# The 10 Best Shoegaze Tracks of All Time Guitar bands who buried the song under effects pedals and sang like they were in the next room. Named as an insult by the British music press in 1990, and reclaimed by roughly every guitar band since. - **Origin:** England, 1988 - **Also known as:** shoegazing, dream pop, the scene that celebrates itself - **Tracks:** 10 - **Updated:** 2026-08-28 - **Canonical page:** https://waxonia.com/genre/shoegaze/ ## The list ### 1. [My Bloody Valentine](https://waxonia.com/artist/my-bloody-valentine/) — [Only Shallow](https://waxonia.com/track/my-bloody-valentine--only-shallow/) *1991 · Creation* Four snare hits and then the most disorienting guitar sound ever pressed to record. Kevin Shields bent pitch with a tremolo arm until the instrument stopped behaving like a guitar. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — A Way In](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-a-way-in/), [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/My%20Bloody%20Valentine%20Only%20Shallow) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=nwfCoKNI5hs) ### 2. [My Bloody Valentine](https://waxonia.com/artist/my-bloody-valentine/) — [Soon](https://waxonia.com/track/my-bloody-valentine--soon/) *1990 · Creation* A dance groove underneath a wall of detuned noise. Brian Eno called it the vaguest music ever to have been a hit, and meant it as the compliment it is. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/My%20Bloody%20Valentine%20Soon) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=gU7tX5YJghc) ### 3. [Slowdive](https://waxonia.com/artist/slowdive/) — [Alison](https://waxonia.com/track/slowdive--alison/) *1993 · Creation* Savaged on release and now the genre's most beloved song. The guitars shimmer rather than roar, and the melody underneath survives every layer piled on it. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Slowdive%20Alison) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=Ak43tAU5QuA) ### 4. [Ride](https://waxonia.com/artist/ride/) — [Vapour Trail](https://waxonia.com/track/ride--vapour-trail/) *1990 · Creation* A string coda arrives in the last minute and reframes everything before it. The most conventionally beautiful song the scene produced, and the least afraid of being one. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Ride%20Vapour%20Trail) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=dRQwGc4qBk0) ### 5. [Cocteau Twins](https://waxonia.com/artist/cocteau-twins/) — [Cherry-Coloured Funk](https://waxonia.com/track/cocteau-twins--cherry-coloured-funk/) *1990 · 4AD* Elizabeth Fraser sings in a language she invented and communicates more than most lyricists manage in English. The template shoegaze spent a decade chasing. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Cocteau%20Twins%20Cherry-Coloured%20Funk) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=PbbUeLkZt74) ### 6. [The Jesus and Mary Chain](https://waxonia.com/artist/the-jesus-and-mary-chain/) — [Just Like Honey](https://waxonia.com/track/the-jesus-and-mary-chain--just-like-honey/) *1985 · Blanco y Negro* A Ronettes drum intro drowned in feedback. Predates the scene by years and supplies its founding idea: bury a perfect pop song and let people dig. Also on: [The Waxonia Desk — The Hundred](https://waxonia.com/selection/the-desk-the-hundred/). [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/The%20Jesus%20and%20Mary%20Chain%20Just%20Like%20Honey) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=9LoSpJF_YxE) ### 7. [Slowdive](https://waxonia.com/artist/slowdive/) — [Souvlaki Space Station](https://waxonia.com/track/slowdive--souvlaki-space-station/) *1993 · Creation* Dub techniques applied to guitar music, with Eno's fingerprints somewhere in the background. The most spatially adventurous thing anyone in the scene attempted. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Slowdive%20Souvlaki%20Space%20Station) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=WPApiFhKFsg) ### 8. [Chapterhouse](https://waxonia.com/artist/chapterhouse/) — [Pearl](https://waxonia.com/track/chapterhouse--pearl/) *1991 · Dedicated* A sampled breakbeat welded to a wall of guitars, years before anyone called that a genre. Shoegaze's most convincing argument that it belonged on a dancefloor. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Chapterhouse%20Pearl) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=wlqKSAJZsZs) ### 9. [Lush](https://waxonia.com/artist/lush/) — [De-Luxe](https://waxonia.com/track/lush--de-luxe/) *1990 · 4AD* Miki Berenyi and Emma Anderson's harmonies cut through the haze rather than dissolving into it, which made Lush the scene's sharpest songwriters by some distance. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Lush%20De-Luxe) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=aKrw5wOlSng) ### 10. [Swervedriver](https://waxonia.com/artist/swervedriver/) — [Duel](https://waxonia.com/track/swervedriver--duel/) *1993 · Creation* Shoegaze with actual muscle and an American road-movie sensibility. Heavier than its peers and unfairly overlooked because it refused to sound fragile. [Search Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/search/Swervedriver%20Duel) · [YouTube Music](https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=MfH3yRVJh8Q) --- Hand-curated by Waxonia. We host no audio; all links point to streaming platforms.