| GROUP | GENRE | DATES | COUNTRY | DESCRIPTION | BEST RELEASE |
| Pale Fountains >> Shack | New Opt | 1981-85 | England | Breezy, jazzy quartet from Liverpool. Featuring Andy Diagram (Dislocation Dance, Spaceheads) on trumpet. | Longshot For Your Love collection |
| Pale Saints >> Spoonfed Hybrid |
Shoegazer | 1988-94 | England | Shoegaze, but a bit more poppy. | Comforts of Madness. |
| Papas Fritas | 60s | 1995- | USA | Boston band on Minty Fresh. Catchy, almost too slick. | Helioself. |
| Papercuts | Lo-fi | 1999- | USA | Jason Quever (ex-Duster, Rosenthal) crafts lovely songs from loops, riffy guitars, and assorted pop songs of the past. Owen Casiotone plays synth with him. | Rejoicing Songs. |
| Pastel Collision >> Kaleida | Synth | 1994-96 | England | New wavey synth with girlie vox. | Knowing Who Your Friends Are… |
| Pastels | C86 | 1982- | Scotland | Early twee standard bearers. Now working a more exp. pop vein. | Truckload of Trouble. |
| Pearly Gatecrashers | Twee | 1992-95 | Australia | Twee and very delightful indiepop! | New Fluffy Delicious. |
| Penelope Trip | Shoegazer | Spain | Unique blend of psychedelic and guitar strum. | ||
| Penelopes | Twee | 1990- | Japan | Psychedelic shimmery pop and ambient sounds. Tatsuhiko Watanabe mixes 60s with 80s pop. | Touch the Ground. |
| Peppermint Stick Parade | Comp | USA | Bus Stop Records | ||
| Pet Shop Boys | Roots | 1981- | England | Original dry witted synth/dance duo. | Please. |
| Phillipe, Louis | Polished | 1986- | France | The founding father of the El label, a major influence to late 90s, early 00s cocktail-lounge pop | |
| Piano Magic | Synth | 1996- | England | Their 1999 LP is a fave of Dan's--weird synth-space experiments with female/male spoken vox. Don't sound like anyone! | Low Birth Weight. |
| Pillows and Prayers | Comp | 1982 | England | Cherry Red: Monochrome Set, Nightingales, Tracy Thorn, Felt. | |
| Pink Flying Saucers Over the Southern Alps | Comp | 1992 | NZ | Flying Nun. Jean Pal Sarter Exp, 3Ds, Able Tamans, Chris Knox, Bats, Clean. | |
| Pizzicato Five | Club | 1984- | Japan | 60s disco meets 90s electro. | |
| Plover | Lo-fi | Holland | Dutch lo-fi. | ||
| Po! | Twee | 1987-98 | England | From Leicester. Lovely quiet folky pop with occasionally annoying girl vocals. | Past Perfect Tense. |
| Polyphemus | 60s | 1993-96 | USA | From Death Valley (!!) came this amazing pop band that did psychedelic, early Who-style masterpieces. | Scrapbook of Madness. |
| Pooh Sticks | C86 | 1987- | Wales | Yes, they're Welsh! Pop tongue-in-cheek nonsense from Hue Pooh and friends. Very "70s" powerpop influenced. Early stuff is the poppiest. | Pooh Sticks. |
| Pop American Style | Comp | USA | March'sode to early 90's U.S. pop. Tons of great bands on here. | ||
| Pop Jingu, Vol 1 and 2 | Comp | Japan | Twee from 800 Cherries, Penelo0pes, Red Go Cart, Peatmos, Kactus. | ||
| Pop Romantique | Comp | USA | Covers of 60s French pop by Hang Ups, Ivy, Apples, Ladybug Transistor, Magnetic Fields, Heavenly. On March. | ||
| Pop Tarts | 60s | 1997- | Germany | A garagier Stereo Total. Also on Bungalow. | Woman is the Fuehrer of the World. |
| Pop Will Eat Itself | C86 | 1986- | England | Avoid the technoy later stuff. Check out great Buzzcocky tongue-in-cheek 12"s. | Poppiecock. |
