What is the greatest indie rock song of all time according to radio listeners?

Combining 24 all-time countdowns from 9 stations, "Heroes" by David Bowie ranks first. It appeared on 20 of the countdowns and was voted number one 2 times.

How is the all-time ranking calculated?

Every appearance on an all-time countdown earns points based on its position and the length of the list: number one earns 100 points and the last position earns close to zero. A song's total is the sum of its points across every qualifying countdown.

All-time consensus · Indie & Adult Alternative · 24 countdowns from 9 stations

The greatest indie rock songs of all time

Radio stations have been asking their listeners to vote for the greatest songs of all time since the 1970s. This ranking combines public radio and adult alternative listener polls: 24 countdowns in all. The result: “Heroes” by David Bowie comes out on top, appearing on 20 countdowns and voted number one twice.

24all-time countdowns

9stations

8,578songs ranked

Top 100 of all time

Top 1000 →

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Year
1	Heroes David Bowie	1,753	20	#1	2	1977
2	Tangled Up in Blue Bob Dylan	1,703	18	#5	–	–
3	Born to Run Bruce Springsteen	1,675	18	#4	–	–
4	Once in a Lifetime Talking Heads	1,622	19	#14	–	1980
5	How Soon is Now? The Smiths	1,613	20	#18	–	1984
6	Hurt Johnny Cash	1,603	21	#16	–	2003
7	Into the Mystic Van Morrison	1,601	17	#2	–	–
8	A Day in the Life The Beatles	1,599	17	#4	–	–
9	Purple Rain Prince	1,578	19	#1	2	–
10	Thunder Road Bruce Springsteen	1,575	17	#1	4	–
11	Hallelujah Jeff Buckley	1,567	17	#4	–	–
12	Respect Aretha Franklin	1,547	18	#2	–	–
13	One U2	1,531	17	#10	–	1992
14	Running Up That Hill Kate Bush	1,528	19	#9	–	2022
15	What's Going On Marvin Gaye	1,516	18	#5	–	–
16	London Calling The Clash	1,508	18	#13	–	1980
17	Harvest Moon Neil Young	1,503	18	#4	–	–
18	Imagine John Lennon	1,502	17	#1	3	–
19	This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) Talking Heads	1,498	17	#2	–	–
20	Do You Realize? The Flaming Lips	1,482	17	#7	–	2002
21	Like a Rolling Stone Bob Dylan	1,478	16	#2	–	–
22	The Weight The Band	1,476	15	#1	2	–
23	Jesus Etc. Wilco	1,460	19	#10	–	2002
24	Ring Of Fire Johnny Cash	1,441	17	#10	–	–
25	Hallelujah Leonard Cohen	1,440	17	#26	–	–
26	1952 Vincent Black Lightning Richard Thompson	1,433	17	#2	–	–
27	Wish You Were Here Pink Floyd	1,418	17	#8	–	–
28	In My Life The Beatles	1,415	16	#4	–	–
29	God Only Knows The Beach Boys	1,415	16	#2	–	–
30	Bohemian Rhapsody Queen	1,403	15	#1	1	–
31	Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana	1,386	15	#3	–	1991
32	New Slang The Shins	1,364	19	#12	–	2005
33	Gimme Shelter The Rolling Stones	1,361	16	#4	–	–
34	(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay Otis Redding	1,355	16	#12	–	–
35	The Story Brandi Carlile	1,354	16	#4	–	2007
36	Sympathy For The Devil The Rolling Stones	1,343	15	#5	–	–
37	Just Like Heaven The Cure	1,341	16	#22	–	1987
38	Superstition Stevie Wonder	1,338	17	#17	–	–
39	Losing My Religion R.E.M.	1,337	16	#11	–	1991
40	While My Guitar Gently Weeps The Beatles	1,326	15	#13	–	–
41	Fast Car Tracy Chapman	1,322	16	#1	1	1988
42	Moondance Van Morrison	1,320	15	#19	–	–
43	Fake Plastic Trees Radiohead	1,315	17	#59	–	1995
44	Love Will Tear Us Apart Joy Division	1,308	18	#3	–	2005
45	A Case Of You Joni Mitchell	1,303	15	#15	–	–
46	In Your Eyes Peter Gabriel	1,301	17	#19	–	1986
47	Under Pressure Queen	1,298	14	#2	–	1981
48	Nightswimming R.E.M.	1,296	16	#23	–	–
