RockLists.com

Year-end consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 13 countdowns combined

The best alternative rock songs of 1999

13 radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 1999: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, Q101, WHFS, K-Rock, WFNX, 107.7 The End, 89X, John Peel (BBC Radio 1), Virgin Radio, 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 eleven of the 13 countdowns and was voted number one by two of them. Nine different songs were voted number one somewhere: “My Own Worst Enemy” by Lit (3 stations), “What's My Age Again?” by blink-182 (2 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 36 times across the countdowns.

13countdowns
397songs charted
9different #1s

Top 100 songs of 1999

All 397 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
1,055		 11 #1 2
2 Scar Tissue Red Hot Chili Peppers
1,050		 11 #2 –
3 Freak on a Leash Korn
1,013		 11 #2 –
4 Praise You Fatboy Slim
998		 11 #1 1
5 Nookie Limp Bizkit
984		 11 #1 2
6 My Own Worst Enemy Lit
966		 10 #1 3
7 Last Kiss Pearl Jam
914		 11 #9 –
8 The Kids Aren't Alright The Offspring
895		 11 #3 –
9 Bawitdaba Kid Rock
818		 9 #1 1
10 Why Don't You Get a Job? The Offspring
816		 10 #8 –
11 Blue Monday Orgy
809		 11 #6 –
12 All the Small Things blink-182
779		 11 #3 –
13 All-Star Smash Mouth
756		 10 #9 –
14 Learn to Fly Foo Fighters
755		 11 #6 –
15 Around the World Red Hot Chili Peppers
739		 11 #10 –
16 The Chemicals Between Us Bush
726		 10 #11 –
17 Cowboy Kid Rock
696		 10 #17 –
18 Every Morning Sugar Ray
690		 10 #2 –
19 Battle Flag Lo Fidelity All-Stars
657		 9 #3 –
20 Fly Away Lenny Kravitz
653		 9 #6 –
21 Re-Arranged Limp Bizkit
652		 10 #8 –
22 What It's Like Everlast
638		 8 #2 –
23 Higher Creed
619		 9 #9 –
24 The Dolphin's Cry Live
610		 9 #12 –
25 Steal My Sunshine Len
605		 8 #9 –
26 Someday Sugar Ray
577		 9 #20 –
27 One Creed
561		 7 #2 –
28 Whatever Godsmack
551		 8 #12 –
29 Come Original 311
545		 10 #11 –
30 Ends Everlast
533		 10 #19 –
31 Got the Life Korn
527		 7 #1 1
32 Malibu Hole
525		 8 #16 –
33 Take a Picture Filter
525		 10 #26 –
34 Falling Away From Me Korn
524		 11 #17 –
35 We're In This Together Nine Inch Nails
505		 10 #17 –
36 Can't Change Me Chris Cornell
498		 10 #22 –
37 Special Garbage
486		 8 #11 –
38 When Worlds Collide Powerman 5000
483		 9 #23 –
39 Better Days Citizen King
477		 9 #11 –
40 Never There Cake
475		 7 #12 –
41 American Woman Lenny Kravitz
467		 9 #19 –
42 Crush Dave Matthews Band
444		 7 #19 –
43 Alive Beastie Boys
441		 10 #24 –
44 New No Doubt
432		 8 #25 –
45 Awful Hole
426		 10 #33 –
46 Guerrilla Radio Rage Against the Machine
397		 5 #5 –
47 Sexx Laws Beck
397		 9 #26 –
48 Guerilla Radio Rage Against the Machine
385		 6 #7 –
49 Heavy Collective Soul
383		 6 #7 –
50 Falls Apart Sugar Ray
373		 8 #20 –
51 Mudshovel Staind
370		 8 #36 –
52 Dragula Rob Zombie
368		 7 #15 –
53 Faith Limp Bizkit
366		 8 #27 –
54 Prisoner of Society The Living End
361		 9 #35 –
55 When I Grow Up Garbage
354		 7 #12 –
56 Celebrity Skin Hole
351		 6 #13 –
57 Living Dead Girl Rob Zombie
349		 5 #10 –
58 Little Black Backpack Stroke 9
349		 8 #18 –
59 She's Got Issues The Offspring
337		 9 #21 –
60 Down Stone Temple Pilots
335		 10 #42 –
61 Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) The Offspring
327		 5 #27 –
62 Slide Goo Goo Dolls
326		 6 #23 –
63 Black Balloon Goo Goo Dolls
299		 7 #39 –
64 Into the Void Nine Inch Nails
295		 6 #24 –
65 Anthem For The Year 2000 Silverchair
293		 7 #29 –
66 Stitches Orgy
290		 9 #32 –
67 Zip-Lock Lit
284		 7 #38 –
68 Beautiful Joydrop
284		 6 #18 –
69 Got You (Where I Want You) The Flys
278		 5 #20 –
70 Bodyrock Moby
274		 7 #33 –
71 My Name Is Eminem
260		 6 #19 –
72 Welcome to the Fold Filter
250		 7 #37 –
73 Put Your Lights On Santana
245		 6 #15 –
74 Alien Pennywise
242		 4 #16 –
75 Ana's Song (Open Fire) Silverchair
234		 5 #15 –
76 Cailin Unwritten Law
224		 4 #8 –
77 For the Movies Buckcherry
217		 8 #54 –
78 Remote Control Beastie Boys
207		 5 #19 –
79 My Favourite Game The Cardigans
206		 5 #53 –
80 Touched VAST
198		 5 #23 –
81 Why I'm Here Oleander
197		 6 #26 –
82 Otherside Red Hot Chili Peppers
195		 6 #58 –
83 Gangster Tripping Fatboy Slim
194		 3 #10 –
84 Smooth Santana
193		 3 #24 –
85 Let Forever Be The Chemical Brothers
192		 7 #55 –
86 The Sweetest Thing (remix) U2
192		 5 #41 –
87 Fast As You Can Fiona Apple
185		 5 #34 –
88 Tender Blur
184		 5 #40 –
89 Body Movin' Beastie Boys
183		 4 #12 –
90 Do Right Jimmie's Chicken Shack
182		 5 #37 –
91 Freak of the Week Marvelous 3
177		 7 #32 –
92 Get Born Again Alice In Chains
174		 7 #44 –
93 Sheep Go To Heaven Cake
167		 5 #47 –
94 Let Me Go Cake
164		 3 #16 –
95 No Leaf Clover Metallica
164		 5 #41 –
96 Pardon Me Incubus
163		 6 #45 –
97 You Get What You Give The New Radicals
162		 3 #3 –
98 Negotiation Limerick File Beastie Boys
155		 2 #12 –
99 Inside Out Eve 6
151		 3 #36 –
100 Hanginaround Counting Crows
149		 4 #43 –

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
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
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 13 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.