Guided by Voices (often abbreviated as GbV) was an American indie-rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Since the band's formation in 1983, it has experienced frequent personnel changes, but has always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. Guided by Voices disbanded in 2004, though many of its former members remain musically involved in solo careers or other side projects.

Guided by Voices' work shows influence from post-British Invasion garage rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, punk rock and post-punk. Guided by Voices also garnered much attention for its prolific output, with a seemingly endless stream of releases. Most songs are in the two-minute range, but many are even shorter; often they end abruptly or are intertwined with odd and homemade sound effects.

Guided by Voices progressed over time from an aspiring bar band, to willfully scuzzy basement obscurantists, and on to a relatively professional riff-pop machine in the latter half of the 90s, yet the constants throughout were Pollard's grasp of the pop format, his cryptic lyrics and titles, and melodic invention.

Inspired equally by jangle pop and arty post-punk, Guided by Voices created a series of trebly, hissy indie rock records filled with infectiously brief pop songs that fell somewhere between the British Invasion and prog rock. After recording six self-released albums between 1986 and 1992, the Dayton, OH-based band attracted a handful of fans within the American indie rock underground. With the 1994 release of Bee Thousand, the group became an unexpected alternative rock sensation, winning positi