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Song · Tom Petty

“You Don't Know How It Feels” by Tom Petty

Released 1999

“You Don't Know How It Feels” by Tom Petty appears on 62 radio countdowns from 26 stations between 1997 and 2026. It was first released in 1999. Its best result is #72 on the 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,064 indie & aaa song of all time and #170 of the '90s.

62countdowns
26stations
#72best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1997–2026years charted

Watch

Tom Petty - You Don't Know How It Feels [Official Music Video]

Video from YouTube (Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

Tom Petty picked "You Don't Know How It Feels" as the first single from Wildflowers, his 1994 album, and it's an unguarded song: a plainspoken plea to be left to live and work on his own terms. Its marijuana reference got it scrubbed for broadcast, with MTV, VH1 and plenty of radio stations running edits that cut a word, flipped another one backwards or swapped in a substitute.

None of that slowed it down. It topped Billboard's Album Rock Tracks chart, reached 3 in Canada and 13 on the Hot 100, his last top-40 hit in America, and the video took Best Male Video at the MTV Video Music Awards in 1995. At the 38th Grammys, in 1996, it won Best Male Rock Vocal Performance, and an alternate version surfaced after his death, on June 26, 2020.

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

RockLists rankings

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1997 871 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
2002 685 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2004 680 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2010 222 WXPN WXPN 885 Ultimate Road Trip Songs (2010) 885
2013 401 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 474 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2014 503 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 618 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 497 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 379 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 378 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2018 333 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2019 316 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2019) 500
2019 409 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2019) 500
2019 306 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2019) 500
2019 404 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2019) 499
2019 342 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2020 406 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2020) 500
2020 221 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2020) 500
2020 838 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 406 Q105.7 Q105.7 Memorial Day 500 (2020) 499
2021 266 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 351 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2021 178 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2021) 499
2021 328 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ 500 (2021) 500
2021 143 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2021) 500
2021 214 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2021) 500
2021 188 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2021) 500
2021 342 WCSX WCSX Rock & Roll 500 (2021) 499
2022 829 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s 900
2022 881 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2022 603
2022 504 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 433 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2022) 500
2022 879 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time 1055
2022 110 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 443 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2022) 500
2022 437 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 228 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2023 299 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs of the '90s 893
2023 247 97.1 The Drive 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 228 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2023 751 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2023) 1043
2023 332 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 129 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2023) 500
2023 271 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2023) 500
2023 214 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2023) 500
2024 272 WMGK WMGK Philly 500 (2024) 500
2024 1035 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043
2024 72 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2024) 400
2024 329 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 348 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2024) 499
2024 81 KQRS KQRS KQ 500 (2024) 499
2024 447 KSHE 95 KSHE 95 Rock N' Roll 500 (2024) 500
2024 189 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2025 76 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500
2025 959 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 246 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Top 400 of the Last 40 Years (2025) 400
2025 289 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2025 201 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2025) 500
2026 261 100.7 KSLX KSLX Arizona 500 (2026) 500
2026 267 102.5 WDVE DVE Memorial Day 500 (2026) 500
2026 217 106.7 WLLZ WLLZ Rock N Roll 500 (2026) 500

Also listed as: You Dont Know How It Feels.

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