RockLists.com

Year-end consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 15 countdowns combined

The best alternative rock songs of 1999

15 radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 1999: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, Q101, WHFS, K-Rock, WFNX, 107.7 The End, 89X, 102.7 WEQX, John Peel (BBC Radio 1), Virgin Radio, WBER, Triple J and Radio & Records. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 1999 is “What's My Age Again?” by blink-182, which appeared on 13 of the 15 countdowns and was voted number one by three of them. Ten different songs were voted number one somewhere: “What's My Age Again?” by blink-182 (3 stations), “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit (3 stations), “Nookie” by Limp Bizkit (2 stations), “Got the Life” by Korn and “Praise You” by Fatboy Slim and others. The Offspring was the year’s most-charted artist, with five different songs placing 40 times across the countdowns.

15countdowns
450songs charted
10different #1s

Top 100 songs of 1999

All 450 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 1999 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 What's My Age Again? blink-182
1,242		 13 #1 3
2 Scar Tissue Red Hot Chili Peppers
1,202		 13 #2 –
3 Nookie Limp Bizkit
1,178		 13 #1 2
4 Freak on a Leash Korn
1,165		 13 #2 –
5 Praise You Fatboy Slim
1,146		 13 #1 1
6 My Own Worst Enemy Lit
1,038		 11 #1 3
7 Last Kiss Pearl Jam
1,002		 13 #9 –
8 Blue Monday Orgy
947		 13 #6 –
9 The Kids Aren't Alright The Offspring
928		 12 #3 –
10 All the Small Things blink-182
926		 13 #3 –
11 Bawitdaba Kid Rock
888		 10 #1 1
12 Why Don't You Get a Job? The Offspring
870		 11 #8 –
13 The Chemicals Between Us Bush
863		 12 #11 –
14 Learn to Fly Foo Fighters
848		 13 #6 –
15 All-Star Smash Mouth
829		 11 #9 –
16 Battle Flag Lo Fidelity All-Stars
827		 11 #3 –
17 Cowboy Kid Rock
789		 11 #8 –
18 Around the World Red Hot Chili Peppers
789		 12 #10 –
19 The Dolphin's Cry Live
780		 12 #12 –
20 Steal My Sunshine Len
759		 10 #9 –
21 Every Morning Sugar Ray
747		 11 #2 –
22 Re-Arranged Limp Bizkit
743		 11 #8 –
23 Fly Away Lenny Kravitz
716		 10 #6 –
24 Higher Creed
710		 10 #9 –
25 Take a Picture Filter
687		 12 #3 –
26 What It's Like Everlast
662		 9 #2 –
27 Falling Away From Me Korn
661		 13 #17 –
28 One Creed
644		 8 #2 –
29 We're In This Together Nine Inch Nails
638		 12 #17 –
30 Whatever Godsmack
629		 9 #12 –
31 Someday Sugar Ray
617		 10 #20 –
32 Come Original 311
570		 11 #11 –
33 When Worlds Collide Powerman 5000
569		 10 #15 –
34 Alive Beastie Boys
569		 12 #24 –
35 Ends Everlast
567		 11 #19 –
36 Malibu Hole
546		 9 #16 –
37 Guerrilla Radio Rage Against the Machine
546		 7 #5 –
38 Sexx Laws Beck
538		 11 #20 –
39 Never There Cake
529		 8 #12 –
40 American Woman Lenny Kravitz
527		 10 #19 –
41 Got the Life Korn
527		 7 #1 1
42 Can't Change Me Chris Cornell
515		 11 #22 –
43 Crush Dave Matthews Band
509		 8 #19 –
44 Better Days (And The Bottom Drops Out) Citizen King
498		 10 #11 –
45 Special Garbage
486		 8 #11 –
46 Beautiful Joydrop
453		 8 #12 –
47 Little Black Backpack Stroke 9
445		 9 #5 –
48 New No Doubt
432		 8 #25 –
49 Awful Hole
426		 10 #33 –
50 Heavy Collective Soul
405		 7 #7 –
51 Living Dead Girl Rob Zombie
402		 6 #10 –
52 Bodyrock Moby
396		 9 #23 –
53 Mudshovel Staind
391		 9 #36 –
54 Black Balloon Goo Goo Dolls
389		 8 #12 –
55 Guerilla Radio Rage Against the Machine
385		 6 #7 –
56 Falls Apart Sugar Ray
373		 8 #20 –
57 Dragula Rob Zombie
368		 7 #15 –
58 Ana's Song (Open Fire) Silverchair
367		 10 #15 –
59 Faith Limp Bizkit
366		 8 #27 –
60 Slide Goo Goo Dolls
362		 7 #23 –
61 When I Grow Up Garbage
362		 8 #12 –
62 Prisoner of Society The Living End
361		 9 #35 –
63 Into the Void Nine Inch Nails
354		 7 #24 –
64 Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) The Offspring
354		 6 #27 –
65 She's Got Issues The Offspring
353		 10 #21 –
66 Stitches Orgy
353		 10 #32 –
67 Celebrity Skin Hole
352		 7 #13 –
68 My Name Is Eminem
352		 7 #9 –
69 Down Stone Temple Pilots
335		 10 #42 –
70 Put Your Lights On Santana
320		 8 #15 –
71 Got You (Where I Want You) The Flys
306		 6 #20 –
72 Zip-Lock Lit
304		 8 #38 –
73 The Negotiation Limerick File Beastie Boys
300		 4 #5 –
74 Anthem For The Year 2000 Silverchair
293		 7 #29 –
75 Fast As You Can Fiona Apple
292		 7 #13 –
76 Gangster Tripping Fatboy Slim
287		 5 #10 –
77 Smooth Santana
285		 4 #9 –
78 Army Ben Folds Five
282		 5 #24 –
79 Let Forever Be The Chemical Brothers
282		 9 #35 –
80 Alien Pennywise
267		 5 #16 –
81 Cailin Unwritten Law
261		 5 #8 –
82 Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen) Baz Luhrmann
253		 5 #3 –
83 Otherside Red Hot Chili Peppers
250		 7 #47 –
84 Welcome to the Fold Filter
250		 7 #37 –
85 Bliss Tori Amos
245		 8 #52 –
86 Tender Blur
241		 6 #40 –
87 Hanginaround Counting Crows
236		 5 #14 –
88 The Great Beyond R.E.M.
229		 6 #10 –
89 Do Right Jimmie's Chicken Shack
225		 6 #37 –
90 Let Me Go Cake
222		 4 #16 –
91 For the Movies Buckcherry
222		 9 #54 –
92 My Favourite Game The Cardigans
217		 6 #53 –
93 Sheep Go To Heaven Cake
217		 7 #47 –
94 Body Movin' Beastie Boys
216		 5 #12 –
95 Pardon Me Incubus
212		 8 #45 –
96 Remote Control Beastie Boys
207		 5 #19 –
97 Touched VAST
198		 5 #23 –
98 Why I'm Here Oleander
197		 6 #26 –
99 Rodeo Clowns G. Love & Special Sauce
193		 3 #4 –
100 The Sweetest Thing (remix) U2
192		 5 #41 –

