Year-end consensus · Indie & Adult Alternative · one countdowns combined
The best indie rock songs of 1999
One radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 1999: 93XRT. Combining every list, the top indie rock song of 1999 is “Smooth” by Santana, which appeared on one of the one countdowns and was voted number one by one of them. Santana was the year’s most-charted artist, with three different songs placing 3 times across the countdowns.
Top 100 songs of 1999
Ranked by combined points across every 1999 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smooth Santana | 1 | #1 | 1 | |
| 2 | Put Your Lights On Santana | 1 | #2 | – | |
| 3 | Can't Stand It Wilco | 1 | #3 | – | |
| 4 | Can't Let Go Lucinda Williams | 1 | #4 | – | |
| 5 | Precious Time Van Morrison | 1 | #5 | – | |
| 6 | It's Bad You Know R L Burnside | 1 | #6 | – | |
| 7 | Jealous Poi Dog Pondering | 1 | #7 | – | |
| 8 | I'm Always in Love Wilco | 1 | #8 | – | |
| 9 | Sexx Laws Beck | 1 | #9 | – | |
| 10 | Love of My Life Santana | 1 | #10 | – | |
| 11 | The Great Beyond R.E.M. | 1 | #11 | – | |
| 12 | Learn to Fly Foo Fighters | 1 | #12 | – | |
| 13 | Hold On Tom Waits | 1 | #13 | – | |
| 14 | Hanginaround Counting Crows | 1 | #14 | – | |
| 15 | I'm Not Running Anymore John Mellencamp | 1 | #15 | – | |
| 16 | Nothing'severgonnastandinmyway(again) Wilco | 1 | #16 | – | |
| 17 | Bobcaygeon The Tragically Hip | 1 | #17 | – | |
| 18 | Fly Away Lenny Kravitz | 1 | #18 | – | |
| 19 | Brand New Day Sting | 1 | #19 | – | |
| 20 | Meet Virginia Train | 1 | #20 | – | |
| 21 | Carpet Crawlers 1999 Genesis | 1 | #21 | – | |
| 22 | At my Beautiful Most R.E.M. | 1 | #22 | – | |
| 23 | Fast As You Can Fiona Apple | 1 | #23 | – | |
| 24 | All-Star Smash Mouth | 1 | #24 | – | |
| 25 | Angels Would Fall Melissa Etheridge | 1 | #25 | – |
Every station’s number one of 1999
| Station | Number one song | Countdown |
|---|---|---|
| 93XRT | Smooth Santana feat. Rob Thomas | WXRT Listener Poll: Top 25 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 one qualifying countdowns. Each radio format is ranked separately, so classic rock and hard rock countdowns never shift the indie & aaa results; use the tabs above to switch formats. Read the full methodology.