The Dharma Bums is a U.S. garage band. The band's members were Jim, John, Jeremy, and Eric. They named themselves after the Jack Kerouac book The Dharma Bums.

They formed in 1987 in Portland, Oregon, by members of two local bands, the The Watchmen and Perfect Circle (no connection with the later bands The Watchmen or A Perfect Circle). Their first album, Haywire, was produced by Scott McCaughey (lead singer of the Young Fresh Fellows) and recorded for the PopLlama label in 1989. McCaughey later played their debut to Frontier Records boss Lisa Fancher, who was impressed enough to re-release the album. One of the tracks, "Boots of Leather", proved to be an enduring college radio hit.