| Popguns | Jangle | 1988-96 | England | Soaring female vox and Wedding Present guitars. Awesome rush! | Another Year Another Address. |
| Poppyheads | 60s | 1988-89 | England | Dreamy, folky band on Sarah. | Air Balloon Road comp. |
| PopTopia Vol 1-3 | Comp | USA | Rhino power-pop from 1970-97. | ||
| Posies | Jangle | 1988- | USA | Power-pop from Seattle. | Dear 23. |
| Postal >> Wussom*Pow | Shoegazer | USA | San Francisco band deliver a Slowdivey-style sleepy pop sound. | Postal/Poundsign split 7"; WP 7" | |
| Powder | Roots | 1967-69 | USA | Fantastic Bay Area pop from the San Jose area. Very Who-ish. | Biff Bang Powder. |
| Pram | Synth | 1992- | England | Birmingham group makes amazing soundtracky psychedelic popness with homemade instruments and synths. On Too Pure. | The Stars Are So Big… |
| Prefab Sprout | New Opt | 1982-97 | England | Tuneful, wistful pop with Paddy MacAloon's quaint songs. A big too wimpy for some. | Steve McQueen (aka Two Wheel's Good). |
| Prickly | Folk | USA | Boston shambly pop with violin | ||
| Primal Scream | C86 | 1984- | Scotland | Early PS is pure indiepop ("Velocity Girl" 12", "Sonic Flower Groove" LP). Singer Bobby Gillespie was drummer in Jesus & Mary Chain. Then went all ravey, Stonesy, southern rock, and back to political noise. | Screamadelic. |
| Primitives | C86 | 1985-91 | England | Strummy fast jangle, more quintessential indiepop! Great female vocals and psychy guitars. | Lovely. |
| Proclaimers | Folk | 1985-94 | Scotland | Neo-Everly Brothers with distinctive vox and love of god. | This Is the Story. |
| Prolapse | Aggro | 1994- | England | Angular post-punk from Leicester. | Pointless Walks to Dismal Places. |
| Psychedelic Furs | Roots | 1977-93 | England | Richard Butler marries Velvets and Bowie. | Talk Talk Talk. |
| Pulp | Britpop | 1983- | England | Jarvis Cocker got famous telling all about the middle class. Disco meets artrock. | Different Class. |
| Pussy Willows >> April March |
60s | 1988 | USA | Pussy Willows were garagey fun; April March does symphonic French tunes. | Spring Fever! |
| Quigley | Slow | England | Ethereal vox and guitar. | ||
| Rain Parade >> Opal, Mazzy Star |
60s | 1981-88 | USA | Nor Cal's Paisley Undergrounders did fantastic 60s-esque psychedlic pop | Emergency Thrid Rail Power Trip |
| Raincoats | Roots | 1977-84,93 | England | Arty gals with violin and shambling tunes. Nirvana instigated their reformation. | The Raincoats. |
| Rainy Day | Folk | 1984 | USA | Susanna Hoffs from Bangles, David and Steven Roback from Rain Parade, Kendra Smith from Dream Synd. Folky and sweet. Did many covers of Dylan/VU. | S/T. |
| Ramones | Roots | 1974-96 | USA | NYC's band: loud, fast, fun. Inspired a million bands. | Ramones/Leave Home. |
| Raspberries | Roots | 1970-75 | USA | Quintessential power-pop (altho a bit wanky). From Cleveland - fusing Beatles, Beach Boys, Who. | Best of… |
| Rat Cat | Jangle | 1987- | Australia | Tho' in Australia they were as big with the teeny-boppers as N-Sync is here, their pop was greatly overlooked by the American audience. Great stuff. | Tingles. |
| Razor Cuts >> Carousel, Red Chair Fadeway, Sportique |
