Rohan brings us the final installment in his three-part series.

In 2009, while the record industry as a whole is faltering, a few independent labels are thriving. This year marks the twenty-year anniversary of not one, but three of the most important independent labels currently operating: Merge, Matador and Warp. These labels have all thrived by taking the right chances and making sound decisions. Hell, in the past three years each has even had their shot at Billboard success. Each houses some of the biggest “indie” bands on the planet and deserve all the praise they receive.

To celebrate these 20-year anniversaries, I’ve created three top 10 lists of my favorite records released from each label, which I plan to release over the next three weeks.

The rules are as follows: One record per artist per label, no compilations (unless it is a compilation of an artist on the label), and the record has to have been originally released on the label (no reissues). If you want to argue any of my choices please leave comments…or find me, and we can get a drink and fight it out. I always love an intelligent music conversation.

This week I celebrate Warp Records.

Warp was started in Sheffield by Steve Beckett, Rob Mitchell and Rob Gordon. Warp is primarily an electronic label, home to acts like Autechre, Nightmares on Wax, Squarepusher, and the holy one himself, Aphex Twin. Over the years Warp has moved to London, started a video production outfit, a digital mega mart, and signed American acts like Prefuse 73, Battles and Grizzly Bear.

Warp is celebrating their anniversary with the Warp20 box set and parties in Paris, London and stateside in New York. You can learn all about the celebration, box set and parties here.

Warp has had a tumultuous distribution history. Nothing Records distributed Warp in America for a bit. Aphex Twin was signed to Elektra in the states, while still being on Warp in Europe. All of the records on this list were released by Warp first (either overseas or in America), so no fussing.

This list was also the hardest to compile and write about, because most of the music is faceless. Though I was an English major, I really don’t want to create words to describe what things like Aphex Twin sound like. If you really want to know, go buy a record, or listen to samples. It really is the best way. I also cheated on this list, so I’m sorry. Leave all your curses in the comments.

1. Aphex Twin – Richard D. James Album

This record gives me nightmares. Richard D. James’s face is menacing; he is someone you don’t want your kids around. Part of the whole shtick is the visuals, or lack thereof. The music on the disc is faceless, but if you stare at the cover, it is all you remember. There is really no comparing Aphex Twin.

2. Boards of Canada – Music Has the Right to Children

Boards of Canada make music that can soundtrack your life. BOC make beats that are tinged in their electronic peers like Aphex Twin, but add a little bit of hip-hop beats and down-tempo electronic. They are safe for any dinner party, but still powerful enough to be recognized as more than pretty background music. Music Has the Right to Children is their grand statement, though their following two records are just as essential. This is where you can start and end. Though it was re-released by Matador here in the states, this is almost Warp’s equivalent to In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (Merge).

3. Broadcast – Tender Buttons

Ah, Broadcast. Since they came onto the scene they have been dismissed as “Stereolab-lite,” and while their first record aches of the same 60s pastiche pop and kraut that Stereolab experiment with, Broadcast are their own band. With 2005’s Tender Buttons they have moved away from their peers, creating a record far better than anything Stereolab has made in years. Tender Buttons works best after dark. Songs like “Goodbye Girls” and the standout ”America’s Boy” are playful danceable pop, while “You and Me In Time” is heartbreaking.

4. Prefuse 73 – Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives

Warp is primarily a European label, but every once in a while an American slips through. Scott Herren has proven himself the Robert Pollard of experimental hip-hop. Prefuse 73 takes cues from the turntablism of DJ Shadow, and the cut-up electronic like Autecher, putting all into a hip-hop gaze. Herren’s beats are fun and funky, without being too repetitive. Vocal Studies + Uprock Narratives is a true gem.

5. Squarepusher – Music Is Rotted One Note

Squarepusher (Tom Jenkinson) is a man who does not pigeonhole himself. Working primarily in the drum and bass sub-genre, Jenkinson’s first couple of records had some jazz styling. Music Is Rotted One Note is a jazz record, with tinges of drum and bass. “137 (Rinse)” is as funky as anything Miles Davis has released, but still true-to-form Squarepusher. Jenkinson pulls everything off effortlessly creating his most concrete and re-listenable record.

6. Grizzly Bear – Yellow House

Most of this review can come from my review of GB’s latest record: Veckatimist. This was their first record as a full band, and it shows. While it displayed a band making progress, it also acted as a definitive statement. Ed Droste led his group to wider vocal harmonies (see: “Knife”) and dramatic song structures (see: “Colorado”).

7. Autechre – Tri-Repetae

There really are not many words to describe the sounds that Autechre make. Autechre, though two living breathing humans, make faceless electronic music. Autechre wade in darker territory, but while Aphex Twin is all blip-blop, Autechre is more screeeech-screeeech. Some songs, however, float like BOC (“Overand”) and some share hip-hop tendencies (“C/Pach”), but most keep one foot in the dark.

8. Aphex Twin – Come to Daddy

I know I’m cheating, but all you need to do is watch this:

9. Jamie Lidell – Jim

Jamie Lidell used to be an electronic dude, but somewhere down the line he decided to release this white-boy soul affair. His first record, Multiply, blended the elements of soul with some playful electronic beats, taking cues from both luminaries like Marvin Gaye, and more current artists like Beck. Though not an incredible album, the record did prove one thing—dude has a voice. For Jim, Lidell became a band leader. Jim is a neo-soul record that big-ups the classics while still sounding current. Jim works like a counterpoint to the Winehouses and Duffys of the world, and is a better record because the songs are stronger. It has no filler.

10. Maxïmo Park – A Certain Trigger

They had so much promise, but fell so hard. It is hard not to get sentimental about this record. Though everyone at the time was making post-punk revival records, Maxïmo Park set themselves apart because they hard charm and hooks. The three big singles from the record—“Graffiti,” “Apply some Pressure” and “Gone Missing”—still sound fresh. The angular guitars and smart lyrics bested most of the revival bands this side of the Futureheads. A Certain Trigger is and will forever be one of the best records to come out of the 2004/2005 post-post-punk period.

The Playlist: