The Best Dream Pop Bands

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Updated May 1, 2024 47.9K views 160 items
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Coined in the 1980s, dream pop rose to prominence in that decade and was generally used to describe shoegaze. However, over the years dream pop has evolved to define dream pop bands as those who use ambient, melodic sounds with breathy vocals to create a wall of noise. Over the years, dream pop bands have grown in popularity and can often times be seen at music festivals. Though a subgenre of alternative music, dream pop music is known for focusing on atmospheric and mood sounds and focuses on imagery.

So, what are the best dream pop bands? Any list of dream pop groups has to include the likes of Beach House, Cocteau Twins, M83, Sigur Ros and Slowdive. These bands are widely considered at enhancing dream pop's profile and bringing it to a wider audience. Though it's been called anti-rock for it's use of trip hop, slowcore and post-rock, dream pop bands are minimalist by nature and that helps explain why listeners are often taken into a trance-like state when they listen to the music.

That said, it's up to you to determine what are the best dream pop groups. If you see a dream pop band that isn't on this list, feel free to add them. This list answers the questions "who are the best dream pop bands of all time?" and "who is the greatest dream pop musician ever?" If you know enough about the genre, please vote based on the quality of the band's music instead of just voting for the most popular dream pop bands that you might've heard of. {#nodes}