C86 | 1998- | England | Gods of indiepop! Byrdsy riffing perfection. Tim Vass went on to do pastoral pop in Carousel and RCF. Gregory Webster in 70s/80s mod poppers Sportique. | Black Is a Very Popular Color. |
| Red Go Cart | Twee | Japan | All-girl pop from Northern Japan | "Pop Jingu" comp | |
| Red Letter Day | Jangle | 1989- | Germany | Solid upbeat pop in June Brides vein. | Red Letter Day. |
| Red Sleeping Beauty >> Acid House Kings | Twee | 1989-97 | Sweden | Twee and pretty pop with a Sarah records sensibility. | Singles. |
| REM (early stuff) | Jangle | 1980- | USA | The first few albums were really strummy and pretty. The "End of the World" ruined all that! From Athens, GA | Murmur. |
| Reproductions: Songs of the Human League | Comp | 2000 | USA | On March. Human League songs by Stars, Momus, Ladytron, Baxendale, Stephen Merritt. | |
| Revolver | Shoegazer | 1991-93 | England | Shoegaze, but with a more uptempo structure. | Baby's Angry. |
| Revolving Paint Dream | Jangle | England | Soaring female vox and swirly psychy guitars. On Creation. | Off to Heaven. | |
| Rezillos >> Revillos | Roots | 1978-83 | Scotland | Former art schoolers made silly new wave/punk sci-fi 60s tunes. | Motorbike. |
| Rhodes, Emitt | Roots | 1967-73 | USA | McCartney lover who made super sweet soft power-pop. | Emitt Rhodes. |
| Richman, Jonathan and Modern Lovers | Roots | 1969- | USA | Began as Velvetsy punk (with future Talking Heads and Cars) and evolved into a quirky, childlike singer/songwriter. Very influential and adorable. | Modern Lovers |
| Ride | Shoegaze | 1988-96 | England | Shoegaze founding fathers from Reading. | Going Blank Again. |
| River | Lo-fi | France | Former member of Gypsophile. Fuzzy home recorded pop. | ||
| Rocketship | Synth | 1993- | USA | Originally from Sacramento, Dustin Reske's pop genius first album on Slumberland is an American indiepop masterpiece. Lush organ, guitar and melody. | A Certain Smile, A Certain Sadness. |
| Ropers >> Still, Mondo Crescendo, Church Steps | Jangle | 1991-97 | USA | Washington DC lads deliver hooky melodic pop. Later groups do 60s, 70s stuff. | Ropers. |
| Rosehips | C86 | 1986-89 | England | Phenomonally off-key, Ramonesy noise-pop. Quintessential. | Rosehips. |
| Rubinoos | Roots | 1973-83 | USA | Power pop.From Berkeley. | Rubinoos. |
| Saint Etienne >> Sarah Cracknell |
Polished | 1989- | England | Lounge croony girl pop meets disco and electronica. | Too Young to Die - The Singles. |
| Saturday People | Jangle | USA | Features ex-members of Treefort Angst, Whorl, Ropers, Velocity Girl. Lovely 60s-ish pop. | ||
| Saturn V | Shoegazer | 1993- | England | Noisy punkish pop. On Vinyl Japan. | |
| Sea Saw >> holLand | Lo-fi | 1995- | USA | Trevor Holland's one-man show, on Simple Machines/Teenbeat. Based in Virginia/Washington DC. He once guest-starred on "Charles in Charge." | Your Orgasm. |
| Sea Urchins | Jangle | 1987-93 | England | Sarah record heavies. Oh, that nasally voice, but you have to love them! | Pristine Christine. |
| Seashells | Jangle | 1993-98 | Sweden | Skittery guitar strummy. Like a twee Bartlebees. | Looking After Your Flowers |
| Secret Goldfish | Lo-fi | Scotland | Not so poppy, more annoying | ||
