RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 1996

Ten radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 1996: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, Q101, WHFS, 107.7 The End, John Peel (BBC Radio 1), Virgin Radio, Triple J and Radio & Records. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 1996 is “Down” by 311, which appeared on eight of the ten countdowns and was voted number one by two of them. Nine different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Down” by 311 (2 stations), “What I Got” by Sublime, “The Distance” by Cake, “Machinehead” by Bush and “Pepper” by Butthole Surfers and others. The Smashing Pumpkins was the year’s most-charted artist, with seven different songs placing 29 times across the countdowns.

10countdowns
319songs charted
9different #1s

Top 100 songs of 1996

All 319 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 1996 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Down 311
752		 8 #1 2
2 Pepper Butthole Surfers
742		 8 #1 1
3 Where It's At Beck
676		 8 #2 –
4 Spiderwebs No Doubt
668		 7 #3 –
5 Stupid Girl Garbage
633		 8 #4 –
6 Tonight, Tonight The Smashing Pumpkins
629		 8 #5 –
7 Machinehead Bush
627		 7 #1 1
8 What I Got Sublime
613		 7 #1 1
9 The Distance Cake
578		 8 #1 1
10 Mother Mother Tracy Bonham
562		 8 #11 –
11 Zero The Smashing Pumpkins
554		 7 #6 –
12 1979 The Smashing Pumpkins
554		 6 #2 –
13 Burden in My Hand Soundgarden
516		 7 #4 –
14 Here in Your Bedroom Goldfinger
514		 8 #12 –
15 Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand Primitive Radio Gods
503		 7 #8 –
16 Just A Girl No Doubt
503		 6 #2 –
17 Tahitian Moon Porno for Pyros
499		 7 #9 –
18 Bulls on Parade Rage Against the Machine
488		 7 #5 –
19 Champagne Supernova Oasis
483		 7 #11 –
20 Novocaine for the Soul The Eels
477		 7 #16 –
21 Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart Stone Temple Pilots
475		 5 #2 –
22 Swallowed Bush
471		 8 #16 –
23 Big Bang Baby Stone Temple Pilots
467		 7 #12 –
24 Only Happy When It Rains Garbage
448		 8 #14 –
25 Pretty Noose Soundgarden
443		 6 #7 –
26 Counting Blue Cars Dishwalla
436		 7 #1 1
27 Guilty Gravity Kills
434		 6 #5 –
28 Ironic Alanis Morissette
432		 6 #20 –
29 In The Meantime Spacehog
423		 7 #7 –
30 All Mixed Up 311
413		 7 #15 –
31 Don't Speak No Doubt
398		 6 #11 –
32 What Do I Have To Do? Stabbing Westward
345		 5 #9 –
33 Santa Monica Everclear
343		 4 #3 –
34 Aneurysm Nirvana
339		 6 #12 –
35 Stinkfist Tool
335		 6 #2 –
36 Scooby Snacks Fun Lovin' Criminals
330		 7 #14 –
37 You Learn Alanis Morissette
327		 7 #7 –
38 Don't Look Back in Anger Oasis
324		 6 #1 1
39 Salvation The Cranberries
307		 7 #22 –
40 Devil's Haircut Beck
300		 7 #29 –
41 Brain Stew Green Day
298		 4 #18 –
42 Popular Nada Surf
288		 7 #48 –
43 Heaven Beside You Alice In Chains
280		 6 #39 –
44 Ready To Go Republica
279		 7 #37 –
45 Angry Johnny Poe
276		 6 #27 –
46 Muzzle The Smashing Pumpkins
275		 5 #20 –
47 I Was Wrong Social Distortion
267		 6 #34 –
48 Bound for the Floor Local H
265		 5 #40 –
49 Who Will Save Your Soul Jewel
265		 4 #23 –
50 Hail Hail Pearl Jam
255		 7 #32 –
51 Ladykillers Lush
254		 6 #21 –
