What Was Britpop?
Britpop was a cultural moment as much as a musical genre. In the early-to-mid 1990s, a generation of British bands — reacting against the dominance of American grunge and Seattle's dark introspection — made a conscious turn towards specifically British references: the Kinks, the Small Faces, the Jam, David Bowie. The result was a movement that briefly made Britain's guitar music globally dominant, climaxing with Oasis vs Blur in 1995 and fading almost as quickly as it arrived.
These 25 albums are the essential Britpop canon — from the genre's confident emergence in 1993 to its commercial peak in 1995-96 and its inevitable exhaustion. A remarkable era of British music.
The 25 Best Britpop Albums
1
Different Class
Pulp · 1995 · Island
Britpop's greatest album. Jarvis Cocker's class-conscious, sexually frank lyrics over Richard Hawley and Steve Mackey's immaculate arrangements. "Common People" is the defining British pop song of the decade. No other Britpop album is as consistent, as witty, or as emotionally resonant.
Essential: Common People, Mis-Shapes, Disco 20002
(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Oasis · 1995 · Creation
The best-selling Britpop album and one of the best-selling British albums of all time. Noel Gallagher's songwriting peak: "Wonderwall", "Don't Look Back in Anger", and "Champagne Supernova" in one place. Whatever you think of the Gallaghers, this record is undeniable.
Essential: Wonderwall, Don't Look Back in Anger, Champagne Supernova3
The Great Escape
Blur · 1995 · Food
Blur's most ambitious and divisive album — a sprawling, theatrical portrait of 1990s Britain by way of Ray Davies and the Kinks. Damon Albarn's storytelling is at its most cinematic. Released the same week as (What's the Story), it lost the chart battle but arguably won the artistic war.
Essential: Stereotypes, Country House, The Universal4
Dog Man Star
Suede · 1994 · Nude
Suede's masterpiece, made on the verge of collapse as guitarist Bernard Butler left during recording. The orchestral ambition and emotional excess of Brett Anderson's lyrics — Bowie worship at its most magnificent — make this the most cinematic Britpop album.
Essential: We Are the Pigs, The Wild Ones, Still Life5
Parklife
Blur · 1994 · Food
The album that really launched Britpop as a movement. Damon Albarn's cast of vividly observed English characters — the fitness obsessive, the greyhound racer, the young upwardly mobile — captured a specific moment in British cultural life with wit and affection.
Essential: Girls & Boys, Parklife, End of a Century6
Elastica
Elastica · 1995 · Deceptive
Justine Frischmann's debut is Britpop's punkiest moment — Wire and Television references wrapped in irresistible hooks and Frischmann's nonchalant delivery. The fastest-selling debut in UK chart history at the time. Barely 40 minutes of almost perfect post-punk pop.
Essential: Connection, Car Song, Stutter7
I Should Coco
Supergrass · 1995 · Parlophone
The most energetic Britpop debut — Gaz Coombes and Danny Goffey's band seemed to play everything at double speed, packing hooks into every available space. "Alright" became the era's anthem of youthful hedonism. Pure, euphoric guitar pop.
Essential: Alright, Caught by the Fuzz, Mansize Rooster8
Suede
Suede · 1993 · Nude
The debut that launched Britpop before the term existed. Brett Anderson's androgynous persona and Bernard Butler's extraordinary guitar playing — simultaneously melodic and abrasive — created a template that the entire 90s British indie scene would follow.
Essential: Animal Nitrate, The Drowners, Metal Mickey9
Definitely Maybe
Oasis · 1994 · Creation
Oasis's debut was the fastest-selling debut album in UK history on release. The raw energy, Liam's voice, and Noel's melodic gift make it feel like a statement of intent from the start. Less polished than Morning Glory, but with a punky urgency that the follow-up lacks.
Essential: Rock 'n' Roll Star, Live Forever, Supersonic10
Modern Life Is Rubbish
Blur · 1993 · Food
The album where Blur consciously rejected American grunge in favour of a specifically British sound. Less acclaimed than Parklife but arguably more artistically interesting — rawer, angrier, and with Damon Albarn's pop sensibility fully formed for the first time.
Essential: For Tomorrow, Chemical World, Sunday Sunday11
His 'n' Hers
Pulp · 1994 · Island
The album before Different Class that proved Jarvis Cocker was writing at a level above his peers. Eleven songs about sex, class, and provincial longing, all delivered with Cocker's trademark mixture of irony and empathy.
Essential: Babies, Lipgloss, Have You Seen Her Lately?12
Coming Up
Suede · 1996 · Nude
Post-Butler Suede surprised everyone by writing their most accessible, pop-driven album. Richard Oakes's guitar and Suede's new confidence produced "Beautiful Ones" and "Trash" — two of the decade's finest singles.