| Secret Shine | Shoegazer | 1990-94 | England | Slowdivey band on Sarah. | Untouched. |
| Shermans | Jangle | Sweden | Fun fuzzy fast. Ex-Red Sleeping Beauty. | ||
| Shoes | Roots | 1975-95 | USA | Influential power-pop home-recorders from Zion, Illinois. | Black Vinyl Shoes. |
| Shoeshine Chartbusters | Comp | Scotland | Label of BMX Bandit, Speedboat guy. | ||
| Shoestrings | Synth | 1997- | USA | Wispy boy/girl synthpop from Michigan. On Grand Majestery. | Wishing on Planes. |
| Shonen Knife | Jangle | 1983- | Japan | Quintessential rip-off queens who made quite a success for themselves in the US college charts. Cutesy and jangly. | Shonen Knife. |
| Shop Assistants | C86 | 1985-90 | Scotland | Fast jangle with girl singer. Be still my indiepop heart! | Safety Net. |
| Shrew'd | Comp | NZ | All female fronted Flying Nun bands. | ||
| Silly Pillows | Lo-fi | 1986- | USA | Boy/girl duo from Friendsville, PA who make a twee lo-fi racket. | Up in the Air. |
| Simultaneous Ice Cream | Comp | Spain/England | Siesta/El. Songs for kids, sort of.Pretty weird. | ||
| Sissybar | Lo-fi | 1994-99 | USA | Los Angeles smart-ass girl pop. Kind of annoying. | Songs for Peeps. |
| Sisterhood of Convoluted Thinkers | Twee | 1998- | USA | Ex-Egg Robert Christiansen makes twee synthtronic pop with girl vocals. | Ume Sour. |
| Sleeper | Britpop | 1992-98 | England | Following in the wake of Lush, more brash girlie pop. | Smart. |
| Slits | Roots | 1977-81 | England | Influential, arty punk/reggae gals. | Cut. |
| Sloan | Jangle | 1992- | Canada | Nova Scotia's power pop heroes. | Smeared. |
| Slowdive >> Mojave 3 | Shoegazer | 1990-95 | England | "The MBV that Creation can afford." Hazy guitar ambient noise-pop with girl and guy vocals. From Redding. | Souvlaki. |
| Slower Than >> Clair Voyage |
Shoegazer | USA | Noisy local trio now in Tennis and Claire Voyage. | ||
| Slumber | Twee | England | Twee girl pop. Very pretty. On Vinyl Japan. | ||
| Small Factory >> Halo Bit, Godrays |
Jangle | 1992-95 | USA | Singles on Slumberland, albums on Spin Art. This trio from Providence RI was the bomb: jangly pop and 60s sensibility | I Do Not Love You. |
| Smith Garrett Band | Folk | 2000- | England | Brits try their hands at country-rock ala Byrds. On WYAIWIA. | |
| Smith, Elliott (Heatmiser) | Slow | 1994- | USA | Smith began crafting evocative minimalist folk while still in Portland altrock band Heatmiser. Now he's on a major, been nominated for an Oscar, and moved to LA. Nice songs; huge Beatles fixation. | Either/Or. |
| Smith, Kendra >> Opal | Folk | 1984- | USA | From the Dream Syndicate. Beautiful stuff. Like Linda Smith or even Lois. | Five Ways of Disappearing. |
| Smith, Linda | Lo-fi | 1989-95 | USA | East coast lass does one-person 4-track pop in her bedroom. Released tons of cassettes. | Preference. |
| Smith, Linda | Lo-fi | 1987- | USA | East Coast lass does one-person 4-track folk-pop in her bedroom. Released tons of cassettes and a few CDs. | Nothing Else Matters. |
| Smiths/Morrissey | Jangle | 1982-87 | England | Manchester's favourites | The Queen Is Dead. |
| Snapper | Shoegazer | 1988-96 | New Zealand | NZ's answer to JAMC and Suicide. Noisy drone - led by Peter Gutteridge, a founder of the Clean and the Chills. | Snapper. |
