RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 1998

Eleven radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 1998: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, Q101, WHFS, WFNX, 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 1998 is “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys, which appeared on nine of the eleven countdowns and was voted number one by six of them. Six different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Intergalactic” by Beastie Boys (6 stations), “Flagpole Sitta” by Harvey Danger, “Pull The Wires From The Wall” by Delgados, “The Bartender and the Thief” by Stereophonics and “Pretty Fly (For A White Guy)” by The Offspring and others. Everclear was the year’s most-charted artist, with three different songs placing 23 times across the countdowns.

11countdowns
359songs charted
6different #1s

Top 100 songs of 1998

All 359 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 1998 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Intergalactic Beastie Boys
861		 9 #1 6
2 Flagpole Sitta Harvey Danger
837		 9 #1 1
3 Celebrity Skin Hole
782		 9 #4 –
4 Inside Out Eve 6
753		 8 #2 –
5 Father of Mine Everclear
729		 9 #11 –
6 Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) The Offspring
722		 9 #1 1
7 I Will Buy You a New Life Everclear
696		 8 #4 –
8 Never There Cake
689		 9 #3 –
9 Ava Adore The Smashing Pumpkins
682		 9 #6 –
10 Perfect The Smashing Pumpkins
682		 9 #9 –
11 Closing Time Semisonic
677		 8 #4 –
12 I Think I'm Paranoid Garbage
677		 9 #10 –
13 Iris Goo Goo Dolls
676		 8 #8 –
14 The Way Fastball
671		 8 #6 –
15 One Week Barenaked Ladies
663		 8 #3 –
16 Sex and Candy Marcy Playground
654		 7 #3 –
17 Fly Away Lenny Kravitz
634		 8 #10 –
18 Shimmer Fuel
623		 9 #1 1
19 What It's Like Everlast
618		 8 #5 –
20 Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) Green Day
610		 7 #2 –
21 Push It Garbage
598		 9 #7 –
22 Jumper Third Eye Blind
583		 8 #15 –
23 Zoot Suit Riot Cherry Poppin' Daddies
576		 8 #6 –
24 My Hero Foo Fighters
575		 9 #14 –
25 Save Tonight Eagle Eye Cherry
559		 8 #6 –
26 Karma Police Radiohead
558		 8 #2 –
27 Got the Life Korn
558		 9 #5 –
28 Wishlist Pearl Jam
554		 9 #10 –
29 The Rockafeller Skank Fatboy Slim
519		 8 #10 –
30 Dammit blink-182
494		 6 #3 –
31 Given To Fly Pearl Jam
487		 8 #15 –
32 The Dope Show Marilyn Manson
484		 8 #25 –
33 The Sweetest Thing (remix) U2
456		 9 #2 –
34 Circles Soul Coughing
453		 8 #14 –
35 Body Movin' Beastie Boys
450		 7 #17 –
36 Everything to Everyone Everclear
430		 6 #8 –
37 My Own Prison Creed
429		 5 #3 –
38 Brick Ben Folds Five
426		 8 #12 –
39 Slide Goo Goo Dolls
420		 8 #28 –
40 Beautiful Disaster 311
418		 8 #15 –
41 Everlong Foo Fighters
397		 6 #10 –
42 No Shelter Rage Against the Machine
395		 7 #20 –
43 Don't Drink the Water Dave Matthews Band
368		 7 #27 –
44 Get 'Em Outta Here Sprung Monkey
364		 7 #6 –
45 Touch, Peel, and Stand Days of the New
356		 5 #17 –
46 Got You (Where I Want You) The Flys
355		 7 #34 –
47 Bitter Sweet Symphony The Verve
341		 4 #5 –
48 Clumsy Our Lady Peace
338		 8 #12 –
49 Josie blink-182
337		 5 #14 –
50 Busy Child The Crystal Method
320		 6 #17 –
51 Torn Natalie Imbruglia
319		 6 #20 –
52 Losing A Whole Year Third Eye Blind
314		 7 #16 –
53 How's It Gonna Be Third Eye Blind
313		 5 #25 –
54 Jump Right In The Urge
