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Cover of Document by R.E.M.
Cover: Document

Song · R.E.M.

“The One I Love” by R.E.M.

From the album Document (1987)

“The One I Love” by R.E.M. appears on 150 radio countdowns from 47 stations between 1987 and 2026. It was first released in 1987 on the album Document. Its best result is #5 on the Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #10 alternative song of 1987, #38 alternative song of all time and #25 of the '80s.

150countdowns
47stations
#5best position
0#1 finishes
3top 10 finishes
1987–2026years charted

Watch

R.E.M. - The One I Love (Official Music Video)

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

"The One I Love" comes off Document, R.E.M.'s fifth full-length album, released by I.R.S. Records in 1987, and it's the song that finally gave R.E.M. a hit single. Peter Buck's guitar riff is a snarl with a hook in it, Mike Mills's bass and Bill Berry's drums push hard behind it, and Michael Stipe's lead vocal comes through clear, cool and a little menacing.

Scott Litt produced it with the band and engineered it, with Gary Laney handling additional recording and Steve Catania an additional mix, and the writing credit is split four ways. The result was their first hit single, reaching number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and 14 in Canada; a 1991 re-release took it to 16 in the UK. Artist Robert Longo directed the video, with Alton Brown as director of photography.

It has aged into canon: Q put it at 57 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks in 2005, and Slant ranked it the 38th best single of the 1980s in 2012.

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
1987 11 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1987 107
1987 10 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1987 91
1987 5 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1987 105
1987 31 WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1987 99

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 65 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 172 Live 105 Live 105 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1988) 501
1988 84 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1988) 100
1989 42 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 62 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) 495
1989 313 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1989 45 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1989) 100
1990 32 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1990 43 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1990) 100
1990 46 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1990) 100
1991 79 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1991) 302
1991 302 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1991 379 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1991 24 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1991) 100
1991 40 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1991) 100
1991 284 WNEW-FM WNEW Firecracker 500 (1991) 500
1992 56 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1992 125 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1992 33 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1992) 100
1993 50 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1993) 100
1994 57 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 126 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 143 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1994) 500
1994 43 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1994) 100
1994 949 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 38 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) 500
1995 166 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 41 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1995) 100
1995 811 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 53 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 39 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 157 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1996) 498
1996 46 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1996) 100
1997 57 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1997) 100
1997 851 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1998 136 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1998 82 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1998) 100
1999 434 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 428 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 10 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 63 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 136 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 203 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999) 500
1999 278 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 43 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 86 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1999) 150
2000 149 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000) 500
2000 278 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 100 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2000) 100
2000 35 103.3 The Edge 103.3 The Edge Top 103 New Rock Songs of the Millennium 103
2001 151 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001) 498
2001 292 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 148 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 96 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2001) 100
2001 90 KISW KISW Top 99 Rock Songs (2001) 99
2001 14 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 127 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 292 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 240 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 100 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2002) 100
2002 622 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 129 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 292 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 91 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2003) 100
2003 195 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 306 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 292 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 129 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 200 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 121 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 294 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 324 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2005 436 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 39 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 70s & 80s 96
2006 320 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 241 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 114 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2006 39 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Resurrection Songs (December 2006) 107
2007 431 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 441 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 163 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 428 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 372 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 434 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 437 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 451 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2011 329 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 254 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2012 331 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2013 464 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 954 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 131 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2013 246 Big 100 BIG 500 Labor Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 478 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 373 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 440 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2016 138 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 686 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 492 Qfm96 Qfm96 Memorial Day 500 (2016) 500
2016 378 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2016 455 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2017 156 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 157 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2019 482 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 894 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2019 286 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 299 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 255 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2020 476 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 953 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 327 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 149 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 763 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 349 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 279 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2022 86 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 186 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2022 453 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 190 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 692 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 365 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 1190 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2022 250 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 437 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2023 134 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850
2023 276 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 215 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 266 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 357 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 186 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 998 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2024 342 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 267 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 164 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 336 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 183 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 414 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2024) 500
2024 874 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2025 144 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 369 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 605 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2026 95 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 330 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2026) 500
2026 103 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917
2026 152 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500
2026 492 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: The One I love; the One I Love.

Charting alongside it in 1987

Best songs of 1987 →
  1. 1Girlfriend in a ComaThe Smiths
  2. 2With or Without YouU2
  3. 3Dear GodXTC
  4. 4Why Can't I Be You?The Cure
  5. 5StrangeloveDepeche Mode
  6. 6Lips Like SugarEcho and the Bunnymen

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