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Cover of Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet
Cover: Girlfriend

Song · Matthew Sweet

“Girlfriend” by Matthew Sweet

From the album Girlfriend (1991)

“Girlfriend” by Matthew Sweet appears on 58 radio countdowns from 21 stations between 1992 and 2026. It was first released in 1991 on the album Girlfriend. Its best result is #2 on the CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004). In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #81 alternative song of 1992 and #267 alternative song of all time.

58countdowns
21stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
14top 10 finishes
1992–2026years charted

Watch

Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend (Official Video)

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

"Girlfriend" is the title track and lead single from Matthew Sweet's third album, and it's power pop with the amps turned up: a churning, crunchy guitar riff, a chorus that grabs hold on the first pass, and Sweet singing with an eager, heart-on-sleeve urgency that keeps the whole thing hurtling forward. He wrote it himself, words and music, and Zoo Entertainment put it out in 1991.

It's a tight, bright rush of a single, sweet-toothed melody wrapped in fuzz, and rock radio of both stripes bit. It went to No. 4 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 10 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

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#StationCountdownof
1992 80 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992 107
1992 80 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1992 101
1992 12 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1992 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 185 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1996 290 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 175 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1999 249 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 224 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 1001 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 111 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 3 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 398 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 96 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 2 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 98 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 2 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 635 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 482 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 105 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 2 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 766 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 112 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 2 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 2 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 286 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 294 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 130 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 8 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 630 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 97 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2007 4 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 4 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 4 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 228 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 353 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 6 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 439 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2011 10 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2012 471 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 8 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 6 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2018 319 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 186 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 186 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2019 408 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2020 340 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 1989 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 93 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 325 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 118 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 348 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 105 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 205 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 359 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 348 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2024 579 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 142 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2026 790 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917

Charting alongside it in 1992

Best songs of 1992 →
  1. 1Friday I'm in LoveThe Cure
  2. 2Under the BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers
  3. 3DriveR.E.M.
  4. 4OneU2
  5. 5JeremyPearl Jam
  6. 6TomorrowMorrissey

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