49	With or Without You U2	1,288	15	#42	–	1987
50	what's So Funny (About Peace, Love, and Understanding)? Elvis Costello	1,260	16	#14	–	–
51	Hotel California The Eagles	1,255	14	#14	–	–
52	Impossible Germany Wilco	1,252	17	#34	–	2007
53	I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For U2	1,245	16	#27	–	1987
54	Babylon David Gray	1,237	17	#7	–	2001
55	California Stars Billy Bragg & Wilco	1,234	17	#12	–	–
56	Closer To Fine The Indigo Girls	1,228	14	#1	1	1989
57	The Joke Brandi Carlile	1,227	15	#1	2	2018
58	Where Is My Mind? The Pixies	1,226	18	#5	–	2005
59	Beautiful Day U2	1,222	18	#26	–	2000
60	Three Little Birds Bob Marley	1,221	16	#64	–	–
61	Dog Days Are Over Florence And The Machine	1,220	14	#9	–	2010
62	Graceland Paul Simon	1,204	17	#44	–	–
63	Ripple The Grateful Dead	1,193	14	#4	–	–
64	Burning Down the House Talking Heads	1,192	16	#51	–	1983
65	Bitter Sweet Symphony The Verve	1,189	17	#57	–	1997
66	Psycho Killer Talking Heads	1,189	17	#8	–	2005
67	Good Vibrations The Beach Boys	1,187	14	#27	–	–
68	Let It Be The Beatles	1,186	14	#10	–	–
69	Landslide Fleetwood Mac	1,186	15	#7	–	–
70	I Can't Get No Satisfaction The Rolling Stones	1,183	15	#4	–	–
71	Comfortably Numb Pink Floyd	1,175	14	#23	–	1980
72	Black Pearl Jam	1,169	17	#39	–	1992
73	Redemption Song Bob Marley	1,157	14	#15	–	–
74	Such Great Heights The Postal Service	1,134	17	#30	–	2004
75	I Wanna Be Sedated The Ramones	1,133	18	#20	–	1988
76	At Last Etta James	1,132	14	#15	–	–
77	Layla Derek and the Dominos	1,126	13	#6	–	–
78	Where the Streets Have No Name U2	1,123	13	#30	–	1987
79	Walk on the Wild Side Lou Reed	1,122	15	#12	–	–
80	Change Is Gonna Come Sam Cooke	1,116	14	#8	–	–
81	Jolene Dolly Parton	1,114	16	#4	–	–
82	American Girl Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers	1,114	14	#21	–	–
83	Rehab Amy Winehouse	1,112	17	#4	–	2007
84	Hey Ya! Outkast	1,111	17	#2	–	2003
85	Lust For Life Iggy Pop	1,106	19	#35	–	1996
86	Home Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros	1,105	15	#23	–	2010
87	Sunday Bloody Sunday U2	1,105	15	#33	–	1983
88	Karma Police Radiohead	1,102	15	#49	–	1998
89	Waterloo Sunset The Kinks	1,097	15	#33	–	–
90	Wild Horses The Rolling Stones	1,094	14	#64	–	–
91	Train in Vain The Clash	1,093	15	#67	–	1980
92	Hey Jude The Beatles	1,091	13	#9	–	–
93	All Along the Watchtower Jimi Hendrix	1,073	12	#16	–	–
94	I and Love and You Avett Brothers	1,073	15	#2	–	2009
95	Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes Paul Simon	1,071	14	#58	–	–
96	Stairway to Heaven Led Zeppelin	1,070	11	#3	–	–
97	Paranoid Android Radiohead	1,067	14	#11	–	1997
98	America Simon and Garfunkel	1,066	15	#47	–	–
99	Life During Wartime Talking Heads	1,064	16	#41	–	–
100	Kashmir Led Zeppelin	1,063	12	#12	–	1997

The countdowns behind the ranking

Every all-time list →

90.9 The Bridge

KEXP

KXT

917 Song Countdown

The Colorado Sound

The Current

WFPK

2001 Greatest Songs of All Time

WTMD

Top 897 Songs of All Time

WXPN

WYEP

How the all-time ranking works

Each countdown contributes percentile-based points: a number one earns 100, a song halfway down earns about 50, and the last position earns close to zero. A song’s all-time score is the sum of its points across every qualifying countdown, which rewards songs that appear on many lists and rank highly on them. Themed countdowns (party songs, single-artist lists) are archived but not counted, and each radio format is ranked on its own. Read the full methodology.