Essential: Beautiful Ones, Trash, Lazy13
Be Here Now
Oasis · 1997 · Creation
Britpop's Icarus moment — the album where excess killed the golden goose. Seven-minute songs, guitar overdubs on guitar overdubs, cocaine ambition without cocaine focus. Reviled on release, it now sounds like a fascinating document of hubris. Deserves reassessment.
Essential: D'You Know What I Mean?, Stand by Me, Don't Go Away14
Whats Yer Game
Menswear · 1995 · London
Britpop's most unfairly maligned band. Menswear were style-over-substance, but the style was excellent, and songs like "Stardust" show a genuine melodic talent. They arrived too late and were devoured by the backlash, but this album is better than its reputation.
Essential: Stardust, Daydreamer, Being Brave15
Watusi
Catatonia · 1996 · Blanco y Negro
Welsh Britpop at its finest. Cerys Matthews's voice is one of the decade's most distinctive, and the band's blend of wit and melody — particularly on "Sweet Catatonia" — places them in Britpop's second tier through no fault of their own.
Essential: Sweet Catatonia, Lost Cat, You've Got a Lot to Answer For16
The Bends
Radiohead · 1995 · Parlophone
Strictly speaking Radiohead outgrew Britpop by the time OK Computer arrived, but The Bends was released in 1995 at Britpop's height. Thom Yorke's anxiety and Jonny Greenwood's guitar work were operating on a different level to most of their contemporaries.
Essential: Fake Plastic Trees, High and Dry, Just17
Troublegum
Therapy? · 1994 · A&M
Northern Irish alt-rock at Britpop's heavy end. Andy Cairns's anxious energy and the band's distorted guitars were too hard-edged for mainstream Britpop acceptance but too melodic for metal. "Screamager" and "Nowhere" are perfectly constructed noise-pop songs.
Essential: Screamager, Nowhere, Trigger Inside18
Jollification
The Lightning Seeds · 1994 · Epic
Ian Broudie's deceptively simple guitar pop is Britpop's most underrated strand. "Change" and "Lucky You" pack more melodic invention into their three minutes than most bands manage in a career. Sunnier and less self-conscious than most of his peers.
Essential: Change, Lucky You, A Friend19
First Band on the Moon
The Cardigans · 1996 · Stockholm
Swedish Britpop — Sweden's Cardigans absorbed and perfected the British indie sound. Nina Persson's voice over Peter Svensson's melodic guitar work creates something simultaneously nostalgic and fresh. "Lovefool" is Britpop-adjacent pop perfection.
Essential: Lovefool, Been It, Your New Cuckoo20
Expecting to Fly
The Bluetones · 1996 · Superior Quality
Hounslow's Bluetones delivered one of Britpop's finest debut albums at the movement's commercial peak. Mark Morriss's sharp lyrics and the band's jangly arrangements found a large audience that their subsequent work never quite recaptured.
Essential: Slight Return, Bluetonic, Cut Some Rug21
You'd Prefer an Astronaut
Hum · 1995 · RCA
American shoegaze-meets-Britpop — Hum's guitar textures and Matt Talbott's songs have more in common with British 90s indie than US grunge. "Stars" is one of the decade's great guitar singles. Underappreciated on both sides of the Atlantic.
Essential: Stars, I Hate It Too, The Pod22
Moseley Shoals
Ocean Colour Scene · 1996 · MCA
Birmingham's Ocean Colour Scene were the Britpop movement's most retro-minded band — closer to Faces and Small Faces than Blur. Simon Fowler's voice and Steve Craddock's guitar work on this album have a warmth and accessibility that outlasted most of their contemporaries.
Essential: The Riverboat Song, The Day We Caught the Train, You've Got It Bad23
B-sides
Supergrass · 1999 · Parlophone
Supergrass's third album showed the band maturing beyond their early energy without losing their melodic gift. "Moving" is one of the best songs of the late 90s.
Essential: Moving, Mary, Jesus Came from Outta Space24
White on Blonde
Texas · 1997 · Mercury
Sharleen Spiteri's voice and the band's polished blue-eyed soul made this a Britpop adjacency that sold eight million copies. Not artistically ambitious but brilliantly executed mainstream British pop.
Essential: Say What You Want, Halo, Black Eyed Boy25
Pleased to Meet You
Shed Seven · 1998 · Polydor
York's Shed Seven were Britpop's most consistent second-division act. Rick Witter's passionate delivery and the band's big-chorus approach made "Chasing Rainbows" and "Getting Better" minor anthems of the period.
Essential: Chasing Rainbows, She Left Me on Friday, Getting BetterBritpop Artists on MyFavoriteBands
Explore the artists behind these albums:
Track Your Favourite Britpop Artists
Follow Oasis, Blur, Pulp, Suede and more to get concert alerts and new release notifications.