Top Indie Folk Songs
Rank All Time Artist Song Subgenre(s) Other Genre(s) Year
1
464
 Bon Iver Skinny Love Singer/Songwriter 2007
2
566
 Bon Iver Holocene 2011
3
589
 Fleet Foxes White Winter Hymnal Chamber Folk 2008
4
1044
 Fleet Foxes Helplessness Blues Chamber Folk 2011
5
1327
 Elliott Smith Between the Bars Singer/Songwriter 1997
6
1399
 Fleet Foxes Mykonos Chamber Folk, Indie Pop 2008
7
1646
 Elliott Smith Miss Misery Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter 1997
8
1647
 Sufjan Stevens Should Have Known Better  Singer/Songwriter 2015
9
1723
 Bright Eyes First Day of My Life Singer/Songwriter 2005
10
1836
 Sufjan Stevens John Wayne Gacy, Jr. Chamber Folk, Singer/Songwriter 2005
11
1926
 Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea Psychedelic Folk 1998
12
1955
 Whitney No Woman Chamber Folk 2016
13
2056
 Mumford & Sons Little Lion Man Alt-Country 2008
14
2085
 Beirut Postcards from Italy 2006
15
2405
 Father John Misty Chateau Lobby #4 (in C for Two Virgins) Chamber Pop 2014
16
2507
 Badly Drawn Boy Once Around the Block Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter 1999
17
2679
 Elliott Smith Needle in the Hay Lo-Fi / Slacker Rock, Singer/Songwriter 1995
18
2865
 Beck Lost Cause Folk Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2002
19
3334
 Sharon Van Etten Every Time the Sun Comes Up Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2014
20
3380
 The Mountain Goats No Children Singer/Songwriter 2002
21
3540
 Mount Eerie Real Death Singer/Songwriter, Slowcore 2017
22
3616
 Sufjan Stevens Death With Dignity Singer/Songwriter 2015
23
3651
 (Sandy) Alex G Gretel Indie Rock 2019
24
3747
 Courtney Barnett Depreston  Singer/Songwriter 2015
25
3834
 Kevin Morby I Have Been to the Mountain Singer/Songwriter 2016
26
3854
 John Grant feat. Sinéad O'Connor GMF Americana, Singer/Songwriter 2013
27
3883
 José González Heartbeats 2003
28
4040
 Kristin Hersh & Michael Stipe Your Ghost Singer/Songwriter 1994
29
4130
 The Decemberists The Engine Driver Chamber Pop 2005
30
4174
 Big Thief Cattails Alt-Country, Americana 2019
31
4474
 Big Thief U.F.O.F. 2019
32
4519
 Better Oblivion Community Center Dylan Thomas Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter 2019
33
4648
 Sufjan Stevens Casimir Pulaski Day Chamber Folk, Folk Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2005
34
4776
 Belle and Sebastian The Stars of Track and Field Twee Pop 1996
35
4796
 Bon Iver Flume Singer/Songwriter 2007
36
4815
 Kings of Convenience Toxic Girl Indie Pop 1999
37
4861
 Father John Misty The Night Josh Tillman Came to Our Apartment Singer/Songwriter 2015
38
5000
 Bright Eyes Lua Folk Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2004
39
5268
 Bon Iver Blood Bank Singer/Songwriter 2009
40
5477
 Neutral Milk Hotel Oh Comely 1998
41
5513
 Elliott Smith Ballad of Big Nothing Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter 1997
42
5644
 Bright Eyes Four Winds Alt-Country 2007
43
5679
 Villagers Becoming a Jackal Indie Pop 2010
44
5724
 Angel Olsen Windows Singer/Songwriter 2014
45
5972
 Mumford & Sons The Cave Alt-Country 2009
46
6004
 Beirut Elephant Gun Chamber Pop 2007
47
6005
 Bright Eyes We Are Nowhere and It's Now 2005
48
6032
 Bon Iver re: Stacks Singer/Songwriter 2007
49
6055
 First Aid Kit My Silver Lining Alt-Country, Folk Pop 2014
50
6196
 Mumford & Sons I Will Wait Americana 2012
51
6207
 Smog Dress Sexy at My Funeral 2000
52
6241
 M. Ward Chinese Translation Folk Rock, Singer/Songwriter 2006
53
6291
 Okkervil River For Real (There's Nothing Quite Like the Blinding Light) Indie Rock 2005
54
6347
 (Sandy) Alex G Bobby Folk Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2017
55
6592
 Andrew Bird Fake Palindromes Chamber Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2005
56
6642
 Ryan Adams Wonderwall 2003
57
6714
 Fleet Foxes Grown Ocean Chamber Folk 2011
58
6923
 Elliott Smith Say Yes Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter 1997
59
7209
 Craig Finn God in Chicago Singer/Songwriter 2017
60
7409
 The Decemberists Here I Dreamt I Was an Architect Folk Rock, Indie Pop 2002
61
7680
 Angel Olsen Hi-Five Indie Rock, Singer/Songwriter 2014
62
7740
 Death Cab for Cutie I Will Follow You into the Dark Indie Pop 2005