| Sneaky Feelings | 60s | 1984-89 | New Zealand | Wonderful Flying Nun band with clever lyrics and insidiously catchy melodies. | Positively George Street. |
| Sneetches >> Mike Levy | Jangle | 1985-95 | USA | Two brits and two yanks, East Bay boys making catchy, Beatles/Zombies type orch-pop. | Slow. |
| Snowstorm: A Tribute to Galaxie 500 | Comp | 2001 | Spain | Elefant's ode to G500. Includes BMX Bandits, Orange Cake Mix, Watoo Watoo, Holiday Flyer, Sugar Plant. | |
| Softies | Folk | 1995- | USA | Portland's Jen Sbargia and Vancouver's Rose Melberg (ex-Tiger Trap) craft amazing two voices/two guitars songs of love. Quintessential indie pop! On K and Slumberland. | Holiday in Rhode Island. |
| Soiree Cocktail | Comp | Sweden | International synthy bossa nova pop. Baxendale, 800 Cherries, Cinnamon. | ||
| Sombrero | Comp | Spain | 3rd Siesta collection. La Buena Vida, Jim Ruiz, Fantastic, Happy Ballon, Girlfriendo, Ramon Leal. | ||
| Something Pretty | Comp | USA | On Cher Doll. Fuzzy/twee. | ||
| Something Pretty Beautiful | Comp | USA | On Brilliant: Twitch Hazel, Treefort Angst, Waking Hours, and Jane Pow. | ||
| Songs for the Jetset Vol. 1-3 | Comp | USA | Mike Always'ssoundtracky lounge. | ||
| Sound of Leamington Spa | Comp | 2000 | England | UK bands from late 80s/early 90s. Great jangle, fuzz, synth pop. Pooh Sticks, Hepburns, Man From Delmonte. | |
| Soup Dragons | C86 | 1985-92 | England | Early stuff is straight-up indiepop. Later went all "baggy". | Lovegod |
| Spacemen 3 >> Spiritualized
>> Spectrum, Experimental Audio Research |
Shoegazer | 1982-90 | England | Spacemen did psychedelic pop drone masterpieces, and Spiritualized is carrying on this tradition. Spectrum and EAR are a bit more ambient. | The Perfect Perscription. |
| Spare Snare | Lo-fi | 1995- | Scotland | Scuzzy lo-fi fun from one or more guys. From Dundee. | Animals and Me. |
| Spinanes | Folk | 1993- | USA | Guitar-and-drum duo accomplished much with minimalism. Rebecca Gates now uses the name as her solo project; drummer Scott Plough is in Built to Spill. Originally from Portland. | First singles. |
| Spring | Polished | 1993- | France | Loungey clubpop with female vox. On March. | Spring & Friends. |
| Springfields | Jangle | 1988-91 | USA | Pure Hollies/Byrds jangle from Velvet Crush guys. | Sunflower. |
| St. Christopher | Jangle | 1987- | England | Still at it, this band from Sarah crafts fine pop with the perfect dose of boy wimpiness | |
| Starlet | Jangle | 1997- | Sweden | Twee/Lucksmithsy/fey. | From the One You Left Behind. |
| Stars | Synth | 2000- | USA | Two huge Smiths fans get a sampler, some girls to sing and play keybs, and a lot of snotty attitude. Still, some lovingly mopey tunes. On Le Grand Magistery. | Nightsongs. |
| Statton, Alison & Spike | Polished | 1993-95 | England | Duo from Weekend and Young Marble Giants. Delightful simple pop. On Vinyl Japan. | Tidal Blues. |
| Steamkings | 60s | USA | Sound amazingly like the Zombies and the Beach Boys. Terrific! | ||
| Stephenson, Martin and the Dainties | Folk | 1986-90 | England | Refreshingly rural tunes by subtle songwriter from Newcastle. | Boat to Bolivia. |
