The 25 best Indie Albums of 1977

28 November 2025, 17:17 | Updated: 17 December 2025, 19:22

Take a trip back to the summer of the Silver Jubilee and punk with albums from The Jam, The Clash, Iggy Pop, the Sex Pistols and more.

By Radio X

@RadioX

1. Television - Marquee Moon: release date 8th February 1977

   It didn’t sell well in their native US, but over in Great Britain, Tom Verlaine’s art rockers has a surprise hit and their avant-garde guitar music cast a long shadow over post-punk. The epic ten minute title track remains a classic.

   

2. The Damned - Damned Damned Damned: release date 18th February 1977

   The London band released their debut album, which featured the first British punk single New Rose and the excellent title track.

   

3. The Saints - (I'm) Stranded: release date 21st February 1977

   The debut album from the pioneering Brisbane punks included the hit title track and the single Erotic Neurotic.

   

4. Ultravox - Ultravox! Release date 25th February 1977

   The debut album from the British new wave band was released while John Foxx was still lyricist and frontman. Foxx would leave in March 1979 to be replaced by Midge Ure.

   

5. Iggy Pop - The Idiot: release date 18th March 1977

   James Osterberg’s first solo outing was recorded in Berlin and produced by his new best friend David Bowie. It wasn’t a huge hit, but influenced a number of post-punk bands and gave Bowie a hit when he covered this album’s highlight track China Girl.

   

6. Kraftwerk - Trans Europe Express: release date 21st March 1977

   The sixth album from the German electronica pioneers include the hypnotic title "suite" and the synthpop classic Showroom Dummies.

   

7. The Clash - The Clash: release date 8th April 1977

   The debut album from Joe Strummer's punk pioneers included the singles White Riot and Remote Control, plus Career Opportunities, Janie Jones and a cover of Junior Murvin's Police & Thieves.

   

8. The Stranglers - Rattus Norvegicus: release date 15th April 1977

   The Guildford punks released their debut LP, which included (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) and Hanging Around... it wouldn't be the last we hear from them in '77...

   

9. The Jam - In The City: release date 20th May 1977

   Released five days before Paul Weller's 19th birthday, the Woking band's classic debut featured the title track and a cover of the Batman theme.

   

10. Elvis Costello - My Aim Is True: release date 22nd July 1977

    The former Declan MacManus released his debut album, which included the classic tracks Alison and Less Than Zero. The US edition also added Watching The Detectives.

    

11. Richard Hell & The Voidoids - Blank Generation: release date 26th August 1977

    The debut album from the former Television and Heartbreakers musician's new project included the iconic title track and Love Comes In Spurts.

    

12. Iggy Pop - Lust For Life: release date 9th September 1977

    Both Bowie and Iggy were hugely productive once they’d moved to Berlin and released two albums each in ’77. The Igster’s second outing this year was his most popular, spawning the raucous title track, The Passenger and another track Bowie would later cover: Tonight.

    

13. Talking Heads - Talking Heads '77: release date 16th September 1977

    The debut album from David Byrne, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz and Jerry Harrison included the classic single Psycho Killer, plus Pulled Up and Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town.

    

14. The Stranglers - No More Heroes: release date 23rd September 1977

    Another busy band in the year of 1977, the punks' second outing included the brilliant title track and the confrontational Something Better Change.

    

15. Ian Dury - New Boots And Panties!!: release date 30th September 1977

    The debut album from the much-loved songwriter and performer features a brilliant shot of him posing with his son, Baxter Dury. The album includes some of Dury’s signature tracks including Billericay Dickie and Sweet Gene Vincent. Later pressings also included Sex And Drugs And Rock ’N’ Roll.

    

16. Dead Boys - Young, Loud And Snotty: released October 1977

    The Cleveland, Ohio punks fronted by Stiv Bators included their signature track Sonic Reducer. They'd release a second album, We Have Come For Your Children, in the summer of 1978, before breaking up. Bators would form Lords Of The New Church with The Damned's Brian James.

    

17. Heartbreakers - L.A.M.F.: release date 3rd October 1977

    The title stands for "Like A Mother F**ker", of course. When the New York Dolls ground to a halt in the Spring of 1975, singer Johnny Thunders and drummer Jerry Nolan formed the Heartbreakers - and this was their only studio album. Tracks include Chinese Rocks, Born To Lose and I Wanna Be Loved.

    

18. Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks: release date 28th October 1977

    The legendary punk band issued their one and only studio album this year, which included all their hits: Anarchy In The UK, Pretty Vacant, Holidays In The Sun and God Save The Queen.

    

19. The Drones - Further Temptations: released November 1977

    The debut album from the Manchester punks included the tracks Bone Idol and Persecution Complex. The wouldn't release a follow-up until 1999!

    

20. Throbbing Gristle - The Second Annual Report: released November 1977

    The misleadingly-titled debut album from the pioneering industrial music collective featuring Genesis P-Orridge, Chris Carter, Cosey Fanni Tutti and Peter "Sleazy" Christopherson. The album spawned no hit singles (obviously).

    

21. Iggy Pop & James Williamson - Kill City: released November 1977

    The former Stooges frontman and the former Stooges guitarist recorded these demos in 1975 following the collapse of the iconic proto-punk band. Legend has it that Iggy recorded the vocals while on release from a mental hospital, with an augmented version of the tapes being issued by Williamson in 1977, following Pop's success with his David Bowie-produced album The Idiot.

    

22. Ramones - Rocket To Russia: release date 4th November 1977

    The New York punks issued their second album of the year (the first being January's Leave Home), which included the classics Rockaway Beach, Sheena Is A Punk Rocker and a cover of Surfin' Bird!

    

23. The Damned - Music For Pleasure: release date 18th November 1977

    The British punks' second release of 1977 included the singles Stretcher Case Baby, Problem Child and Don't Cry Wolf. Despite their debut Damned Damned Damned breaking the Top 40, this album failed to chart in the UK.

    

24. The Jam - This Is The Modern World: release date 18th November 1977

    Released a mere six months after their debut In The City, this second LP from the Woking trio made Number 22 in the UK charts. Tracks included The Modern World and a cover of In The Midnight Hour.

    

25. Wire - Pink Flag: release date 5th December 1977

    Another album that wasn't a huge hit at the time, but influenced a generation of musicians. In this case, Damon Albarn and Justine Frischmann were fans and Elastica's Connection bears a strong resemblance to Wire's Three Girl Rhumba.