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Cover of OK Computer by Radiohead
Cover: OK Computer

Song · Radiohead

“Karma Police” by Radiohead

From the album OK Computer (1997)

“Karma Police” by Radiohead appears on 125 radio countdowns from 36 stations between 1997 and 2026. It was first released in 1997 on the album OK Computer. Its best result is #2 on the WFNX Top 101.7 Songs of 1998. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #28 alternative song of 1998, #65 alternative song of all time and #27 of the '90s.

125countdowns
36stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
4top 10 finishes
1997–2026years charted

Watch

Radiohead - Karma Police

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

"Karma Police" first appeared on OK Computer, Radiohead's third studio album, and on 25 August 1997 it became the record's second single. Built on acoustic guitar and piano, it plods with a heavy, deliberate sway, and Thom Yorke's lyrics circle madness and a sour disgust with capitalism.

Nigel Godrich produced, recorded and mixed it with the band, and the credits show how much they piled on: Jonny Greenwood on guitar, piano, organ, mellotron, glockenspiel and keyboards, Ed O'Brien on guitar, effects and backing vocals, Colin Greenwood on bass guitar and bass synthesizer, Philip Selway on drums, and Yorke on guitar and piano. All five share the writing credit.

It reached number eight in the UK, went to number one in Iceland and got to 14 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks. Jonathan Glazer's video, with Yorke riding in a car's back seat as it follows a man, won Best Direction at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards, and Rolling Stone put the song at 279 on its 500 greatest songs lists of 2021 and 2024.

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

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1997 34 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1997 91
1997 67 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1997 105
1997 58 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1997 100
1997 5 Virgin Radio United Kingdom Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1997 10
1997 26 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1997 99
1997 10 KISW Seattle-Tacoma, WA KISW Top 25 Songs from 1997 25
1997 9 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997 100
1998 28 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1998 107
1998 24 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1998 91
1998 32 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1998 106
1998 49 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1998 101
1998 35 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1998 100
1998 2 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 101.7 Songs of 1998 102
1998 33 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 1998 107
1998 52 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 1998 103
1998 42 DC101 Washington, D.C. DC101 Top 101 Songs of 1998 101
1998 52 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 103 Songs of 1998 102

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1997 33 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1997) 100
1998 43 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1998) 100
1998 54 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1998) 100
1999 168 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 58 WHFS WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999) 500
1999 162 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 238 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 11 WFNX WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999) 500
1999 28 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 281 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 268 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 52 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (1999) 150
2000 86 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of the '90s (September 2000) 100
2000 281 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 61 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2000) 100
2001 270 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 43 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2001) 100
2001 348 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 392 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 270 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 60 The Buzz The Buzz Top Songs of All-Time (Labor Day 2002, partial) 144
2002 44 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2002) 100
2002 547 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2002 1095 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 21 91X 91X Top 91 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 91
2003 249 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2003 270 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 28 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2003) 100
2003 54 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio VR10x10 (April 2003) 100
2004 16 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2004 270 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 154 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 338 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2004 46 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2004) 100
2005 71 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the 90s 96
2005 129 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005) 500
2005 268 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 33 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 64 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2005) 100
2006 24 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 449 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 197 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 129 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006) 499
2006 50 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2006) 100
2007 114 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2007 204 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 55 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2007) 100
2007 88 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 246 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2008) 500
2008 171 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2008 42 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2008) 100
2009 77 CFNY 102.1 The Edge The Top 200 Songs of the 90's According to 102.1 The Edge 200
2009 209 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 152 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2009 110 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of All-Time (2009) 200
2009 74 WYEP WYEP 913 Essential Songs 913
2009 77 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2009) 100
2009 15 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (2009) 100
2009 517 WXPN WXPN 885 Desert Island Songs (2009) 885
2010 35 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 200 Songs of the 90's (September 2010) 200
2010 135 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 76 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2010) 100
2011 128 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2011 76 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2011) 100
2012 74 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2012) 100
2012 178 WYEP WYEP Top 500 Songs Countdown 500
2012 64 CFNY 102.1 The Edge 102.1 The Edge Top 102 New Rock Songs of All-Time 102
2012 752 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 130 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 98 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2013) 100
2013 35 Triple J Triple J Hottest 100 of the Past 20 Years (2013) 100
2014 129 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 268 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2014 169 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) 885
2014 80 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2014) 100
2015 81 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2015) 100
2015 269 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2016 875 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2016 68 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2016) 100
2017 59 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2017) 100
2018 75 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2018) 100
2018 110 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 42 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2019 278 WYEP WYEP Big Spring Countdown 2019 1017
2019 87 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2019) 100
2019 285 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2019 278 WYEP WYEP Labor Day Weekend Countdown 2019 1099
2020 44 DC101 Top DC101 of the 90's 101
2020 86 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2020 286 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2020 100 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2020) 100
2020 485 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 277 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 270 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2021 90 Studio Brussel Studio Brussel De Tijdloze 100 (2021) 100
2022 19 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 216 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 49 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491
2022 257 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2022 63 101X 101X 500 (2022) 498
2023 63 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 178 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time 909
2023 528 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 247 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2023 283 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2024 114 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 23 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2026 110 101X 101X 500 (2026) 500
2026 247 WYEP WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time 1180

Charting alongside it in 1998

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