63
7787
 Jim O'Rourke Halfway to a Threeway Chamber Pop 1999
64
8003
 PJ Harvey Let England Shake Art Pop, Chamber Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2011
65
8285
 Father John Misty I Love You, Honeybear Singer/Songwriter 2015
66
8720
 The Lumineers Ho Hey Folk Pop, Indie Pop 2012
67
8873
 Beck Blue Moon Singer/Songwriter 2014
68
8909
 Port O'Brien I Woke Up Today Indie Rock 2008
69
9035
 Volcano Choir Byegone 2013
70
9090
 Local Natives Airplanes Chamber Pop 2009
71
9119
 Laura Marling Sophia Singer/Songwriter 2011
72
9169
 Sufjan Stevens The Only Thing Singer/Songwriter 2015
73
9248
 Julia Jacklin Don’t Know How to Keep Loving You Singer/Songwriter, Slowcore 2019
74
9274
 The Mountain Goats This Year Singer/Songwriter 2005
75
9345
 Hand Habits placeholder Singer/Songwriter 2019
76
9394
 Junip Line of Fire 2013
77
9569
 The Moldy Peaches Anyone Else But You Anti-Folk, Indie Pop 2001

Songs "bubbling under" the all-time top 10000:
Devendra Banhart A Sight to Behold Freak Folk, Singer/Songwriter 2004
Father John Misty Real Love Baby Psychedelic Pop 2016
Vance Joy Riptide Folk Pop 2013
The Magnetic Fields The Book of Love Singer/Songwriter 1999
Julien Baker Turn Out the Lights Singer/Songwriter 2017
Sufjan Stevens For the Widows in Paradise, for the Fathers in Ypsilanti Singer/Songwriter 2003
José González Crosses Singer/Songwriter 2003
Beirut East Harlem Chamber Pop 2011
The Dodos Fools Folk Rock 2008
Wintersleep Weighty Ghost Indie Rock 2007
The Decemberists The Crane Wife 3 Folk Rock, Indie Pop 2006
Elliott Smith Son of Sam Singer/Songwriter 2000
Fleet Foxes The Shrine / An Argument Chamber Folk, Progressive Folk 2011
First Aid Kit The Lion's Roar Chamber Folk 2011
Wilco If I Ever Was a Child Alt-Country, Folk Rock 2016
Elliott Smith A Fond Farewell Singer/Songwriter 2004
Smog I Break Horses Singer/Songwriter, Slowcore 1996
First Aid Kit Stay Gold Folk Pop 2014
Neutral Milk Hotel Ghost Indie Rock 1998
Bright Eyes The Calendar Hung Itself Singer/Songwriter 2000
Band of Horses Factory Americana 2010
Bill Callahan Small Plane Singer/Songwriter 2013
Midlake Acts of Man 2009
Iron & Wine Flightless Bird, American Mouth Singer/Songwriter 2007
Elliott Smith Angeles Lo-Fi / Slacker Rock, Singer/Songwriter 1996
Gomez Whippin' Piccadilly Neo-Psychedelia 1998
Arcade Fire Neon Bible Chamber Pop 2007
Elliott Smith Everything Reminds Me of Her Singer/Songwriter 2000
Bright Eyes Bowl Of Oranges 2002
Red House Painters Have You Forgotten Alt-Country 1996
Bon Iver Towers 2011
Okkervil River Song of Our So-Called Friend 2005
(Sandy) Alex G Southern Sky Folk Pop 2019
Sharon Van Etten Give Out Singer/Songwriter 2012
The Mountain Goats Cry for Judas 2012
Damien Jurado Ohio Singer/Songwriter 1999
Elvis Perkins While You Were Sleeping Singer/Songwriter 2007
Palace Brothers Riding Alt-Country 1993
Smog Rock Bottom Riser Singer/Songwriter 2005
Father John Misty Nancy from Now On Psychedelic Folk 2012
Villagers A Trick of the Light 2018
Espanto Rock'n Roll 2012
Kings of Convenience Winning a Battle, Losing the War Indie Pop 2001
Villagers Hot Scary Summer 2015
Big Thief Mythological Beauty Indie Rock 2017
The Lone Bellow You Never Need Nobody 2013
The Decemberists Down by the Water Americana, Indie Rock 2010
Ásgeir Trausti King and Cross Art Pop, Folktronica 2013
The Mountain Goats High Hawk Season Singer/Songwriter 2011
Elliott Smith Happiness Singer/Songwriter 2000
Sufjan Stevens Mystery of Love Film Soundtrack, Singer/Songwriter 2017
Iron & Wine Tree by the River Art Pop, Folk Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2011
Jenny Lewis with The Watson Twins Rise Up with Fists!! Alt-Country 2006
Iron & Wine The Trapeze Swinger 2005
Iron & Wine Walking Far from Home Folk Pop, Indie Pop, Singer/Songwriter 2010
Villagers Dawning on Me 2015
The Mountain Goats The Legend of Chavo Guerrero Singer/Songwriter 2015
Elliott Smith Speed Trials Lo-Fi / Slacker Rock, Singer/Songwriter 1996
Billy Bragg and Natalie Merchant Way Over Yonder in the Minor Key Americana, Folk Rock 1998
Fleet Foxes Lorelai 2011
Death Cab for Cutie Title and Registration Indie Pop 2003
Sufjan Stevens No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross Singer/Songwriter 2015
Stornoway Zorbing 2009