Founded in 2000 by editor-in-chief Arturo Perez, the magazine developed a reputation for its extensive coverage of underground and independent music.

[1] Kludge had a combined staff of over twenty writers, editors, graphic designers, and photographers.

[2] After its establishment, the site rapidly expanded to include live reviews, interviews, streams of albums, and year-end features.

Kludge had frequently partnered with Virgin Megastores for presenting new works and promoting new artists.

[3] While the site's readership numbers never reached the levels of Pitchfork Media's, it did receive many notices in the press for the quality of its writing.