Decade consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 105 year-end countdowns + 13 decade countdowns

The best alternative rock songs of the 1990s

This ranking of the 1990s combines 105 year-end countdowns from 1990 through 1999 with 13 “songs of the decade” countdowns aired by CRNC 90.1, KROQ, WHFS, Y100, DC101, Live 105, 96.5 The Buzz, 107.7 The End, CFNY 102.1 The Edge and X96. The top song of the '90s is “Song 2” by Blur, which charted on 29 countdowns and reached number one one times. The decade’s most-charted artists are Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Green Day and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

3,300songs charted

105year-end countdowns

13decade countdowns

Top 100 songs of the '90s

Top 1000 →

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Year
1	Song 2 Blur	2,396	29	#1	1	1997
2	Everlong Foo Fighters	2,387	29	#1	2	1997
3	What I Got Sublime	2,082	26	#1	1	1996
4	Intergalactic Beastie Boys	2,070	24	#1	7	1998
5	1979 The Smashing Pumpkins	2,063	26	#2	–	1996
6	Wonderwall Oasis	2,033	27	#1	3	1995
7	Sex and Candy Marcy Playground	2,026	30	#3	–	1997
8	Scar Tissue Red Hot Chili Peppers	1,993	24	#2	–	1999
9	What It's Like Everlast	1,968	31	#2	–	1998
10	Smells Like Teen Spirit Nirvana	1,940	20	#1	15	1991
11	Fly Away Lenny Kravitz	1,914	28	#6	–	1998
12	Under the Bridge Red Hot Chili Peppers	1,860	20	#1	4	1992
13	Loser Beck	1,856	24	#2	–	1994
14	Santeria Sublime	1,813	24	#5	–	1997
15	Creep Radiohead	1,803	20	#1	1	1993
16	Lightning Crashes Live	1,801	23	#1	4	1995
17	What's My Age Again? blink-182	1,773	22	#1	3	1999
18	Closer Nine Inch Nails	1,771	20	#1	1	1994
19	Celebrity Skin Hole	1,765	25	#4	–	1998
20	Dammit blink-182	1,696	27	#3	–	1997
21	Bullet With Butterfly Wings The Smashing Pumpkins	1,696	23	#1	2	1995
22	Never There Cake	1,692	25	#3	–	1998
23	Semi-Charmed Life Third Eye Blind	1,686	22	#1	1	1997
24	Walkin' On The Sun Smash Mouth	1,673	23	#1	1	1997
25	Come Out and Play The Offspring	1,635	20	#2	–	1994
26	Just A Girl No Doubt	1,632	23	#2	–	1996
27	Karma Police Radiohead	1,631	26	#2	–	1998
28	Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) The Offspring	1,627	23	#1	1	1998
29	Jeremy Pearl Jam	1,614	18	#2	–	1992
30	Everything to Everyone Everclear	1,613	25	#8	–	1997
31	Freak on a Leash Korn	1,606	20	#2	–	1999
32	Black Hole Sun Soundgarden	1,583	19	#2	–	1994
33	Self-Esteem The Offspring	1,573	19	#1	1	1994
34	Plush Stone Temple Pilots	1,557	18	#1	2	1993
35	Flagpole Sitta Harvey Danger	1,555	21	#1	1	1998
36	Nookie Limp Bizkit	1,548	18	#1	2	1999
37	Down 311	1,544	19	#1	2	1996
38	When I Come Around Green Day	1,526	21	#2	–	1994
39	Got the Life Korn	1,519	21	#1	1	1998
40	Buddy Holly Weezer	1,489	22	#8	–	1994
41	Come As You Are Nirvana	1,488	19	#2	–	1992
42	Bitter Sweet Symphony The Verve	1,484	23	#1	1	1997
43	Santa Monica Everclear	1,480	23	#3	–	1996
44	Longview Green Day	1,475	19	#1	2	1994
45	Wrong Way Sublime	1,471	20	#1	1	1997
46	My Own Worst Enemy Lit	1,454	20	#1	3	1999
47	Lump The Presidents of the United States of America	1,433	20	#2	–	1995
