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Year-end consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · ten countdowns combined

The best alternative rock songs of 1995

Ten radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 1995: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, Q101, WHFS, John Peel (BBC Radio 1), Virgin Radio, Triple J, Radio & Records and WDRE Philadelphia. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 1995 is “Lump” by The Presidents of the United States of America, which appeared on eight of the ten countdowns. Five different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Lightning Crashes” by Live (3 stations), “Wonderwall” by Oasis (3 stations), “Tomorrow” by Silverchair (2 stations), “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” by The Smashing Pumpkins and “Common People” by Pulp. Bush was the year’s most-charted artist, with four different songs placing 24 times across the countdowns.

10countdowns
310songs charted
5different #1s

Top 100 songs of 1995

All 310 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 1995 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Lump The Presidents of the United States of America
749		 8 #2 –
2 Lightning Crashes Live
733		 8 #1 3
3 You Oughta Know Alanis Morissette
730		 8 #2 –
4 Bullet With Butterfly Wings The Smashing Pumpkins
629		 7 #1 1
5 My Friends Red Hot Chili Peppers
587		 8 #7 –
6 Wonderwall Oasis
570		 7 #1 3
7 Tomorrow Silverchair
548		 6 #1 2
8 I'll Stick Around Foo Fighters
532		 8 #2 –
9 Name Goo Goo Dolls
530		 6 #2 –
10 Everything Zen Bush
518		 7 #3 –
11 Good Better Than Ezra
504		 6 #3 –
12 Carnival Natalie Merchant
497		 7 #9 –
13 Hand In My Pocket Alanis Morissette
496		 7 #14 –
14 Possum Kingdom Toadies
479		 6 #5 –
15 All Over You Live
475		 7 #9 –
16 I Got a Girl Tripping Daisy
474		 7 #19 –
17 Little Things Bush
471		 6 #16 –
18 Connection Elastica
468		 7 #7 –
19 December Collective Soul
466		 6 #8 –
20 Run-Around Blues Traveler
455		 6 #5 –
21 Hey Man Nice Shot Filter
447		 6 #6 –
22 Comedown Bush
436		 5 #4 –
23 This Is A Call Foo Fighters
428		 7 #10 –
24 Geek Stink Breath Green Day
414		 7 #16 –
25 Time Bomb Rancid
411		 7 #24 –
26 Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me U2
403		 7 #19 –
27 Plowed Sponge
400		 6 #20 –
28 More Human Than Human White Zombie
397		 7 #13 –
29 One of Us Joan Osborne
385		 6 #14 –
30 1979 The Smashing Pumpkins
383		 5 #5 –
31 Hurt Nine Inch Nails
378		 6 #2 –
32 Sick of Myself Matthew Sweet
371		 7 #12 –
33 Say It Ain't So Weezer
353		 5 #12 –
34 In The Blood Better Than Ezra
348		 6 #12 –
35 Better Man Pearl Jam
344		 6 #11 –
36 Live Forever Oasis
340		 6 #18 –
37 When I Come Around Green Day
337		 5 #2 –
38 A Girl Like You Edwyn Collins
336		 6 #26 –
39 Down by the Water PJ Harvey
335		 7 #17 –
40 Warped Red Hot Chili Peppers
331		 7 #24 –
41 She Green Day
329		 5 #21 –
42 Ode To My Family The Cranberries
327		 6 #15 –
43 What Would You Say Dave Matthews Band
319		 5 #11 –
44 Stutter Elastica
298		 6 #14 –
45 Kitty The Presidents of the United States of America
293		 5 #4 –
46 Corduroy Pearl Jam
291		 4 #5 –
47 Natural One Folk Implosion
289		 5 #15 –
48 Violet Hole
282		 6 #12 –
49 Wynona's Big Brown Beaver Primus
281		 7 #40 –
50 Glycerine Bush
276		 6 #3 –
51 Stars Hum
271		 6 #30 –
52 Common People Pulp
262		 4 #1 1
53 Date Rape Sublime
253		 4 #6 –
54 Til I Hear It From You Gin Blossoms
253		 6 #31 –
55 Queer Garbage
252		 6 #21 –
56 Molly (Sixteen Candles) Sponge
246		 4 #10 –
