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Cover of Nowhere by Ride — Cover: Nowhere

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“Vapour Trail” by Ride

From the album Nowhere (1990)

“Vapour Trail” by Ride appears on 19 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1991 and 2026. It was first released in 1990 on the album Nowhere. Its best result is #33 on the KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1991. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #117 alternative song of 1991 and #1,314 alternative song of all time.

19countdowns

10stations

#33best position

0#1 finishes

0top 10 finishes

1991–2026years charted

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Ride - Vapour Trail

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"Vapour Trail" closes Ride's 1990 debut album Nowhere, and it's the moment the shoegaze fog parts to let a real pop song through. Andy Bell wrote it, though the credit went to all four of them, Bell, Mark Gardener, Steve Queralt and Loz Colbert, and the band produced it themselves; America got it as a single early in 1991.

The hook is that riff, a four-chord spiral that keeps turning over, rung out on two Rickenbacker 12-strings. Fans have spent years guessing at the pedals, but Bell has said there weren't any: just the two guitars, bright and trebly. The drums tumble along in fills underneath, and a string quartet carries the coda off into the distance. It's the song they're best known for, and Pitchfork later put it at number 145 on its list of the top 200 tracks of the '90s.

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
1991	33	KROQ Los Angeles, CA	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1991	107

All-time and decade countdowns

Year	#	Station	Countdown	of
1991	437	CFNY 102.1 The Edge	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition)	1002
1991	82	Triple J	Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1991)	100
1992	234	Live 105	Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992)	299
1999	320	CD101	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)	2000
2000	321	CD101	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)	2001
2001	284	CD101	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)	2002
2002	284	CD101	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)	2003
2003	284	CD101	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)	2004
2004	284	CD101	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)	2005
2005	447	WOXY 97X	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005)	500
2005	285	CD101	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)	1994
2006	452	WOXY 97X	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006)	499
2019	522	KEXP	KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time	627
2022	623	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s	900
2022	852	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time	1055
2023	333	The Current	The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s	893
2023	703	90.9 The Bridge	90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of All Time	909
2026	804	The Colorado Sound	The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound	1055

Charting alongside it in 1991

Best songs of 1991 →

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