Warp Records is a British independent record label founded in Sheffield in 1989 by Steve Beckett, Robert Mitchell and Robert Gordon. Initially specialising in electronic music, it has since moved beyond this scope to include artists in diverse genres. It has released records by acts including Aphex Twin, Autechre, Boards of Canada, Squarepusher, Brian Eno, Broadcast, Flying Lotus, !!!, Battles, Grizzly Bear, Oneohtrix Point Never, and Nala Sinephro.

Warp began as a record shop in 1987, and released its first record, "Track With No Name" by Gordon's band Forgemasters, in 1989. In the early 1990s, Warp became associated with the UK's bleep techno scene, releasing music by acts such as LFO, Sweet Exorcist and Nightmares on Wax. Rather than releasing dance singles by short-lived acts, Warp prioritised albums and artist longevity. In 1992, it released Artificial Intelligence, a compilation of tracks by various artists that helped establish intelligent dance music (IDM), a genre of electronic music intended for home listening rather than dancing.

Gordon left in 1991 and Mitchell died in 2001, leaving Beckett as the head. Warp moved to London in 2000. Over the following decade, it expanded its roster to include rock, hip-hop, film soundtracks, neoclassical music and ambient music. In 2001, Warp established a film production company, Warp Films, initially to release films by Chris Cunningham and Chris Morris. In 2004, Warp launched Bleep, one of the first download stores.

Warp is associated with the experimental electronic music of acts such as Aphex Twin, Autechre and Boards of Canada, but has influenced artists of other genres. Publications such as The Independent, The Guardian and Resident Advisor described it as one of the most influential and respected independent labels. In 2017, Beckett received the Pioneer Award at the AIM Independent Music Awards.

In the mid-1980s, Steve Beckett and Rob Mitchell, then in their early twenties, were active in the music scene of Sheffield, England. Beckett described 1980s Sheffield, once a major industrial town, as "run-down and industrial". Sheffield's steel manufacturing was in decline, and abandoned warehouses were being used for illegal raves as part of the growing subculture of club music and acid house. Sheffield had produced electronic bands including the Human League, Heaven 17 and Cabaret Voltaire.

Beckett and Mitchell worked at FON, a record store on Division Street that was a focal point of Sheffield's music scene. According to Beckett, the shop mainly sold indie and alternative records before expanding to imports from electronic Chicago house records. Beckett had a background in indie rock, and discovered electronic music while working in FON. FON also operated a recording studio used by artists such as David Bowie, Yazz and Chakk.

In 1987, Beckett and Mitchell partnered with the Sheffield musician and producer Robert Gordon to refit the FON shop as Warp Records, funded by selling tickets for events at the University of Sheffield. They originally named the store Warped Records, but this was difficult to hear over a telephone. The shop specialised in imports released by American dance labels such as Transmat, Metroplex, Trax Records and Underground Resistance, which sold out quickly.

Mitchell and Beckett felt there was a market for dance music created by Sheffield musicians, which they felt "sounded fresher" than music being created in the US at the time. In 1989, Warp released its first single, "Track With No Name" by Gordon's band Forgemasters. Financed through a grant from the government's Enterprise Allowance Scheme, they pressed 500 white label copies and distributed them to shops around the UK by car, selling out in a week.