RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 1997

Ten radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 1997: 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 1997 is “Song 2” by Blur, which appeared on ten of the ten countdowns. Nine different songs were voted number one somewhere: “The Impression That I Get” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones (2 stations), “Wrong Way” by Sublime, “Walkin' on the Sun” by Smash Mouth, “Fly” by Sugar Ray and “Everlong” by Foo Fighters and others. Sublime was the year’s most-charted artist, with five different songs placing 23 times across the countdowns.

10countdowns
335songs charted
9different #1s

Top 100 songs of 1997

All 335 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 1997 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Song 2 Blur
900		 10 #2 –
2 Tubthumping Chumbawamba
760		 9 #3 –
3 Semi-Charmed Life Third Eye Blind
746		 8 #1 1
4 The Impression That I Get The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
680		 7 #1 2
5 Fly Sugar Ray
679		 7 #1 1
6 Everlong Foo Fighters
655		 7 #1 1
7 Wrong Way Sublime
611		 7 #1 1
8 Everything to Everyone Everclear
592		 8 #16 –
9 One Headlight The Wallflowers
588		 7 #7 –
10 6 Underground Sneaker Pimps
572		 8 #6 –
11 The Freshmen The Verve Pipe
568		 7 #6 –
12 The New Pollution Beck
557		 7 #8 –
13 Breathe The Prodigy
531		 7 #11 –
14 Building a Mystery Sarah McLachlan
526		 7 #10 –
15 Santeria Sublime
524		 6 #5 –
16 Eye The Smashing Pumpkins
514		 7 #9 –
17 Push Matchbox 20
506		 6 #6 –
18 Crash Into Me Dave Matthews Band
499		 6 #4 –
19 Hitchin' A Ride Green Day
496		 8 #25 –
20 Sell Out Reel Big Fish
494		 7 #12 –
21 Your Woman White Town
493		 8 #21 –
22 Hell Squirrel Nut Zippers
489		 7 #10 –
23 Walkin' On The Sun Smash Mouth
481		 5 #1 1
24 Gone Away The Offspring
481		 7 #15 –
25 The Perfect Drug Nine Inch Nails
472		 8 #12 –
26 Naked Eye Luscious Jackson
470		 8 #15 –
27 Sex and Candy Marcy Playground
460		 7 #3 –
28 Jack-Ass Beck
460		 7 #11 –
29 Wrong Number The Cure
457		 8 #20 –
30 Criminal Fiona Apple
455		 6 #8 –
31 If You Could Only See Tonic
427		 6 #3 –
32 Monkey Wrench Foo Fighters
421		 8 #14 –
33 Staring At The Sun U2
418		 7 #23 –
34 Greedy Fly Bush
417		 6 #20 –
35 It's No Good Depeche Mode
414		 7 #18 –
36 Bittersweet Sympthony The Verve
402		 6 #4 –
37 Doin' Time Sublime
397		 6 #5 –
38 Volcano Girls Veruca Salt
386		 6 #5 –
39 #1 Crush Garbage
378		 6 #29 –
40 Lovefool The Cardigans
361		 7 #14 –
41 Turn My Head Live
356		 6 #13 –
42 Block Rockin' Beats The Chemical Brothers
353		 7 #19 –
43 Female of the Species Space
347		 8 #33 –
44 Dammit blink-182
346		 6 #4 –
45 Don't Go Away Oasis
328		 6 #30 –
46 Lakini's Juice Live
325		 7 #19 –
47 D'You Know What I Mean? Oasis
319		 7 #29 –
48 The Difference The Wallflowers
317		 6 #18 –
49 3 A.M. Matchbox 20
314		 7 #30 –
50 Graduate Third Eye Blind
310		 6 #14 –
51 Summertime The Sundays
301		 7 #32 –
52 Not An Addict K's Choice
297		 6 #15 –
53 Karma Police Radiohead
296		 5 #5 –
54 Walking on the Sun Smash Mouth
291		 3 #3 –
55 Mouth Bush
