The 25 best Indie albums of 1986

4 January 2026, 12:00

Radio X takes a trip through the year of Bizarre Love Triangle, Happy Hour and Bigmouth Strikes Again.

By Radio X

@RadioX

1. Big Black - Atomizer: release date 1st January 1986

   The first album from Steve Albini's controversial noise rock trio included the tracks Kerosene, Bad Houses and the confrontational Jordan, Minnesota.

   

2. Public Image Ltd - Album: release date 3rd February 1986

   John Lydon's post-Sex Pistols project released their fifth LP, which was called Album, Cassette or Compact Disc, depending on which format you bought. The big hit from the record was Rise.

   

3. Talk Talk - The Colour Of Spring: release date 17th February 1986

   The enormously influential band released their third album, featuring Life's What You Make It and Give It Up.

   

4. Hüsker Dü - Candy Apple Grey: release date 17th March 1986

   The fifth album from the alternative rock pioneers saw the trio of Bob Mould, Grant Hart and Greg Norton jump from the world of indie punk labels to the major Warner Bros. Their time there would only last another year, but this album spawned the singles Don't Wanna Know If You Are Lonely and Sorry Somehow.

   

5. Depeche Mode - Black Celebration: release date 17th March 1986

   The Basildon synth quartet released their fifth album, which included the tracks Stripped, A Question Of Lust and A Question Of Time.

   

6. Cocteau Twins - Victorialand: release date 14th April 1986

   The fourth album from the masters of ethereal indie saw the band reduced to the duo of Elizabeth Fraser and Robin Guthrie, as bassist Simon Raymonde was working with This Mortal Coil at the time.

   

7. Siouxsie & The Banshees - Tinderbox: release date 14th April 1986

   The Queen Of Goth and her post-punk pioneers released their seventh album, which featured the hit Cities In Dust and Candyman.

   

8. Sonic Youth - Evol: released May 1986

   The third album from the New York post-punk legends saw the introduction of drummer Steve Shelley and included the tracks Starpower and Expressway To Yr. Skull.

   

9. The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead: release date 16th June 1986

   After a long wait, the band's third album was finally released in June 1986 and is regarded as their masterpiece. Tracks include There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, Bigmouth Strikes Again and The Boy With The Thorn In His Side.

   

10. The Housemartins - London 0, Hull 4: release date 27th June 1986

    One of the most memorable hits of the year was Happy Hour, taken from the Hull band's debut album, which also included Flag Day and Think For A Minute. Some of the band later went on to form The Beautiful South.

    

11. James - Stutter: release date 28th July 1986

    The debut album from the Manchester collective fronted by Tim Booth only charted at Number 68 in the UK despite much praise from the music press and a couple of high profile support slots with The Smiths. The only single from the album was So Many Ways.

    

12. R.E.M. - Lifes Rich Pageant: release date 18th August 1986 (UK release)

    No apostrophe in the "Lifes", bad R.E.M. The band's fourth album included the tracks Begin The Begin and Fall On Me.

    

13. Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds – Kicking Against The Pricks: release date 18th August 1986

    The third album from the Bad Seeds was a set of cover versions of songs by artists as diverse as John Lee Hookers, Johnny Cash, Alex Harvey, the eternal favourite Hey Joe and The Velvert Underground's All Tomorrow's Parties.

    

14. The Chameleons – Strange Times: release date 1st September 1986

    The third album by the hugely underrated Middleton post-punk band included the singles Swamp Thing and Tears. It would be the band's final full-length album before their reunion in 2000.

    

15. Talking Heads - True Stories: release date 15th September 1986

    The seventh album from David Bryne's art rockers accompanied the film of the same name and spawned the singles Wild Wild Life, Love For Sale and Radio Head (great name for a band).

    

16. Billy Bragg - Talking With The Taxman About Poetry: released 22nd September 1986

    Billy's third album included the singles Greetings To The New Brunette and Levi Stubbs' Tears.

    

17. New Order - Brotherhood: release date 29th September 1986

    The iconic Manchester band released their fourth album in '86, which featured the huge tune Bizarre Love Triangle.

    

18. Iggy Pop - Blah Blah Blah: release date 29th September 1986

    Iggy had his biggest commercial hit of the 1980s with what would be his final collaboration with David Bowie. The hit single was a cover of Johnny O'Keefe's Real Wild Child (Wild One).

    

19. The Fall - Bend Sinister: release date 29th September 1986

    The ninth album from Mark E. Smith included the minor hit Mr Pharmacist, a cover of a 1966 tune by The Other Half, and The Fall's first single to break into the UK Top 75.

    

20. The Pretenders - Get Close: release date 20th October 1986

    The fourth studio album from Chrissie Hynde and co included the singles Don't Get Me Wrong, My Baby and Hymn To Her.

    

21. Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill: release date 3rd November 1986 (UK release)

    The debut album from the rap trio featured (You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party), No Sleep Til Brooklyn and Brass Monkey.

    

22. Kraftwerk - Electric Café: released 10th November 1986

    The German techno pioneers released their ninth album after a delay of five years since Computer World and an unreleased LP called Techno Pop. The delay was down to Ralf Hutter having a serious cycling accident and was to be the group's last album of original material until Tour De France Soundtracks in 2003. Singles were The Telephone Call and Musique Non-Stop.

    

23. The Mission - God's Own Medicine: release date 10th November 1986

    The debut album from the Leeds-based goth band, which featured ex-Sisters Of Mercy members Wayne Hussey and Craig Adams. Singles included Stay With Me, Wasteland and Severina.

    

24. The The - Infected: release date 17th November 1986

    The second studio outing from Matt Johnson's ongoing post-punk project was accompanied by a "video album" with clips for each track, which was later broadcast on Channel 4. Singles were Heartland, Infected and Sweet Bird Of Truth.

    

25. The Damned - Anything: release date 1st December 1986

    The punk pioneers' seventh album saw the band delve deeper into the gothic sound they'd been toying with and produced the singles Gigolo and a cover of Love's Alone Again Or, which broke the Top 30.