57 The Man Who Sold the World Nirvana
245		 5 #10 –
58 Misery Soul Asylum
244		 6 #30 –
59 Love Spreads The Stone Roses
238		 4 #28 –
60 I Got Id Pearl Jam
226		 3 #20 –
61 All I Really Want Alanis Morissette
222		 5 #34 –
62 It's Oh So Quiet Björk
217		 4 #5 –
63 Buddy Holly Weezer
210		 4 #8 –
64 Ants Marching Dave Matthews Band
195		 4 #25 –
65 Hook Blues Traveler
189		 5 #38 –
66 Friends of P The Rentals
187		 6 #49 –
67 J.A.R. Green Day
181		 3 #15 –
68 White, Discussion Live
180		 4 #38 –
69 Just A Girl No Doubt
174		 3 #6 –
70 Pure Massacre Silverchair
173		 3 #30 –
71 Strange Currencies R.E.M.
171		 5 #31 –
72 Molly Sponge
159		 2 #17 –
73 I Kissed A Girl Jill Sobule
158		 5 #18 –
74 Ridiculous Thoughts The Cranberries
157		 4 #42 –
75 Ruby Soho Rancid
155		 3 #23 –
76 Sour Times Portishead
154		 4 #46 –
77 Alright Supergrass
148		 3 #6 –
78 Crush With Eyeliner R.E.M.
148		 4 #50 –
79 Last Goodbye Jeff Buckley
141		 4 #14 –
80 Vow Garbage
137		 3 #15 –
81 Need You Around Smoking Popes
136		 3 #27 –
82 Fake Plastic Trees Radiohead
135		 6 #42 –
83 Immortality Pearl Jam
132		 4 #25 –
84 River of Deceit Mad Season
132		 3 #48 –
85 J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) Green Day
131		 2 #29 –
86 Wonder Natalie Merchant
130		 4 #43 –
87 Grind Alice In Chains
129		 5 #62 –
88 Nothingman Pearl Jam
128		 2 #23 –
89 Black Steel Tricky
123		 2 #22 –
90 Here And Now Letters To Cleo
119		 4 #44 –
91 Don't Stay Home 311
115		 5 #65 –
92 Galaxie Blind Melon
112		 5 #50 –
93 The Diamond Sea Sonic Youth
110		 2 #42 –
94 Smash It Up The Offspring
106		 3 #57 –
95 Good Intentions Toad The Wet Sprocket
106		 4 #29 –
96 Mockingbird Girl Magnificent Bastards
105		 5 #53 –
97 The World I Know Collective Soul
104		 3 #44 –
98 Somebody's Crying Chris Isaak
104		 2 #39 –
99 Liar The Cranberries
98		 2 #48 –
100 Sorted For E's and Wizz Pulp
98		 1 #2 –

Every station’s number one of 1995

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ Lightning Crashes Live KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995
91X Bullet With Butterfly Wings The Smashing Pumpkins 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995
Live 105 Wonderwall Oasis Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1995
Q101 Tomorrow Silverchair Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995
WHFS Lightning Crashes Live WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995
John Peel (BBC Radio 1) Common People Pulp John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1995
Virgin Radio Wonderwall Oasis Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1995
Triple J Wonderwall Oasis Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995
Radio & Records Tomorrow Silverchair Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995
WDRE Philadelphia Lightning Crashes Live WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995

All 1995 countdowns in this ranking

About the 1995 ranking

Radio stations count down their listeners’ favorite songs at the end of every year. Each station’s list reflects its own audience, so a song that ruled Los Angeles could miss the top ten in Chicago. To find the songs that defined 1995 everywhere, RockLists gives every appearance percentile-based points (a number one earns 100, the last position earns close to zero) and adds them up across all ten qualifying countdowns. Each radio format is ranked separately, so classic rock and hard rock countdowns never shift the alternative results; use the tabs above to switch formats. Read the full methodology.