289		 7 #22 –
56 A Long December Counting Crows
280		 6 #26 –
57 Bitch Meredith Brooks
265		 5 #28 –
58 Brimful of Asha Cornershop
259		 5 #1 1
59 Bitter Sweet Symphony The Verve
254		 3 #1 1
60 Virtual Insanity Jamiroquai
250		 5 #38 –
61 My Town Buck-O-Nine
245		 4 #12 –
62 Sleep To Dream Fiona Apple
241		 6 #40 –
63 The End Is The Beginning Is The End The Smashing Pumpkins
233		 5 #26 –
64 Superman's Dead Our Lady Peace
232		 4 #38 –
65 Deadweight Beck
227		 6 #32 –
66 You Were Meant For Me Jewel
226		 3 #13 –
67 Touch, Peel, and Stand Days of the New
225		 6 #45 –
68 Discotheque U2
223		 7 #50 –
69 Firestarter The Prodigy
222		 4 #29 –
70 The Rascal King The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
221		 5 #39 –
71 How's It Gonna Be Third Eye Blind
213		 4 #17 –
72 Sweet Surrender Sarah McLachlan
209		 6 #19 –
73 Thirty-Three The Smashing Pumpkins
195		 4 #39 –
74 Sunday Morning No Doubt
195		 4 #22 –
75 Beautiful Disaster 311
192		 4 #13 –
76 Abuse Me Silverchair
191		 4 #32 –
77 Don't Speak No Doubt
188		 4 #3 –
78 Da Funk Daft Punk
186		 4 #10 –
79 Swallowed Bush
181		 5 #35 –
80 A.D.I.D.A.S. Korn
158		 2 #18 –
81 I Will Survive Cake
151		 2 #20 –
82 Freak Silverchair
149		 2 #13 –
83 Dream Forest For The Trees
145		 5 #51 –
84 Come On Eileen Save Ferris
144		 4 #45 –
85 What Do You Want From Me? Monaco
140		 4 #42 –
86 What I Got Sublime
138		 3 #24 –
87 Paranoid Android Radiohead
136		 2 #7 –
88 I'm Afraid of Americans David Bowie
133		 4 #42 –
89 Desperately Wanting Better Than Ezra
133		 3 #44 –
90 The End is the Beginning of the End The Smashing Pumpkins
131		 3 #37 –
91 Brick Ben Folds Five
130		 4 #41 –
92 H. Tool
126		 2 #23 –
93 I Choose The Offspring
116		 5 #53 –
94 Prisoner 311
115		 2 #26 –
95 All Mixed Up 311
114		 2 #36 –
96 Elegantly Wasted INXS
111		 3 #43 –
97 Transistor 311
106		 3 #38 –
98 Precious Declaration Collective Soul
101		 2 #42 –
99 No Aphrodisiac The Whitlams
100		 1 #1 1
100 Cold Contagious Bush
100		 4 #59 –

Every station’s number one of 1997

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ Wrong Way Sublime KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1997
91X Walkin' on the Sun Smash Mouth 91X Top 91 Songs of 1997
Live 105 The Impression That I Get The Mighty Mighty Bosstones Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1997
Q101 Fly Sugar Ray Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1997
WHFS The Impression That I Get The Mighty Mighty Bosstones WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1997
107.7 The End Everlong Foo Fighters The End Top 107 Songs of 1997
John Peel (BBC Radio 1) Brimful Of Asha Cornershop John Peel's 'Pretty' Festive Thirty-One of 1997
Virgin Radio Bitter Sweet Symphony The Verve Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1997
Triple J No Aphrodisiac The Whitlams Triple J Hottest 100 of 1997
Radio & Records Semi-Charmed Life Third Eye Blind Radio & Records Top 97 Songs of 1997

All 1997 countdowns in this ranking

About the 1997 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 1997 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.