RockLists.com
Cover of Ill Communication by Beastie Boys
Cover: Ill Communication

Song · Beastie Boys

“Sabotage” by Beastie Boys

From the album Ill Communication (1994)

“Sabotage” by Beastie Boys appears on 111 radio countdowns from 38 stations between 1994 and 2026. It was first released in 1994 on the album Ill Communication. Its best result is #3 on The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #24 alternative song of 1994, #45 alternative song of all time and #69 of the '90s.

111countdowns
38stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
7top 10 finishes
1994–2026years charted

Watch

Beastie Boys - Sabotage (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (BeastieBoysVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Sabotage" was the first single from Ill Communication, the Beastie Boys' fourth studio album, in 1994, and it's the sound of three rappers strapping on instruments and plugging them straight into the red. The group wrote it together and produced it with Mario Caldato Jr.: Ad-Rock on guitar, Adam Yauch on a bass so distorted it sounds like it's chewing through the cabinet, Mike D hammering the drums, and turntable scratches slicing across the top.

Ad-Rock takes the lead vocal and hollers it like a man at the end of his rope, while the band churns under him in stop-start bursts, Money Mark adding keyboard and Eric Correa percussion to the pile-up. It's punk rock with a hip-hop crew's sense of timing, and it's over before you catch your breath.

Spike Jonze's gleefully funny video picked up nominations in five categories at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards, and the critics have only warmed to the song since: Rolling Stone moved it up to 245th on its 2021 list of the greatest songs of all time, and Pitchfork placed it 39th among the best tracks of the decade.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 58 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994 107
1994 30 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1994 91
1994 44 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1994 106
1994 34 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1994 101
1994 32 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994 100
1994 10 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW 25 Greatest Rock Songs from 1994 25
1994 16 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1994 100
1994 78 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 94 Songs of 1994 94

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 23 CRNC 90.1 CRNC Top 90.1 Songs of the '90s 91
1994 371 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1995 336 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 179 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1996 214 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 356 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1998 44 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) 100
1999 75 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 153 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 29 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 66 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 21 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 204 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 106 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 114 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 6 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
1999 147 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1999) 150
2000 14 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) 100
2000 156 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 106 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 69 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 158 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 72 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 1631 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 61 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 63 K-Rock K-Rock Top 92 Party Songs of All-Time (2002) 92
2002 98 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 72 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 371 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 29 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 48 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 88 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 72 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 217 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 28 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 72 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 6 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2005 22 Live 105 Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of the '90s (August 2005) 106
2005 14 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 60 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 68 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 56 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 11 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 72 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 9 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 60 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 66 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 58 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 124 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 51 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 80 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 60 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 48 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 114 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2009 48 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009) 100
2010 13 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 46 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 43 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 445 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 6 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 New Rock Songs of All-Time 102
2012 250 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 40 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 37 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013) 100
2014 38 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 255 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 118 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 114 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2016 832 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2018 39 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 49 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2019 96 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 4 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2019 212 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2020 31 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 484 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2020 27 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 64 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 298 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2020) 500
2021 27 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 149 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 27 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 20 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 147 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2022 149 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 24 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2022 35 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 333 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2023 3 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 77 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of The Last 40 Years 91
2023 35 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 54 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 378 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 401 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 13 ALT 104.5 ALT 104.5 Top 104 of ALT Time 104
2024 85 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 169 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 62 107.7 The End The End Sweet Summer Vibes Countdown (2024) 100
2025 36 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2025 78 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 19 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 306 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 165 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 436 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Charting alongside it in 1994

Best songs of 1994 →
  1. 1Black Hole SunSoundgarden
  2. 2CloserNine Inch Nails
  3. 3Self-EsteemThe Offspring
  4. 4Interstate Love SongStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5Come Out and PlayThe Offspring
  6. 6Basket CaseGreen Day

Comments

Log in or create a free account to join the conversation about "Sabotage" by Beastie Boys.

Be kind and stay on topic. Guidelines

No comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts.