Artist · chart history · #150 in alternative artist polls · #202 in indie & aaa artist polls

Sonic Youth

Band New York United States Active 1981–2011 US rock band

Sonic Youth formed in 1981 in New York, United States and was active until 2011. Sonic Youth has 151 chart appearances on 83 radio countdowns from 18 stations on RockLists, spanning 1987–2024. The most successful song on radio countdowns is “Kool Thing”, which appears on 31 lists with a best position of #30. The station that charted Sonic Youth most often is CD101 (Columbus, OH), with 46 appearances. The artist’s biggest year on year-end countdowns was 1992.

151appearances

83countdowns

18songs charted

18stations

0#1 finishes

1987–2024years

Songs by Sonic Youth on radio countdowns

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Peak year
1	Kool Thing	1,724	31	#30	–	1990
2	Teenage Riot	1,417	27	#19	–	1988
3	100%	649	19	#23	–	1992
4	Incinerate	636	10	#25	–	2006
5	Bull In The Heather	405	15	#58	–	1994
6	Sugar Kane	401	10	#17	–	1992
7	Sunday	203	15	#91	–	1998
8	The Diamond Sea	177	4	#42	–	1995
9	Schizophrenia	132	2	#13	–	1987
10	Tunic (Song For Karen)	92	1	#5	–	1990
11	Dirty Boots	89	2	#257	–	–
12	Youth Against Fascism	88	1	#7	–	1992
13	Superstar	53	4	#47	–	1994
14	Theresa's Sound World	50	1	#26	–	1992
15	Silver Rocket	44	1	#29	–	1988
16	(I Got A) Catholic Block	28	1	#37	–	1987
17	Superstar (Juno Remix)	27	1	#67	–	2008
18	1	19	2	#429	–	–

Albums with charting songs

Where each song was first released, from MusicBrainz.

Year-end chart timeline

Combined year-end countdown points per year. Taller bars mean more songs placing higher across more stations.

87 88 90 92 94 95 96 98 06 08

Every countdown appearance

Year	#	Song	Countdown
2024	32	Teenage Riot	The Best Opening Tracks of All Time
2024	257	Dirty Boots	The Best Opening Tracks of All Time
2024	323	Schizophrenia	The Best Opening Tracks of All Time
2024	425	100%	The Best Opening Tracks of All Time
2023	324	Kool Thing	The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2023	610	100%	The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2023	681	Dirty Boots	The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2023	715	Bull In The Heather	The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2023	732	Sugar Kane	The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s
2022	73	Teenage Riot	KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022)
2020	1818	Teenage Riot	WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time
2019	31	Teenage Riot	KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time
2019	504	Kool Thing	KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time
2019	543	Sugar Kane	KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time
2018	417	Teenage Riot	The Current's 893 Essential Songs
2014	209	Kool Thing	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014	472	Incinerate	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014	690	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014	1070	Sugar Kane	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014	1750	Sunday	CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014)
2014	336	Teenage Riot	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014)
2013	215	Kool Thing	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013	513	Incinerate	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013	752	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013	1109	Sugar Kane	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2013	1726	Sunday	CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013)
2012	382	Teenage Riot	WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012)
2011	225	Kool Thing	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2011	556	Incinerate	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2011	775	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2011	1172	Sugar Kane	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2011	1681	Sunday	CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011)
2010	223	Kool Thing	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010	606	Incinerate	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010	745	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010	1196	Sugar Kane	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010	1613	Sunday	CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010)
2010	861	Teenage Riot	WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010)
2009	213	Kool Thing	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009	640	Incinerate	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009	838	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009	1163	Sugar Kane	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2009	1579	Sunday	CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009)
2008	98	Superstar	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2008
2008	67	Superstar (Juno Remix)	91X Top 91 Songs of 2008
2008	206	Kool Thing	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008	688	Incinerate	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008	903	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008	1158	Sugar Kane	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2008	1569	Sunday	CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008)
2007	266	Kool Thing	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007	565	Incinerate	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007	1025	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007	1176	Sugar Kane	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007	1495	Sunday	CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007)
2007	284	Bull In The Heather	KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007)
2007	437	The Diamond Sea	KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007)
2007	62	Artist ranking	Live 105 Top 105.3 Artists of All-Time (May 2007)
2006	93	Incinerate	WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2006
2006	25	Incinerate	CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2006
2006	43	Incinerate	Y100 Top 88.5 Songs of 2006
2006	439	Kool Thing	Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006)
2006	33	Teenage Riot	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006)
2006	193	Kool Thing	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006)
2006	225	100%	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2006)
2006	205	Artist ranking	WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Artists (2006)
2005	50	Teenage Riot	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005)
2005	238	Kool Thing	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005)
2005	294	100%	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2005)
2005	1688	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2005	1816	Sunday	CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005)
2004	311	Bull In The Heather	The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004)
2004	1691	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2004	1820	Sunday	CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004)
2003	74	Teenage Riot	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003)
2003	326	Kool Thing	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003)
2003	429	1	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003)
2003	1691	Teenage Riot	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003	1820	Sunday	CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003)
2003	311	Kool Thing	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)
2003	505	Teenage Riot	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)
2003	1044	100%	Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003)
2002	192	Teenage Riot	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002)
2002	281	Kool Thing	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002)
2002	477	1	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002)
2002	1845	Sunday	CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002)
2002	532	Kool Thing	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2002	1630	Bull In The Heather	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2002	1848	100%	Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002)
2002	79	Artist ranking	WHFS Top 99 Artists of All-Time (November 2002)
2001	260	Kool Thing	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001)
2001	412	100%	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2001)
2001	1859	Sunday	CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001)
2000	259	Kool Thing	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000)
2000	409	100%	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2000)
2000	1894	Sunday	CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000)
1999	776	Bull In The Heather	Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999	441	Kool Thing	WFNX Top 500 Songs of All-Time (June 1999)
1999	568	100%	The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999	622	Kool Thing	The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999	775	Bull In The Heather	The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999	297	Kool Thing	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999)
1999	465	100%	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1999)
1999	1893	Sunday	CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999)
1999	385	Kool Thing	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1999	917	Bull In The Heather	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999)
1999	419	100%	WHFS Top 500 Songs of the '90s (December 1999)
1998	91	Sunday	The End Top 107 Songs of 1998
1997	70	Artist ranking	KROQ Top 106.7 Artists of All-Time (Memorial Day 1997)
1996	50	The Diamond Sea	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996
1996	231	100%	Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996)
1995	46	The Diamond Sea	91X Top 91 Songs of 1995
1995	42	The Diamond Sea	Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995
1995	296	Bull In The Heather	KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995)
1994	65	Bull In The Heather	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994
1994	97	Superstar	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1994
1994	77	Bull In The Heather	91X Top 91 Songs of 1994
1994	58	Bull In The Heather	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1994
1994	79	Superstar	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1994
1994	80	Bull In The Heather	Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1994
1994	90	Bull In The Heather	WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1994
1994	47	Superstar	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1994
1994	65	Bull In The Heather	Triple J Hottest 100 of 1994
1994	84	Bull In The Heather	Radio & Records Top 94 Songs of 1994
1994	294	Kool Thing	Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994)
1992	70	100%	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1992
1992	54	100%	91X Top 91 Songs of 1992
1992	89	100%	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1992
1992	70	100%	Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1992
1992	74	100%	WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1992
1992	51	100%	CFNY Top 102 Songs of 1992
1992	7	Youth Against Fascism	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1992
1992	17	Sugar Kane	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1992
1992	23	100%	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1992
1992	26	Theresa's Sound World	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1992
1991	293	Kool Thing	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991)
1991	455	Teenage Riot	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991)
1991	518	Kool Thing	CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition)
1991	56	Kool Thing	Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1991)
1990	102	Kool Thing	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1990
1990	30	Kool Thing	91X Top 91 Songs of 1990
1990	31	Kool Thing	Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1990
1990	41	Kool Thing	CFNY Top 90 Songs of 1990
1990	5	Tunic (Song For Karen)	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1990
1990	40	Kool Thing	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1990
1990	89	Teenage Riot	Triple J Hottest 100 of All-Time (1990)
1989	497	Teenage Riot	WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989)
1988	19	Teenage Riot	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1988
1988	29	Silver Rocket	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1988
1987	13	Schizophrenia	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1987
1987	37	(I Got A) Catholic Block	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1987