While DCist’s sister sites are writing today about the best record stores in their respective cities, we decided instead to highlight some of the best record labels in the D.C. area. We highlighted the D.C. area’s record stores in a guide earlier this year, so instead we wanted to highlight the longtime record labels like Dischord and Cuneiform, and newer ones like Sister Polygon and Cricket Cemetery, that are working hard to put out great music. Whether you’re knowledge of local music is vast and deep or only minimal, let this list guide you to discovering some of the best music of all genres put out by local labels.

Via Shutterstock.

WINDIAN RECORDS: Sadly, Windian Records lost fearless leader and founder Travis Jackson in January of this year. Following his death, Jackson’s friends and community donated generously to help support his wife, Ashley, and their one-year-old son Link. As Ashley writes on her husband’s fundraising page, “Windian was his life. He built it from nothing.” Travis, no doubt, would surely be glad to watch as Windian Records chugs along as a happy, busy bee with clear goals and a hefty lineup. To name a few, Title Tracks, Mrs. Magician, and The Apes have all released on Windian. Just this month, Windian had its hands full with Richmond’s The Ar-Kaics—a buzzy ‘60s-inspired punk band that is SO HOT RIGHT NOW. Also don’t miss out on Madison, Wis.’s The Hussy, a two-piece punk band that’s a little menacing and a lot of fun. — Tori Kerr

You can listen to and buy Windian Records’ music here.

FUTURE TIMES: The coolest dance label in town has been a scene mainstay for some time now, but Future Times has doubled down on its strategy to stay weird. After garnering a steady following at DJ nights around town, the label put themselves on the map more recently with excellent releases from Maxmillion Dunbar, Beautiful Swimmers and Protect-U. Inspired, seemingly by whatever moves them, Future Times appears to be a slave to the vibe. And our ears are rewarded for it. — Andy Hess

You can listen to and buy music from Future Times here and here.

ETXE RECORDS: The word “Etxe” means “Home” in the Basque language, and the M.O. of this label isn’t simply to release music but to bring bands into the family. It’s not hard to identify an Etxe band: they might lean heavily on synths and acoustic guitar like local outfit Teething Veils or they might be a deep bass-driven rock outfit like Ohio’s Fangs Out, but all of the projects have a haunting darkness that consumes the listener. And chances are those songs were all recorded in Petworth and no fewer than three of those bands will appear on a bill together should they all converge in the District. —Valerie Paschall

You can listen to and buy music from Etxe here.

RUFFIAN RECORDS: Ruffian is a perfect little snapshot of the sometimes convoluted D.C. music realm. Originally created to produce Hugh McElroy’s—the former bassist/vocalist for the seminal experimental post-hardcore outfit Black Eyes—bands’ records as well as those of his buddies, it also has ties to Sockets Records, Dischord, and Swim-Two-Birds recording studio. McElroy also uses Ruffian as a platform for social justice issues include gender identity, marriage equality, and agriculture activism. The label often features experimental sounds, usually veering between frantic and atmospheric. Among many others, Ruffian released stuff from Sentai, Laughing Man, Black Eyes, and Hume in the past. But in the past few years, the label hasn’t been as busy putting out stuff as it’s been focused on recording bands at its sister studio. This year, Swim-Two-Birds welcomed local favorites Priests and Cigarette, as well as post-hardcore prodigies The Black Sparks in for some recording time. No doubt more Ruffian products would be eagerly snatched up. — Tori Kerr

You can listen to and buy Ruffian Records’ music here.

CUNEIFORM RECORDS: 2014 marks the 30th anniversary for Cuneiform Records. The Silver Spring-based, independent label has garnered an international reputation by artists and fans alike for its commitment to avant-garde and progressive music. Many of the once-esoteric sounds that Cuneiform released in the ’80s and ’90s have now started to work their way closer to the mainstream, as is often the case with truly cutting edge music. The label currently puts out about 15 albums per year and has over 300 recordings in its catalog. The styles it covers range from avant-rock and jazz to ambient. Cuneiform’s roster includes trumpeter Wadada Leo Smith, local guitarist Anthony Pirog—whose new album is slated for release in the fall—and Pirog’s duo with cellist Janel Leppin, Janel & Anthony. —Sriram Gopal

You can listen to and buy Cuneiform Records’ music here.

