You might like Phoebe Bridgers. She's worked with Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes for a duo project they called Better Oblivion Community Center than put out an album in 2019.

As a solo artist, she put out her first album in 2017 (Stranger in the Alps) and then a 2nd album in 2020 (Punisher).

I'd start with the songs Kyoto (from her 2nd album), Motion Sickness (1st album) and I Know The End (Closing track of her 2nd album and my favorite song of hers). For the BOCC stuff I'd watch their Tiny Desk Concert from NPR and then listen to the whole album. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1Yz-NyLV90

If you like that stuff you can fall down a rabbit hole of the SuperGroup she's a part of -BoyGenius, with Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker who each are newer artists worth checking out too.

If you like Pavement, listen to Marchica - Ped Xing. It's like a mix of Pavement, Grandaddy and Built to Spill.

Check out Ron Gallo’s “Heavy Meta” album. It grabs Indy rock fans immediately.

I had the same experience that you had when, after 20 years of raising a child, my wife and I decided to get back into doing college radio. At first I was completely overwhelmed. Back in the 80's and 90's if a band was great you would most certainly heard about them. Today the underground music scene is so vast that it's challenging to sift through and find the gems among the muck.

I would not recommend popular sites like Spotify as their algorithms tend to get you stuck within a very narrow band of genres. Bandcamp is a much better place to find great indie rock, and if you buy from them you're really helping out the artists as most of your money goes directly towards the artists. You can listen to stuff before you decide to buy, and the bands will often recommend other groups you might like.

Sputnik Music does not play music but I have found them to be a great resource for finding new bands. All of the content is user-based with no corporate interference. The users tend to lean heavily into the metal scene, but there is a very large section dedicated to the various genres of undergroung music.

(Warning: Shameless Self Promotion)

Finally, I'll provide links to the radio shows that my wife and I do for KDVS. My wife's show is mostly indie rock with lot's of Post Punk, Shoegaze and Dream Pop. Her show is called Silence In The Library.

My show is The Pharmacy and it's mostly a mix of Punk, Post Punk, Experimental, Lo-Fi, Psychedelic and Noise Rock. Sometimes, however, I mellow out and play some quiet stuff.

Good luck on your journey.

Captain Codeine

Check out KEXP live, or Tiny Desk Concerts.

Lots of diff styles of cool new music.

Big Thief is really good