Sub Pop

Sub Pop is a record label established in 1988 in Seattle, and it is very closely associated with a series of bands that came out of the Seattle area in the '90s who are associated with the Grunge style: Nirvana (although only their debut album actually was on the label), Soundgarden, Mudhoney, as well as some major non-Seattle names in that genre, such as Sebadoh and The Afghan Whigs. Sub Pop was never a single genre label, though, and it used its '90s credibility to build an impressive roster of artists, including Beach House, Father John Misty, Handsome Furs, Shearwater, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Postal Service, The Shins, and even the decidedly un-grungy Low.