CRICKET CEMETERY RECORDS: Cricket Cemetery’s bread and butter is local punk and hardcore, but what makes them truly special is the left-of-center stuff that’s increasingly becoming their M.O. Since 2010, Cricket Cemetery founder Ian Thompson has put out great LPs and 7-inches from local punk and hardcore heavy hitters like The Shirks, Thick Skin, Beasts of No Nation, Dealbreaker, and others, but recently, Thompson’s proved he’s not pigeonholed by a single genre. Excellent releases by acts like local hip hop artist Uptown XO, experimental avant-garde duo Janel & Anthony, folksy duo Paint Branch, bluesy, shoegazey rockers The Tender Thrill, garage-rockers Passing Phases, and more gives the label an intriguing, unpredictable edge. Thompson’s carefully curated label is easily one of the most exciting in the D.C. area. — Matt Cohen

You can listen to and buy Cricket Cemetery Records’ music here.

LOVITT RECORDS: In my eyes, Lovitt Records is about as legendary a local label as Dischord. Though Dischord has about 15 years on Lovitt, the Arlington-based independent label has put out records by some of my favorite bands over the years, like Frodus, Engine Down, Sleepytime Trio, and others. And they’ve only gotten better with age: recently, they’ve put out records by some of the region’s most dynamic bands, like Pygmy Lush, Regents, Des Ark, Alarms & Controls, and Puff Pieces (often times a split release with Dischord). Just as they were when they began in 1995, Lovitt is a label to carefully pay attention to. — Matt Cohen

You can listen to and purchase Lovitt Records’ music here.

SISTER POLYGON RECORDS: On Sunday, Sister Polygon hosted a label showcase at Comet Ping Pong featuring three of their bands—Pinkwash, Neonates, and Downtown Boys—that proved why the young label is one to watch. Founded by members of the much-adored art-punk band Priests, Sister Polygon’s has assembled a small but stellar lineup of experimental, loud, and politically vocal bands including D.C. via L.A. trio Neonates, party-punk nihilists Dudes, Baltimore’s Young Trynas, Providence, Rhode Island’s political punk outfit Downtown Boys—who played perhaps the best live set I’ve seen all year—and others. Expect great things from this label. — Matt Cohen

You can listen to and purchase Sister Polygon Records’ music here.

1432 R: If you miss the carefully curated shows of Subterranean A — the venerable DIY venue that closed in the summer of 2012 — then 1432 R might not be the place to wax nostalgic over that Tennis or Wham City! comedy show. Grown out of the friendship between the residents of the basement dwelling, 1432 R looks to be less genre elastic and focus mostly on underground electronic music and “to grow our own sound” as label founder Sami Yenigun told Bandwidth. It’s first release, a 4-track EP from Ethiopian producer Mikael Seifu, mixes elements of U.K. garage, techno and traditional Ethiopian folk music. — Andy Hess

You can listen to and buy music from 1432 R here.

DISCHORD RECORDS: What is there to say about Dischord Records that hasn’t already been said? The legendary label, founded in 1980 by Ian MacKaye and Jeff Nelson, isn’t just one of the D.C. area’s most famous labels—home to seminal bands like Minor Threat, Fugazi, Jawbox, Q and Not U, Government Issue, Nation of Ulysses, Black Eyes, and countless others—it’s one of the most famous independent record labels of all time. In recent days, Dischord hasn’t been putting out much new music, instead focusing on reissues, but that’s OK. It’s Dischord, they can do what they want. — Matt Cohen

You can listen to and purchase Dischord Records’ music here.