52 Big Me Foo Fighters
236		 4 #14 –
53 Wonderwall Oasis
234		 4 #14 –
54 #1 Crush Garbage
229		 5 #24 –
55 Mint Car The Cure
223		 5 #24 –
56 Photograph The Verve Pipe
222		 6 #24 –
57 Whoever You Are Geggy Tah
217		 6 #41 –
58 Glycerine Bush
215		 3 #5 –
59 Aeroplane Red Hot Chili Peppers
213		 5 #40 –
60 6th Avenue Heartache The Wallflowers
205		 4 #18 –
61 Shame Stabbing Westward
201		 5 #30 –
62 El Scorcho Weezer
196		 4 #9 –
63 The Box Orbital
196		 5 #7 –
64 Blow Up the Outside World Soundgarden
193		 5 #34 –
65 Flood Jars of Clay
191		 5 #36 –
66 If I Could Talk I'd Tell You The Lemonheads
187		 4 #23 –
67 Too Much Dave Matthews Band
181		 4 #31 –
68 Born Slippy Underworld
181		 2 #5 –
69 Firestarter The Prodigy
177		 3 #17 –
70 If It Makes You Happy Sheryl Crow
173		 5 #40 –
71 Bittersweet Me R.E.M.
170		 6 #47 –
72 Naked Goo Goo Dolls
168		 3 #41 –
73 Free To Decide The Cranberries
168		 4 #35 –
74 Happy Now No Doubt
166		 4 #29 –
75 I Got Id Pearl Jam
165		 4 #39 –
76 The World I Know Collective Soul
163		 4 #38 –
77 Heartspark Dollar Sign Everclear
163		 4 #11 –
78 Sucked Out Superdrag
159		 5 #53 –
79 Over Now Alice In Chains
157		 3 #28 –
80 All I Know Screaming Trees
150		 4 #5 –
81 A Long December Counting Crows
149		 3 #44 –
82 So Much To Say Dave Matthews Band
149		 3 #13 –
83 Angels of the Silences Counting Crows
148		 5 #55 –
84 Lady Picture Show Stone Temple Pilots
145		 5 #36 –
85 Cumbersome Seven Mary Three
145		 3 #50 –
86 Tattva Kula Shaker
140		 3 #9 –
87 Head Over Feet Alanis Morissette
136		 2 #29 –
88 Who You Are Pearl Jam
136		 4 #50 –
89 Inside Patti Rothberg
130		 4 #52 –
90 Gold Dust Woman Hole
130		 4 #47 –
91 E-Bow the Letter R.E.M.
129		 5 #71 –
92 King of New Orleans Better Than Ezra
125		 3 #36 –
93 Sister The Nixons
124		 2 #32 –
94 Santeria Sublime
122		 2 #5 –
95 You're Gorgeous Babybird
121		 2 #8 –
96 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Marilyn Manson
116		 3 #48 –
97 Peaches The Presidents of the United States of America
109		 3 #49 –
98 A Design for Life Manic Street Preachers
108		 2 #2 –
99 Banditos The Refreshments
106		 2 #30 –
100 Oh Yeah Ash
105		 2 #22 –

Every station’s number one of 1996

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ Down 311 KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1996
91X What I Got Sublime 91X Top 91 Songs of 1996
Live 105 The Distance Cake Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1996
Q101 Machinehead Bush Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1996
WHFS Down 311 WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1996
107.7 The End Pepper Butthole Surfers The End Top 107 Songs of 1996
John Peel (BBC Radio 1) Come Out 2 Nite Kenickie John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1996
Virgin Radio Don't Look Back in Anger Oasis Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1996
Triple J Buy Me a Pony Spiderbait Triple J Hottest 100 of 1996
Radio & Records Counting Blue Cars Dishwalla Radio & Records Top 96 Songs of 1996

All 1996 countdowns in this ranking

About the 1996 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 1996 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.