Wax Trax! Records – Arguably had the best lineup of any indie label, they were just loaded with KMFDM, Underworld, Rev Co, Thrill Kill Kult, etc. This label was the pride of Chicago and made the city the industrial music capital of the world. Wish they were still in existence.
Epitaph Records – I could have easily gone with Dischord, but this was such an amazing success story. They might be embarrassed by the fact that they still hold the record for the greatest amount of sales by an indie release. That would be Smash by The Offspring, a band that they are no longer on good terms with.
Cleopatra Records – The best Gothic label of all time.
Sookie – I knew you were going to pick Sub Pop, lol. They aren’t quite as indie as back in the glory days now that Warner Bros owns half of them. Looks like their big acts today are Band of Horses, The Shins, and Wolf Parade. A far cry from grunge and riot grrls. 
Prof – I saved the Matador label specifically for you. Helium was another group I liked a lot back in the day. Can’t say enough good things about Mary Timony. Happy Thursday!
MachPen – Riot Grrl Local 707 is going to revoke your membership AND confiscate your "rusty spikes." Not disappointed though, very good list of bands. Matador getting a lot of love.
BuzzKill – Only a matter of time before we get one of those "holy crap, does anyone remember Superchunk?" It was hard to leave out Touch and Go.
Hey Lovenrckts. I know I’m going to shock you with this answer, but it’s all about the Matador! They’ve got Stephen Malkmus, Belle and Sebastian, Mogwai, and Yo La Tengo to name a few. They’ve also had groups like Pavement, Guided by Voices, the Boards of Canada, F*ck, the Fall, Interpol, Tobin Sprout, Liz Phair and the John Spencer Blues Explosion.
The other one that for me is worth mentioning (though I’m not sure it’s an independent. Didn’t they get purchased by Geffen at some point or something like that?). Their roster includes (former and present together): Iron and Wine, the Shins, Band of Horses, Arlo, Jeremy Enigk, the Fruit Bats, the Fastbacks, Godhead Silo, Sebadoh, Jason Loewenstein, David Cross, Nirvana, Sunny Day Real Estate, the Postal Service, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers (at least BSSM was released on sub pop which along with Mothers Milk are the ones that really count for me). Wasn’t Sleater-Kinney on Sub-Pop for a little bit too?
Actually, I knew about a lot of these, but man, Sub-Pop has an even better thing going than I initially thought.
Happy Thursday.
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I actually took them for granted too, as far as being on the label. I took a quick look at the roster before I made the list. I actually had no idea about the Fruit Bats or the Jeremy Enigk projects being on that label. Pretty neat.
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Thanks lovenrckts for leaving it for me. Lord knows I love me some Matador Records. You know though, somehow I’ve never heard Helium. I’ll definately have to correct that.
Good call on Kill Rock Stars (sorry, I’m a space cadet and I have already forgotten your name). They gave us Elliott Smith which I will always be greatful for.
Whoa, and apparently Deerhoof, the Decemberists, Godhead Silo, Karp, the Tight Bros, Imaad Wassif, and the Advantage. Apparently I need to pay a little more attention to who puts stuff out.