By Monster, Joyce Ng, Caitlin White & Brendan Klinkenberg

If you're reading this article, chances are you've previously poked around some of the other pages on Pigeons & Planes before landing here. What you hopefully noticed was a diverse mix of music and industry-related information to choose from. One of our main focuses here is on striking a healthy balance between the genres of music we cover and the types of artists that get featured. While we'll always make time for something new from Kanye West or Fiona Apple, we also recognize the importance of showcasing the indie acts that represent the Pigeons of P&P.

Independent labels have been making an impact for decades, but the importance of their work is more evident than ever. While radio and television—promotional media lanes traditionally reserved for major label clients—were once the dominant means of breaking artists, the Internet now plays a large role in bringing music to the forefront, and independent labels have a platform to compete on a large scale. Today, indie labels account for about 30% of overall record sales, and while this share is split among thousands of labels worldwide, there are some that stand out among the rest. Here are 25 independent labels you should know.

Click to start the list