| Stereo De Luxe | Club | 1999- | Germany | Sampled Big Beaty numbers, some straighter pop songs including a great swipe at US culture. | Glam-O-Rama. |
| Stereo Total | Club | 1995- | Germany | The absolute best! -Dan. No one here cared about them when they first started in the mid-90s, but suddenly this boy-girl group with synthesizers has a following! Infectious pop.-Nommi. | Stereo Total |
| Stereolab | Synth | 1990- | England | Early stuff is more straightforward kraut-rock and heavenly drone; later songs use samples and synths to explore space-rock, lounge, and jazz. Led by French singer Laeticia Sadier and British guitarist Tim Gane (ex-McCarthy). | Refried Ectoplasm (early 7"s) or Emperor Tomato Ketchup. |
| Stone Roses | Britpop | 1988-96 | England | Grandaddy's of this sound. One fantastic album in 89 and a mediocre album some eight years later. | The Stone Roses. |
| Straightjacket Fits >> Dimmer, Bike | Shoegazer | 1987-94 | New Zealand | Ex-Doublehappys guitarist Shayne Carter hooked up with Andrew Brough to form this Flying Nun guitar band. Soaring melodies and hazy structures. | Melt. |
| Strawberry Story | Twee | 1988-94 | England | Hayley's high pitched twee voice complements the fast Shop Assistants style jangle. True indiepop. Nommi loves this band! On Vinyl Japan. | Clamming for It. |
| Strawberry Switchblade | New Opt | 1981-86 | Scotland | Perky synthetic girl pop with ironic undertones. | Trees and Flowers. |
| Strawberry Zots | Jangle | 1989-92 | USA | Very catchy guitar-pop. From Alburquerque. | Cars, Flowers, Telephones. |
| Suede | Britpop | 1989- | England | Very David Bowie/glam. | Suede. |
| Sugar | Aggro | 1992-95 | USA | Bob Mould's post-Husker Du power-pop project. | Copper Blue. |
| Sugargliders >> Steinbecks | Jangle | 1990-94 | Australia | Brothers Josh & Joel Meadows put forth some nasally, delightful strummy pop. On Summershine, Sarah, Drive-In. | |
| Sugarplant | Slow | 1993- | Japan | Soft twee dreamy psych pop duo. | Hiding Place. |
| Suicide | Roots | 1970-80 | USA | Highly influential New York duo that made confrontational synth noise and yowling vocals. | Suicide. |
| Suite 98 | Comp | German | Bungalow: Stereo Total, Momus, etc. | ||
| Suncharms | Shoegazer | England | Noisy marvelous pop! | ||
| Sunny Sunday Smile | Comp | USA | Very twee 2nd Generation British stuff on US label, Sunday. | ||
| Super | Polished | Sweden | Muscular St. Etienneish with female vox. | ||
| Supergrass | Britpop | 1992- | England | Snotty power-pop from young boys. | I Should Coco. |
| Supermarket | Comp | Spain | On Elefant. Mostly Spanish, some twee, some punkish. | ||
| Sushi >> Perfect Teeth | Polished | USA | Very wispy, early 80s Britsh sounding. From Oakland | ||
| Sweet Jesus | Shoegazer | England | Stupendous overdriven noise-pop. | ||
| Sweet William | Synth | Australia | Adorable jangle/keyboard. Some girl vox. Great songs. | ||
| Sweetest Ache | Slow | 1990-94 | England | Mopey saturated guitar from Sarah Records. | Jaguar. |
| Swervedriver | Shoegazer | 1990- | England | Noisy shoegazers with really long "metal dude" hair. | Ejector Seat Reservation. |
| Swirlies | Shoegazer | 1991- | USA | MBV mixed with tape-loop whimsy. From Boston. | Blonder Tongue Audio Baton. |