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Cover of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb by U2
Cover: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb

Song · U2

“Vertigo” by U2

From the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)

“Vertigo” by U2 appears on 75 radio countdowns from 38 stations between 2004 and 2025. It was first released in 2004 on the album How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Its best result is #4 on the CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2004. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #5 alternative song of 2004, #2,288 alternative song of all time and #26 of the '00s.

75countdowns
38stations
#4best position
0#1 finishes
8top 10 finishes
2004–2025years charted

Watch

U2 - Vertigo (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (U2VEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Vertigo" kicks off How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, U2's eleventh studio album, and as the lead single in November 2004 it announced that the band still knew how to plug in and let rip. Steve Lillywhite produced it, Jacknife Lee added synthesizer, and all four members share the music credit, with Bono and the Edge writing the words.

It's a blast of a record: the guitar snarls and stutters, the rhythm section drives it like a getaway car, and Bono barks his way into a chorus built for stadiums, with the Edge backing him up on vocals. For a band this big, it sounds startlingly like a garage band cutting loose.

It got a huge push from an Apple iPod commercial starring the band, sold more than 30,000 copies in its first week and went to number one in Denmark, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Spain and the UK. It even gave its name to the Vertigo Tour of 2005 and 2006. At the 2005 Grammys it took home three awards, Best Rock Song among them, and Rolling Stone later put it at 64 among the decade's best songs.

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
2004 27 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2004 107
2004 14 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 2004 91
2004 5 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2004 106
2004 12 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2004 101
2004 19 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2004 100
2004 5 K-Rock New York, NY K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2004 93
2004 6 WFNX Boston, MA WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2004 100
2004 4 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 77 Songs of 2004 77
2004 50 89X Detroit, MI / Windsor, ON 89X Top 89 Songs of 2004 89
2004 15 CD101 Columbus, OH CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2004 101
2004 5 Y100 Philadelphia, PA Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2004 99
2004 4 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2004 102
2004 54 CHOI Radio X Quebec City, QC CHOI Top 98 Songs of 2004 98
2004 28 The Bear Ottawa, ON The Bear Top 107 Songs of 2004 107
2004 17 The Buzz Burlington, VT / Plattsburgh, NY / Montreal, QC The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2004 99
2004 14 WCCC The Rock Hartford, CT WCCC Top 106 Songs of 2004 106
2004 31 Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2004 105
2004 52 88.3 The Sting Cleveland, OH 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2004 88
2004 5 99X Atlanta, GA 99X Essential 99 of 2004 99
2004 5 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) WEQX Top 102.7 of 2004 103
2004 11 WHTG Monmouth-Ocean, NJ G106.3 Top 106 Songs of 2004 106
2004 11 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 2004 227
2004 38 X96 Salt Lake City, UT X96 Top 50 Songs of 2004 50
2004 38 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 2004 100
2004 55 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2004 100
2005 76 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2005 107
2005 23 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2005 106
2005 62 107.7 The End Seattle, WA The End Top 107 Songs of 2005 107
2005 41 CFNY 102.1 The Edge Toronto, ON CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2005 102
2005 17 Channel 104.9 San Jose, CA Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2005 105
2005 55 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2005 100

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
2004 1977 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 374 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 92 96.5 The Buzz 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 of the New Millennium 96
2005 1967 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 529 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2005 84 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 29 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the Millennium (December 2006) 107
2006 477 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 403 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 1168 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 1423 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 71 WFNX WFNX Top 101 Songs of the Decade (December 2009) 101
2009 55 WYEP WYEP 913 Songs That Matter from the Last Decade 913
2009 1431 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 195 94.1 The Zone 94.1 The Zone 210 Most Played Songs of the Decade 210
2010 1458 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2010 477 97.9 The Loop The Loop USO Rock 'N' Roll 500 (2010) 500
2011 1525 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2011 707 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 714 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 856 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Rock Songs (2012) 885
2013 1578 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 242 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 434 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 446 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR CT 500 (2013) 500
2013 108 WXPN WXPN 885 Greatest Songs of the New Millennium (2013) 885
2014 1632 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 967 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 567 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 286 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2015 242 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 270 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 14 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR U2 20 20
2016 778 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2017 231 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2018 163 WTMD WTMD Listeners' Top 897 Songs, 2003-2018 896
2021 510 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 215 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s 907
2023 263 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2024 131 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century 1055
2024 381 WXPN WXPN The 885 Greatest Songs of the 21st Century (2024) 885
2025 1029 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2025) 1043
2025 104 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century 909
2025 162 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the 21st Century (So Far) 714

Charting alongside it in 2004

Best songs of 2004 →
  1. 1Somebody Told MeThe Killers
  2. 2American IdiotGreen Day
  3. 3Float OnModest Mouse
  4. 4Take Me OutFranz Ferdinand
  5. 6MegalomaniacIncubus
  6. 7The ReasonHoobastank

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