015, 10 tracks). The Kerala band's debut album mixes Malayalam film-song melody, rock and Carnatic ideas, and it followed the band's run of popular live sessions on television and YouTube. Thaikkudam Bridge.
• aswekeepsearching – Khwaab (2015, 11 tracks). The Ahmedabad band's post-rock, with Hindi vocals arriving like another instrument. Apple lists it from 14 October 2015. Their Zia (2017) is the next step. aswekeepsearching.
• The Local Train – Aalas Ka Pedh (2015, 9 tracks). The Delhi band's debut, released 25 September 2015, includes "Choo Lo" and "Aaoge Tum Kabhi". If one album marks the start of the Hindi alt-rock wave of the streaming era, it's this one. Vaaqif (2018) followed. More: The Local Train albums.
• Parekh & Singh – Ocean (2016, 9 tracks). The Kolkata duo's dream-pop debut, with Nischay Parekh's soft voice over tidy, colourful arrangements. Apple lists it from 28 October 2016.
• Kabir Cafe – Panchrang (2016, 11 tracks). The Mumbai band set the 15th-century poet Kabir's verses to folk-rock, with violin and a lot of crowd-chorus energy. Apple lists it from 20 August 2016.

2017–2019: the streaming years

• Easy Wanderlings – As Written in the Stars (2017, 8 tracks). The Pune collective's debut, released 6 August 2017: warm, horn-flecked indie pop about shared lives. Easy Wanderlings.
• Blackstratblues – The Last Analog Generation (2017, 8 tracks). Guitarist Warren Mendonsa's instrumental project, and a love letter to the guitar itself. Apple lists it from 15 August 2017. More: Blackstratblues albums.
• Prabh Deep – Class-Sikh (2017, 12 tracks). The Delhi rapper's debut, produced by Sez on the Beat, is a portrait of growing up in Tilak Nagar told in Punjabi and Hindi. Apple lists it from 16 October 2017. Prabh Deep.
• Seedhe Maut – Bayaan (2018, 12 tracks). The Delhi duo's debut album, also produced by Sez on the Beat, released 28 December 2018. It's dense, fast and very Delhi. More: Seedhe Maut albums; Indian hip-hop producers.
• Lifafa – Jaago (2019, 8 tracks). Suryakant Sawhney's solo project outside Peter Cat Recording Co.: Hindi synth-pop that sounds like old Doordarshan broadcasts rewired. It includes "Nikamma". Lifafa.
• Peter Cat Recording Co. – Bismillah (2019, 10 tracks). The Delhi band's album, released 7 June 2019, includes "Floated By". It is jazz, gypsy swing and old-Bollywood lounge music filtered through a very modern sadness. Peter Cat Recording Co..

Also worth hearing

• The Local Train – Vaaqif (2018, 8 tracks).
• Parvaaz – Kun (2019, 9 tracks).
• DIVINE – Kohinoor (2019, 8 tracks). The Mumbai rapper's debut album; see our best Indian hip-hop albums for where it sits.
• Sandunes – Downstream (2016, 10 tracks). Sanaya Ardeshir's debut album as Sandunes.
• Thermal and a Quarter – 3 Wheels 9 Lives (2012). A 28-track Apple edition of the Bengaluru band's ambitious set.

What the decade changed

• Language. The decade started with most bands singing in English and ended with Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, Kashmiri and Malayalam records among its best.
• Producers. Sez on the Beat produced two of the decade's key rap debuts. Producers became stars in their own right.
• Release habits. By 2019 artists released singles first and albums later, a pattern that still holds. See our best Indian indie albums of 2026 so far for where that has gone.

Common questions

What is the best Indian indie album of the 2010s? There's no single answer. If you want one record to start with, Aalas Ka Pedh by The Local Train is the most influential on Hindi indie, and In Tokens & Charms by Prateek Kuhad set the template for singer-songwriters.

Why isn't my favourite album here? It may not be on Apple Music India, it may be an EP, or we may simply have had to choose. We update this page when we confirm new catalogue.

Is this list ranked? No. It runs in release order across the decade.