304		 8 #39 –
55 Jump Jive An' Wail Brian Setzer Orchestra
296		 5 #25 –
56 Spark Tori Amos
296		 7 #40 –
57 3 A.M. Matchbox 20
288		 5 #35 –
58 Malibu Hole
282		 6 #26 –
59 Badfish Sublime
271		 3 #4 –
60 What's This Life For Creed
257		 4 #15 –
61 My Favourite Game The Cardigans
243		 7 #10 –
62 Teardrop Massive Attack
231		 5 #21 –
63 You and Me and the Bottle Make 3 Tonight Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
226		 4 #4 –
64 I'm OK, You're OK MxPx
224		 6 #44 –
65 Dragula Rob Zombie
220		 7 #36 –
66 Heroes The Wallflowers
214		 6 #49 –
67 In Hiding Pearl Jam
206		 7 #44 –
68 St. Joe on the School Bus Marcy Playground
206		 5 #36 –
69 Special Garbage
205		 6 #42 –
70 You Get What You Give The New Radicals
202		 5 #19 –
71 Save Yourself Stabbing Westward
196		 5 #38 –
72 Walking After You Foo Fighters
189		 5 #48 –
73 Singing In My Sleep Semisonic
188		 6 #60 –
74 Every Morning Sugar Ray
184		 5 #41 –
75 Thank U Alanis Morissette
182		 5 #50 –
76 Mouth Bush
182		 5 #51 –
77 Pure Morning Placebo
175		 5 #41 –
78 Polyester Bride Liz Phair
171		 4 #38 –
79 Goodbye Save Ferris
161		 4 #12 –
80 From Your Mouth God Lives Underwater
158		 7 #68 –
81 All The Kids Are Right Local H
156		 5 #27 –
82 High Feeder
156		 5 #48 –
83 Redundant Green Day
155		 4 #50 –
84 The Down Town Days of the New
154		 3 #32 –
85 Lucky Man The Verve
152		 6 #56 –
86 Enjoy the Silence Failure
152		 4 #30 –
87 Leech Eve 6
151		 4 #26 –
88 Brimful of Asha Cornershop
151		 4 #45 –
89 Jump, Jive, and Wail Brian Setzer Orchestra
146		 2 #21 –
90 Tropicalia Beck
146		 7 #49 –
91 Brian Wilson Barenaked Ladies
139		 3 #26 –
92 Can't Get Enough of You Baby Smash Mouth
138		 5 #50 –
93 Truly, Truly Grant Lee Buffalo
135		 7 #69 –
94 Fire Escape Fastball
132		 6 #55 –
95 Wash It Away Black Lab
130		 3 #48 –
96 Real World Matchbox 20
129		 3 #37 –
97 Daysleeper R.E.M.
129		 4 #47 –
98 Lullaby Shawn Mullins
127		 4 #57 –
99 Song For The Dumped Ben Folds Five
123		 4 #40 –
100 You and Me and the Bottle Make Three Tonight Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
121		 2 #35 –

Every station’s number one of 1998

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ Intergalactic Beastie Boys KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1998
91X Intergalactic Beastie Boys 91X Top 91 Songs of 1998
Live 105 Intergalactic Beastie Boys Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1998
Q101 Intergalactic Beastie Boys Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1998
WHFS Intergalactic Beastie Boys WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1998
WFNX Intergalactic Beastie Boys WFNX Top 101.7 Songs of 1998
107.7 The End Flagpole Sitta Harvey Danger The End Top 107 Songs of 1998
John Peel (BBC Radio 1) Pull The Wires From The Wall Delgados John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1998
Virgin Radio The Bartender and the Thief Stereophonics Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1998
Triple J Pretty Fly (For A White Guy) The Offspring Triple J Hottest 100 of 1998
Radio & Records Shimmer Fuel Radio & Records Top 103 Songs of 1998

All 1998 countdowns in this ranking

About the 1998 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 1998 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 eleven 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.