ACCIDENTAL GUEST RECORDINGS: Folks who have spent any time with the Fan Death Records catalog probably have a sense of co-label head Sean Gray’s taste: widely varied but often noisy and always discerning. Accidental Guest is Gray’s cassette label and its output has been more of the curatorial voice we’ve come to expect from Gray but in a different and much cheaper package. Accidental Guest has put its name behind minimalist ambience (No Paris), plodding sludge (Jail Solidarity), industrial strength noise (York Factory Complaint) and surprisingly under-the-radar guitar rock (Technicolor Teeth). That’s to say, there’s no telling what sort of release Accidental Guest will put out next, but it will unfamiliar, challenging, and quite possibly the best thing you’ve never heard. —Valerie Paschall

You can listen to and buy music from Accidental Guest here.

TEEN-BEAT RECORDS: Teen-Beat is to indie-pop as Dischord is to punk. Though the longtime Arlington-based label—founded by Unrest frontman Mark Robinson—has since decamped for Cambridge, Mass., it still deserves a mention for all the great records by local bands it put out in the ’90s. Bands like Unrest, Eggs, Versus, True Love Always, Tuscadero, Tsunami, Velocity Girl, Air Miami, and many others. We miss Teen-Beat’s presence in the D.C. area these days, but there’s no doubt it’s left an ever-lasting imprint. — Matt Cohen

You can listen to and purchase Teen-Beat Records’ music here.

ANDREW’S MUSICAL ENTERPRISES: Multi-instrumentalist Andrew White—a Washington native who turns 72 this year— doesn’t do the internet. To contact him, you either have to leave a message on his answering machine (on which he does a great impersonation of an answering machine tone) or write an actual letter to his Brookland home, which also serves as a music museum and home office for Andrew’s Musical Enterprises, the company he has run for over forty years. His catalog runs to over 2,800 items, including 701 transcriptions of John Coltrane solos, an 840-page autobiography called Everybody Loves the Sugar, and dozens of his own jazz recordings, which feature area jazz veterans like bassist Steve Novosel. White still sells vinyl from his back catalog, and is planning a new release on eight CDs (or cassettes!) called Fatbackin’, an overview of White’s compositions. Listen to a 2012 WAMU profile of the energetic composer-entrepreneur here. And listen to Andrew’s Music 45 “Who Got The Funk?” here. — Pat Padua

You can’t purchase Andrew’s music online, you have to go to his house.

MELLO MUSIC GROUP: Yeah, yeah Mello Music Group is technically located in Arizona, but they might as well have a satellite campus here in D.C. The label’s roster is home to some of the city’s best indie-hip hop, having released work from Oddisee, yU and Uptown X.O., as well as their much-lauded 2009 group project Diamond District.

You can listen to and buy music from Mello Music Group here.

PEOPLES POTENTIAL UNLIMITED: I was browsing the new arrivals bins at Som Records one day when I spotted an unassuming album cover. It was a casual portrait of a shaggy longhaired guy in a t-shirt with the unusual name Uku Kuut. The son of jazz singer Maryn Coote, Kuut produces a gentle dance music in a subgenre you could call Estonian funk. And its champions are the Washington-based crate diggers at Peoples Potential Unlimited, who specialize in reissues of little-known, private-press ’80s dance music. Label founder Andrew Morgan is an animator by trade, but his interest in obscure 12-inch dance singles led him to a labor of love that makes this music available to a wider audience who can’t afford to shell out hundreds of dollars for rare originals. In the process, PPU gives overdue props and royalties to artists like blind Hyattsville soul man George Smallwood (read a City Paper profile of Smallwood here. And read a 2010 DCist profile of PPU founder Andrew Morgan here. Watch George Smallwood perform “Touching is My Thing” here and listen to Uku Kuut’s “Vision of Estonia” here. — Pat Padua

You can listen to or purchase Peoples Potential Unlimited’s music here.

BAD FRIEND RECORDS: The irony of the label name isn’t lost on the people who realize that label heads Ryan Little (Tereu Tereu) and Tommy Siegel (Jukebox the Ghost, Drunken Sufis) started this project to put out music made by…their friends. As such, this new label with limited output hasn’t yet developed a singular identity. Still, putting out a lost Travis Morrison recording is a good way to get your name out and the roster is getting ever larger and mightier as acts like the ever-evolving Laughing Man and shoegaze-influenced Fredericksburg act Raw Feels join the list of friends. —Valerie Paschall

You can listen to and buy music from Bad Friend Records here.