The Killers were indie-rock’s most commercially oriented important band. Each generation and every scene has one of those. Where other groups had to guess where to place each new foot forward, Las Vegas’ The Killers came equipped with a clear plan and a bag of potential hits. The Killers are one of the best-known indie rock groups of all time.

Here’s a look at the 10 best bands by this chart-topping 2000s indie rock group.

The Greatest 10 Songs by The Killers

10. “Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll”

You had it all in the title. And, unlike their contemporaries, The Killers weren’t entirely being facetious either. Sure, they wink at the idea that “independent rock” could become a bestseller. But the group wanted as much a piece of that pie as anyone else did.

This was one of the first songs the band wrote. It was included on the “Hot Fuss” debut. Crowds love it, but singer Brandon Flowers admits to outgrowing the tune pretty quickly.

9. “Read My Mind”

“Hot Fuss” felt a lot like getting away with a bank robbery. Surely, the perpetrators can’t stop themselves at just one heist.

By contrast, The Killers fully embraced their retro rock obsessions for the follow-up, “Sam’s Town.” While it’s a fine record, it was less favoured by indie rock elites.

“Read My Mind” sounded a bit like U2 circa 1987. It was the indie song that grannies could love. But what’s wrong with granies or their love of 2000s guitar music?

8. “My Own Soul’s Warning”

There’s a cycle that every long-serving, successful band must go through. First, they love your success, then hate you for your ridiculousness, and, finally, praise you for surviving.

That’s what happened to The Killers. By the 2020s, the band needed no more hits to fill out stadiums. They delivered some anyway and made a nice, polite comeback with “My Own Soul’s Warning,” along with, you’d imagine, a tidy profit.

7. “Tranquilize”

The Killers were smart enough to hide their art-rock fancies in the first years of the band’s career. What the band specialised in was large choruses meant to be played on the world’s biggest stages.

Somehow, by the time of their B-sides collection, they’d roped in the great Lou Reed. The former Velvet Underground singer pushes the band. “Tranquilize” ends up sounding twisted and apocalyptic. It’s, frankly, a great song and one that both Reed and The Killers could be proud of.

6. “Spaceman”

The music critics would’ve preferred a challenging artsy type to be in that position, sure. But it was The Killers sitting on the indie-rock throne in 2008.

Brandon Flowers and his bandmates made no attempts to hide where their inspiration came from. Much of the “Day & Age” record is a modernised attempt at an ’80s synth-pop record. Dave Keuning‘s guitar sneaks and slithers through the cracks. And while some critics did think that was silly, they could not deny that songs like “Spaceman” were devilishly catchy.

5. “Human”

Momentum was on the side of The Killers when they released “Human.” They accumulated enough goodwill and hits that audiences were ready to follow the band down any path.

“Human” was, essentially, a melancholy dance track featuring the nonsensical line “Are we human, or are we dancer?” At the time of its release, it was inescapable. And, if you haven’t heard it in a while, you might even enjoy it.

4. “Bones”

It’s my favourite song by The Killers, and in an era where I was suspicious of any group trying to jump on the indie-rock bandwagon, the only song of theirs that I liked.

“Bones” is built around a ’50s-style chord progression, a goth-tinged lyric and Flowers’ characteristically emotional vocals. This one’s a winner!

3. “Mr. Brightside”

It’s possibly the most popular rock song of the early 2000s. And, many would claim that it’s also the most overplayed song of the era.

But try to forget how many times you’ve heard “Mr. Brightside” played in an indie disco, and you’ll end up agreeing that few, if any, guitar songs of the era are greater era worms than this.

2. “Somebody Told Me”

2000s rock music was still fertile ground. Rock audiences demanded new sounds. And most of them had grown tired of the aggro approach of nu metal, post-grunge or industrial.

Every indie rock band of the era possessed nice haircuts and skin-tight pairs of trousers. But what about the tunes?

The Killers, cleverly, took a cue from retro pop-rock for “Somebody Told Me” and the rest of the songs on “Hot Fuss.” The gigantic hooks and confident performances made them near-instant stars. A couple of decades later, it’s hard to call all of that success unwarranted.

1. “When You Were Young”

There are two things that Brandon Flowers and The Killers excel at – big hooks and earnest tenderness. They’re the Springsteens of Las Vegas, the good Samaritans of modern stadium rock.

And while all the usual ingredients are there, it’s hard to call “When You Were Young” a cynical effort. If anything, this is The Killers trying to branch out, expand, and be treated as serious artists.

They should’ve received all that appreciation! At the of the release, many fans cried for something even catchier, and, certainly, sillier. But the melodramatic storytelling fits the band just fine.

“When You Were Young” is the shining moment for the Killers and one of the greatest indie-rock anthems.