Indie rock si vzal svoje jméno ze slova independent – nezávislý na velkých komerèních hudebních vydavatelstvích. Jedná se o žánr alternativního rocku, který je vìtšinou šíøen na undergroundové hudební scénì. Hudebníci si vìtšinou udržují kontrolu nad svou tvorbou a vydávají ji ve vìtšinì pøípadù pod "independent" znaèkami.

Tento žánr popisuje také postoj kapel a jejich zpùsob tvorby (udìlej si sám), a jejich zastupování malými, nízkonákladovými vydavatelstvími.

Jako takový je otevøen experimentùm se zvuky, emocemi, texty a nesnaží se hned na poprvé zalíbit publiku støedního proudu. Víc než o zisk se zajímá o osobní vkus.

Jeho koøeny sahají k americkému undergroundu a alternativnímu rocku 80. let; jeho vznik pramení z potøeby separace od znaènì zpopularizovaného alternativního rocku (napø. Nirvana), který se, chtì nechtì nevyhnul komercializaci.

Mezi hlavní dùvody jeho nesluèitelnosti se støedním proudem se uvádí, že je pøíliš prùkopnický, experimentální, vrtošivý, podivínský, surový, drsný, pøecitlivìlý, s intimními texty a neotesanými melodiemi. V 90. letech se tento žánr dále rozèlenil na rùzné podžánry (indie pop, dream pop, noise-pop).

Nejznámìjší èeskou skupinou tohoto proudu jsou Sunshine, kteøí získávají mnoho ocenìní jak mezi diváky stanice Óèko, tak mezi ètenáøi prestižních èasopisù.

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United States and the United Kingdom in the 1980s. Indie rock was extremely diverse, with subgenres that include indie pop and lo-fi among others. Originally used to describe record labels, the term became associated with the music they produced and was initially used interchangeably with alternative rock. As grunge and punk revival bands in the US, and then Britpop bands in the UK, broke into the mainstream in the 1990s, it came to be used to identify those acts that retained an outsider and underground perspective. In the 2000s, as a result of changes in the music industry and the growing importance of the Internet, a number of indie rock acts began to enjoy commercial success, leading to questions about its meaningfulness as a term.

In the mid-1980s, the term "indie" began to be used to describe the music produced on punk and post-punk labels. A number of prominent indie rock record labels were founded during the 1980s. During the 1990s, Grunge bands broke into the mainstream, and the term "alternative" lost its original counter-cultural meaning. The term "indie rock" became associated with the bands and genres that remained dedicated to their independent status. By the end of the 1990s indie rock developed a number of subgenres and related styles. Following indie pop these included lo-fi, noise pop, emo, sadcore, post-rock and math rock. In the 2000s, changes in the music industry and in music technology enabled a new wave of indie rock bands to achieve mainstream success.

In the early 2000s, a new group of bands that played a stripped-down and back-to-basics version of guitar rock emerged into the mainstream. The commercial breakthrough from these scenes was led by four bands: The Strokes, The White Stripes, The Hives and The Vines. Emo also broke into mainstream culture in the early 2000s. By the end of the 2000s the proliferation of indie bands was being referred to as "indie landfill". Indietronica took off in the new millennium as digital technology developed, with acts including Broadcast from the UK, Justice from France, Lali Puna from Germany and The Postal Service, Ratatat, and BOBBY from the USA.

Active rock

Adult-oriented rock

Afro rock

Alternative dance

Alternativní rock

American rock

Arabic rock

Arena Rock

Baggy rock

Beat Rock

Blackgaze

Blues rock

British Invasion

Britpop

Dream pop(rock)

Dunedin sound

Freakbeat

Grunge

Grunge rock

Hard rock

Indie rock

Madchester

Math rock

Midwest emo

Mod rock

Nederbeat

Noise pop

Noise rock

Post-Britpop

Post-grunge

Post-grunge rock

Post-punk revival

Post-rock

Rock

Sadcore rock

Shoegaze

Slacker rock

Slowcore rock

Soft grunge rock