Song · Freedy Johnston
“Bad Reputation” by Freedy Johnston
“Bad Reputation” by Freedy Johnston appears on 15 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 1994 and 2023. Its best result is #49 on the WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #109 alternative song of 1994 and #2,415 alternative song of all time.
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Freedy Johnston's "Bad Reputation" arrived on Elektra in 1994, from This Perfect World, the American singer-songwriter's first record for a major label, and it's still the song he's best known for.
Its climb was modest but stubborn. It reached the Billboard Hot 100 and topped out at number 54 in February 1995, hanging around for 12 weeks. It found steady work on screen, too: it rolls over the closing credits of Kicking and Screaming in 1995, pops up in the 1996 film Kingpin, and later surfaced in an episode of Hindsight.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 58 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1994 | 91 |
| 1994 | 49 | WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD | WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994 | 100 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1180 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1178 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1174 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1173 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2002 | 1860 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1158 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 1158 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 1159 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2005 | 537 | 99X | 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) | 1000 |
| 2016 | 259 | WYEP | WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 | 913 |
| 2021 | 648 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s | 908 |
| 2022 | 896 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
| 2023 | 868 | The Current | The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s | 893 |
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