2000s, Turn On the Bright Lights has been cited as an influence on many indie rock bands, including the Killers, Editors, the xx, the Organ, She Wants Revenge, and others to the extent that many of these bands have been disparagingly referred to as "Interpol clones". Closely associated with 9/11-era New York City, the album has been seen as helping define 2000s indie rock, and Interpol have been cited as helping usher in the New York-born post-punk revival scene, along with contemporaries such as the Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and TV on the Radio. Summing up the album's impact in a review of its 2012 re-issue, Matt LeMay of Pitchfork wrote: "Suggesting that this album is simply a product of its time and place is no less naive than suggesting that anyone who has ever been in love could easily write, arrange and record an amazing love song. There were a lot of good bands in New York in 2002, but only one band made this record." In 2017, the band embarked on a worldwide tour to celebrate its 15th anniversary. In a 2018 interview with Vice, Paul Banks stated: "as far as ease of making it, we had years to write these songs. The longest writing period of any of your records is your debut. We formed in 1997, so it’s five years, and three-and-a-half/four of playing shows and trying out that material. So it went down smoothly in the studio, and then you have all the excitement of it being your first album. It was a good time in our lives." Drummer Sam Fogarino reflected on the album by saying: "we were very naïve, we didn’t know how to make a record together, and we were lucky to have a good snapshot taken of who we were at the time. And we got a little more confident with every record." At the end of the decade, the album has been featured on numerous lists: {|class="wikitable sortable" |- !Publication !Accolade !Rank |- | Pitchfork | 'Top 100 albums 2000-2004' | align="center"|3 |- | Pitchfork | 'Top 200 albums of the 2000s' | align="center"|20 |- | Stylus | 'Top 50 Albums 2000-2005' | align="center"|6 |- | Stylus | 'Top 100 Albums of the 2000s' | align="center"|20 |- | NME | '100 Greatest Albums of the Decade' | align="center"|8 |- | NME | '500 Greatest Albums of All Time' | align="center"|130