48	The Impression That I Get The Mighty Mighty Bosstones	1,431	19	#1	3	1997
49	Praise You Fatboy Slim	1,414	20	#1	1	1999
50	All the Small Things blink-182	1,395	20	#2	–	1999
51	Better Man Pearl Jam	1,389	24	#5	–	1995
52	Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) Green Day	1,377	18	#2	–	1998
53	Basket Case Green Day	1,365	16	#1	1	1994
54	Comedown Bush	1,363	18	#2	–	1995
55	Inside Out Eve 6	1,363	20	#2	–	1998
56	Where It's At Beck	1,362	18	#2	–	1996
57	You Oughta Know Alanis Morissette	1,358	18	#2	–	1995
58	Today The Smashing Pumpkins	1,357	16	#2	–	1993
59	Fly Sugar Ray	1,356	17	#1	2	1997
60	Bulls on Parade Rage Against the Machine	1,351	19	#5	–	1996
61	Give It Away Red Hot Chili Peppers	1,349	18	#3	–	1991
62	The Distance Cake	1,333	22	#1	1	1996
63	Mysterious Ways U2	1,332	19	#2	–	1991
64	Tubthumping Chumbawamba	1,325	19	#3	–	1997
65	Alive Pearl Jam	1,313	19	#2	–	1992
66	Machinehead Bush	1,312	19	#1	1	1996
67	Interstate Love Song Stone Temple Pilots	1,305	17	#5	–	1994
68	All Mixed Up 311	1,305	21	#10	–	1996
69	Sabotage Beastie Boys	1,283	18	#11	–	1994
70	Last Kiss Pearl Jam	1,276	18	#9	–	1999
71	No Rain Blind Melon	1,274	17	#2	–	1993
72	Iris Goo Goo Dolls	1,264	16	#1	1	1998
73	Pepper Butthole Surfers	1,250	18	#1	1	1996
74	Losing My Religion R.E.M.	1,229	15	#1	2	1991
75	All Apologies Nirvana	1,220	18	#2	–	1994
76	Glycerine Bush	1,210	22	#1	1	1995
77	One U2	1,203	17	#1	1	1992
78	The Kids Aren't Alright The Offspring	1,196	17	#3	–	1999
79	Father of Mine Everclear	1,187	19	#11	–	1998
80	My Hero Foo Fighters	1,182	21	#14	–	1998
81	Even Flow Pearl Jam	1,164	16	#2	–	1992
82	How's It Going To Be Third Eye Blind	1,163	22	#17	–	1998
83	I Will Buy You a New Life Everclear	1,162	16	#4	–	1998
84	The Freshmen The Verve Pipe	1,151	17	#6	–	1997
85	One Week Barenaked Ladies	1,150	16	#3	–	1998
86	Learn to Fly Foo Fighters	1,148	19	#6	–	1999
87	The Rockafeller Skank Fatboy Slim	1,142	19	#10	–	1998
88	Breathe The Prodigy	1,138	17	#2	–	1997
89	Tonight, Tonight The Smashing Pumpkins	1,138	19	#5	–	1996
90	Blue Monday Orgy	1,127	22	#6	–	1999
91	Spiderwebs No Doubt	1,117	14	#3	–	1996
92	One Headlight The Wallflowers	1,110	15	#4	–	1997
93	6 Underground Sneaker Pimps	1,106	18	#2	–	1997
94	Why Don't You Get a Job? The Offspring	1,103	17	#8	–	1999
95	Disarm The Smashing Pumpkins	1,096	16	#3	–	1993
96	Closing Time Semisonic	1,096	16	#4	–	1998
97	Killing in the Name Rage Against the Machine	1,091	14	#3	–	1993
98	Lithium Nirvana	1,080	17	#11	–	1992
99	Daughter Pearl Jam	1,077	14	#1	1	1993
100	Every Morning Sugar Ray	1,073	19	#2	–	1999

Station countdowns of the '90s

Listener-voted “best of the decade” countdowns as broadcast.

About this ranking

The 1990s ranking adds together two kinds of evidence: the year-end countdowns from each year of the decade, and the retrospective “songs of the decade” countdowns that stations aired afterwards. Year-end lists capture what listeners loved at the time; decade countdowns capture what lasted. Every appearance earns percentile-based points, and the totals are ranked. See the methodology for details.