The iconic RECORD LABELS of each decade

I know a lot of hay is made about the "sound" of certain decades, or the bands or singles that were biggest, the albums that "defined" a decade, etc. But those sounds or iconic albums may not exist without a label that sets out with the mission to coalesce around a particular group of bands or genre, and there have been some notable ones in the last few decades that were instrumental in propelling certain genres and bands to iconic status.

Some pondering about the 2000s got me thinking about Fueled By Ramen, the iconic record label that may well have brought us the sound of the 2000s through superstar emo and indie acts such as Fall Out Boy, Paramore, All Time Low, The Academy Is..., Panic! At the Disco, Cute is What We Aim For, Gym Class Heroes, and even some more obscure but notable bands like The Hush Sound and Young the Giant. The label also is created with putting later indie pop bands on the map such as fun.

On the other hand, in the 1990s, there was also Sub Pop, which I'm sure needs no introduction:



After the death of grunge, Sub Pop actually also became associated with the indie scene of the '90s and 2000s, including such artists as Death Cab for Cutie, Iron & Wine (known for their cover of the famous hipster anthem, Such Great Heights), Deerhunter, the Shins, and The Postal Service (known for writing the famous hipster anthem, Such Great Heights). You might say that after the death of grunge, Sub Pop created the sound of '90s and early 2000s hipsters, as these bands and several others like them on the label came to be utilized in various facets of turn-of-the-millennium hipster cultural works such as the Zach Braff movie, Garden State.

But one of the other very notable labels of the '90s, possibly representing the "other face" of indie music at the time was the Elephant 6 Collective. Maybe you've heard of them, but most likely not. However, Elephant 6 was instrumental in introducing the lo-fi rock sound, a sort of Sgt. Pepper psycheledic pop rock revival in the form of the Apples (In Stereo), Neutral Milk Hotel, of Montreal, and others.



Maybe there is a label that could be said to define music of the 2010s, but I'm really not sure since music in the '10s seemed to tribalize and diversify to a degree not seen in basically any decade before it, such that there could be no "definitive" album, artist, or even genre that could encapsulate an entire generation. Maybe I'm wrong.

Anyway, feel free to discuss these labels and others that may have significantly contributed to their music scenes at the time. Hey, I'm sure there are some folks that may be able to figure out the answer for the 2010s, or even for the '70s and '80s! And if you have other insights you want to share about Fueled for Ramen, Elephant 6, or Sub Pop, go for it (John Titor I feel like this thread might be to your interest).

For the 1950s, Sun Records was arguably the most iconic record label of the decade, as it was the first label to sign artists such as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash and it was partly responsible for popularising rhythm-and-blues to a white audience.

For 2000s def Fueled by Ramen and Drive Thu records



also JIVE records for y2k pop

For 2000s def Fueled by Ramen and Drive Thu records



also JIVE records for y2k pop