Every station’s number one of 1999

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ What's My Age Again? blink-182 KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1999
91X What's My Age Again? blink-182 91X Top 91 Songs of 1999
Live 105 My Own Worst Enemy Lit Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1999
Q101 My Own Worst Enemy Lit Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1999
WHFS Nookie Limp Bizkit WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1999
K-Rock Got the Life Korn K-Rock Top 92 Songs of 1999
WFNX Praise You Fatboy Slim WFNX Top 99 Songs of 1999
107.7 The End Nookie Limp Bizkit The End Top 107 Songs of 1999
89X Bawitdaba Kid Rock 89X Top 89 Songs of 1999
102.7 WEQX What's My Age Again blink-182 WEQX Top 102.7 of 1999
John Peel (BBC Radio 1) Cognoscenti vs Intelligentsia Cuban Boys John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1999
Virgin Radio Why Does it Always Rain on Me Travis Virgin Radio Top 10 Songs of 1999
WBER Cha Cha Cha Jimmy Luxury & the Tommy Rome Orchestra WBER Listener Countdown 1999
Triple J These Days Powderfinger Triple J Hottest 100 of 1999
Radio & Records My Own Worst Enemy Lit Radio & Records Top 104 Songs of 1999

All 1999 countdowns in this ranking

About the 1999 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 1999 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 15 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.