RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 1996

Twelve 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, WBCN, WBER, Triple J and Radio & Records. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 1996 is “Down” by 311, which appeared on ten of the twelve countdowns and was voted number one by two of them. Eleven 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 38 times across the countdowns.

12countdowns
362songs charted
11different #1s

Top 100 songs of 1996

All 362 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
930		 10 #1 2
2 Pepper Butthole Surfers
923		 10 #1 1
3 Where It's At Beck
849		 10 #2 –
4 Spiderwebs No Doubt
810		 9 #3 –
5 What I Got Sublime
774		 9 #1 1
6 Machinehead Bush
723		 8 #1 1
7 Tonight, Tonight The Smashing Pumpkins
716		 10 #5 –
8 Zero The Smashing Pumpkins
697		 9 #3 –
9 Stupid Girl Garbage
695		 9 #4 –
10 Mother Mother Tracy Bonham
695		 10 #11 –
11 Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth With Money in My Hand Primitive Radio Gods
694		 10 #8 –
12 Just A Girl No Doubt
685		 8 #2 –
13 The Distance Cake
674		 9 #1 1
14 Bulls on Parade Rage Against the Machine
661		 9 #5 –
15 1979 The Smashing Pumpkins
659		 8 #2 –
16 Here in Your Bedroom Goldfinger
635		 10 #12 –
17 Burden in My Hand Soundgarden
599		 8 #4 –
18 Santa Monica Everclear
595		 7 #3 –
19 Tahitian Moon Porno for Pyros
589		 8 #9 –
20 Guilty Gravity Kills
576		 8 #5 –
21 Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart Stone Temple Pilots
575		 6 #1 1
22 Only Happy When It Rains Garbage
570		 10 #9 –
23 Novocaine for the Soul The Eels
551		 8 #16 –
24 Big Bang Baby Stone Temple Pilots
543		 8 #12 –
25 All Mixed Up 311
541		 9 #15 –
26 Champagne Supernova Oasis
540		 8 #11 –
27 Pretty Noose Soundgarden
538		 7 #6 –
28 In The Meantime Spacehog
523		 9 #7 –
29 Ironic Alanis Morissette
520		 8 #20 –
30 Counting Blue Cars Dishwalla
480		 8 #1 1
31 Scooby Snacks Fun Lovin' Criminals
477		 9 #14 –
32 Swallowed Bush
473		 9 #16 –
33 Aneurysm Nirvana
472		 8 #12 –
34 Don't Speak No Doubt
468		 8 #11 –
35 Stinkfist Tool
427		 7 #2 –
36 Salvation The Cranberries
400		 9 #22 –
37 Ready To Go Republica
397		 9 #37 –
38 Angry Johnny Poe
391		 8 #11 –
39 What Do I Have To Do? Stabbing Westward
387		 6 #9 –
40 Popular Nada Surf
380		 9 #46 –
41 Brain Stew Green Day
369		 5 #18 –
42 Devil's Haircut Beck
350		 9 #29 –
43 Wonderwall Oasis
331		 6 #14 –
44 Shame Stabbing Westward
329		 7 #30 –
45 You Learn Alanis Morissette
327		 7 #7 –
46 I Was Wrong Social Distortion
327		 7 #34 –
47 Heaven Beside You Alice In Chains
326		 7 #39 –
48 Don't Look Back in Anger Oasis
325		 7 #1 1
49 Muzzle The Smashing Pumpkins
323		 6 #20 –
50 Glycerine Bush
321		 5 #5 –
51 Hail Hail Pearl Jam
311		 8 #32 –
52 Big Me Foo Fighters
306		 5 #14 –
53 Whoever You Are Geggy Tah
301		 8 #20 –
54 Ladykillers Lush
299		 8 #21 –
55 Too Much Dave Matthews Band
291		 6 #7 –
56 El Scorcho Weezer
286		 6 #9 –
57 Aeroplane Red Hot Chili Peppers
271		 6 #40 –
58 Photograph The Verve Pipe
269		 7 #24 –
59 #1 Crush Garbage
268		 7 #24 –
60 Firestarter The Prodigy
265		 4 #13 –
61 Bound for the Floor Local H
265		 5 #40 –
62 Who Will Save Your Soul Jewel
265		 4 #23 –
63 Sucked Out Superdrag
250		 7 #29 –
64 Cumbersome Seven Mary Three
247		 5 #20 –
65 6th Avenue Heartache The Wallflowers
244		 5 #18 –
66 I Got Id Pearl Jam
244		 5 #23 –
67 Mint Car The Cure
229		 6 #24 –
68 Natural One Folk Implosion
227		 4 #33 –
69 The Beautiful People Marilyn Manson
219		 5 #1 1
70 If I Could Talk I'd Tell You The Lemonheads
215		 5 #23 –
71 The World I Know Collective Soul
212		 5 #38 –
72 So Much To Say Dave Matthews Band
211		 4 #13 –
73 Born Slippy (Nuxx) Underworld
211		 3 #5 –
74 Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) Marilyn Manson
202		 4 #15 –
75 Heartspark Dollar Sign Everclear
201		 5 #11 –
76 Free To Decide The Cranberries
197		 5 #35 –
77 The Box Orbital
196		 5 #7 –
78 Blow Up the Outside World Soundgarden
193		 5 #34 –
79 Flood Jars of Clay
191		 5 #36 –
80 Caught A Lite Sneeze Tori Amos
185		 7 #41 –
81 All I Know Screaming Trees
180		 5 #5 –
82 Naked Goo Goo Dolls
178		 4 #41 –
83 If It Makes You Happy Sheryl Crow
173		 5 #40 –
84 Who You Are Pearl Jam
171		 5 #50 –
85 Bittersweet Me R.E.M.
170		 6 #47 –
86 People of the Sun Rage Against the Machine
167		 4 #25 –
87 Happy Now No Doubt
166		 4 #29 –
88 Angels of the Silences Counting Crows
164		 6 #55 –
89 Possum Kingdom Toadies
157		 5 #51 –
90 Over Now Alice In Chains
157		 3 #28 –
91 Lust For Life Iggy Pop
155		 4 #49 –
92 E-Bow the Letter R.E.M.
152		 6 #71 –
93 A Long December Counting Crows
149		 3 #44 –
94 Banditos The Refreshments
148		 3 #30 –
95 Spaceman Babylon Zoo
147		 2 #16 –
96 Gold Dust Woman Hole
146		 6 #47 –
97 Lady Picture Show Stone Temple Pilots
145		 5 #36 –
98 All Wrong God Lives Underwater
144		 2 #25 –
99 The Old Apartment Barenaked Ladies
143		 2 #27 –
100 No Place to Hide Korn
140		 3 #10 –

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
WBCN Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart Stone Temple Pilots WBCN Top 104 Songs of 1996
WBER The Beautiful People Marilyn Manson WBER Listener Countdown 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 twelve 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.