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Cover of Automatic for the People by R.E.M.
Cover: Automatic for the People

Song · R.E.M.

“Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M.

From the album Automatic for the People (1992)

“Everybody Hurts” by R.E.M. appears on 75 radio countdowns from 26 stations between 1992 and 2026. It was first released in 1992 on the album Automatic for the People. Its best result is #1 on the Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1993. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #16 alternative song of 1993, #192 alternative song of all time and #325 of the '90s.

75countdowns
26stations
#1best position
1#1 finishes
4top 10 finishes
1992–2026years charted

Watch

R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts (Official HD Music Video)

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

"Everybody Hurts" comes from Automatic for the People, R.E.M.'s eighth studio album, from 1992, and Warner Bros. released it as a single in April 1993. The band wrote it together and produced it with Scott Litt, and it moves at the pace of someone sitting up with a friend through a very long night: slow, patient, almost hymnlike.

Michael Stipe sings it plain and close, every word out in the open. Behind him a string section of six violins, three violas and three cellos swells up gently, and Deborah Workman's oboe adds a thread of melancholy. Litt mixed it with engineer Clif Norrell, and nothing in the mix hurries.

It went top 10 in the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, France and the Netherlands, among others. Jake Scott's video, shot in San Antonio, Texas, won Best Clip of the Year for Pop/AC at the 1994 Billboard Music Video Awards. Q ranked it No. 31 in its 1001 Best Songs Ever in 2003, and when the 2003 best-of In Time arrived, Automatic for the People supplied four of its songs, more than any other album.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1992 105 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992 107
1993 48 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1993 107
1993 20 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1993 91
1993 45 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1993 101
1993 1 Virgin Radio United Kingdom Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1993 10
1993 11 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1993 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1994 54 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1994) 100
1995 203 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 35 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1995) 100
1996 95 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 57 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1996) 100
1996 284 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1996) 500
1997 261 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1997 32 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1997) 100
1998 30 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1998) 100
1998 51 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) 100
1999 271 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 97 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 493 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 54 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 184 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 174 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 149 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 53 The Buzz The Buzz Top 99 Songs of All-Time (1999) 99
1999 26 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1999) 150
2000 149 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 33 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2000) 100
2001 149 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 7 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 46 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2001) 100
2001 1458 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 387 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 149 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 46 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2002) 100
2002 1158 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 149 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 54 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2003) 100
2003 673 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2003 3 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio VR10x10 (April 2003) 100
2004 179 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 149 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 4 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2004 354 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2004 68 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2004) 100
2005 149 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 949 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 52 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2005 82 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2005) 100
2006 41 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2006 99 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2006) 100
2007 328 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 670 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 426 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 670 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 688 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 180 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 27 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 707 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 730 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 763 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 793 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 582 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 465 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2018 760 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2020 351 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 910 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 857 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 907 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 838 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2023 145 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 370 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 586 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2024 634 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2025 104 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2026 370 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Also listed as: Everybody Hurs; Everybody's Hurt.

Charting alongside it in 1993

Best songs of 1993 →
  1. 1CannonballThe Breeders
  2. 2CreepRadiohead
  3. 3LingerThe Cranberries
  4. 4PlushStone Temple Pilots
  5. 5No RainBlind Melon
  6. 6Soul to SqueezeRed Hot Chili Peppers

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