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Decade consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 211 year-end countdowns + 6 decade countdowns

The best alternative rock songs of the 2000s

This ranking of the 2000s combines 211 year-end countdowns from 2000 through 2009 with six “songs of the decade” countdowns aired by 96.5 The Buzz, 107.7 The End, WFNX, CFNY 102.1 The Edge and 94.1 The Zone. The top song of the '00s is “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, which charted on 40 countdowns and reached number one two times. The decade’s most-charted artists are Linkin Park, Foo Fighters, Incubus, Green Day and Coldplay.

5,567songs charted
211year-end countdowns
6decade countdowns

Top 100 songs of the '00s

Top 1000 →
# Song Strength Lists Best #1s Year
1 Mr. Brightside The Killers
3,151		 40 #1 2 2004
2 Boulevard of Broken Dreams Green Day
3,007		 39 #1 4 2004
3 American Idiot Green Day
2,897		 35 #1 5 2004
4 Are You Gonna Be My Girl Jet
2,859		 39 #1 1 2003
5 No One Knows Queens of the Stone Age
2,769		 36 #1 1 2002
6 Sex On Fire Kings of Leon
2,763		 38 #1 1 2008
7 Use Somebody Kings of Leon
2,760		 34 #1 10 2009
8 Seven Nation Army The White Stripes
2,756		 29 #1 11 2003
9 Somebody Told Me The Killers
2,733		 33 #2 – 2004
10 Feel Good Inc. Gorillaz
2,726		 32 #1 7 2005
11 Float On Modest Mouse
2,725		 32 #1 8 2004
12 All My Life Foo Fighters
2,691		 36 #4 – 2002
13 Numb Linkin Park
2,514		 35 #2 – 2003
14 Take Me Out Franz Ferdinand
2,475		 29 #1 2 2004
15 Clocks Coldplay
2,467		 35 #2 – 2003
16 Best of You Foo Fighters
2,436		 30 #1 1 2005
17 Like a Stone Audioslave
2,434		 29 #1 3 2003
18 Uprising Muse
2,433		 32 #1 1 2009
19 The Middle Jimmy Eat World
2,433		 32 #1 1 2002
20 In the End Linkin Park
2,355		 28 #1 3 2001
21 The Pretender Foo Fighters
2,341		 30 #1 3 2007
22 The Hand That Feeds Nine Inch Nails
2,325		 29 #1 4 2005
23 Hash Pipe Weezer
2,318		 28 #2 – 2001
24 Panic Switch Silversun Pickups
2,304		 30 #1 3 2009
25 I Wish You Were Here Incubus
2,296		 32 #5 – 2001
26 Vertigo U2
2,257		 33 #4 – 2004
27 By the Way Red Hot Chili Peppers
2,231		 26 #1 1 2002
28 Kids MGMT
2,182		 29 #1 1 2009
29 Beverly Hills Weezer
2,162		 27 #4 – 2005
30 How You Remind Me Nickelback
2,144		 26 #2 – 2001
31 When You Were Young The Killers
2,130		 26 #2 – 2006
32 Chop Suey System of a Down
2,119		 26 #1 3 2001
33 Drive Incubus
2,113		 29 #1 1 2001
34 Blurry Puddle of Mudd
2,110		 29 #1 2 2001
35 Pain Jimmy Eat World
2,109		 30 #4 – 2004
36 Beautiful Day U2
2,108		 30 #2 – 2000
37 Holiday Green Day
2,101		 28 #2 – 2005
38 Dani California Red Hot Chili Peppers
2,095		 25 #1 5 2006
39 Soul Meets Body Death Cab for Cutie
2,075		 30 #2 – 2005
40 Faint Linkin Park
2,071		 26 #1 1 2003
41 Only Nine Inch Nails
2,060		 29 #5 – 2005
42 Aint no Rest for the Wicked Cage The Elephant
2,055		 27 #1 1 2009
43 Schism Tool
2,045		 23 #1 2 2001
44 Yellow Coldplay
2,044		 30 #3 – 2001
45 Starlight Muse
2,041		 33 #1 3 2006
46 Can't Stop Red Hot Chili Peppers
2,017		 28 #2 – 2003
47 Last Nite The Strokes
2,015		 28 #1 1 2001
48 You Know You're Right Nirvana
2,001		 27 #1 2 2002
49 Megalomaniac Incubus
1,996		 29 #1 2 2004
50 Feel Good Drag Anberlin
1,981		 27 #1 2 2009
51 Icky Thump The White Stripes
1,978		 24 #1 2 2007
52 (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To Weezer
1,955		 27 #4 – 2009
53 Clint Eastwood Gorillaz
1,920		 25 #2 – 2001
54 Times Like These Foo Fighters
1,918		 26 #3 – 2003
55 Feeling This blink-182
1,916		 33 #5 – 2003
56 One Step Closer Linkin Park
1,882		 29 #1 1 2000
57 Aerials System of a Down
1,876		 24 #1 2 2002
58 I Miss You blink-182
1,862		 28 #8 – 2004
59 You're Gonna Go Far, Kid The Offspring
1,861		 25 #1 1 2008
60 DOA Foo Fighters
1,849		 29 #9 – 2005
61 The Hardest Button to Button The White Stripes
1,847		 30 #10 – 2003
62 Hey Ya! Outkast
1,834		 25 #1 1 2003
63 Southside Moby
1,823		 28 #7 – 2001
64 Speed of Sound Coldplay
1,821		 24 #2 – 2005
65 Sometime Around Midnight The Airborne Toxic Event
1,816		 30 #4 – 2009
66 Bring Me to Life Evanescence
1,809		 23 #1 1 2003
67 Fell in Love With a Girl The White Stripes
1,779		 24 #1 2 2002
68 Weak and Powerless A Perfect Circle
1,777		 27 #10 – 2003
69 Viva La Vida Coldplay
1,775		 25 #1 2 2008
70 Alive P.O.D.
1,774		 23 #4 – 2001
71 Fat Lip Sum 41
1,770		 23 #3 – 2001
72 Meant to Live Switchfoot
1,760		 31 #4 – 2004
73 Lazy Eye Silversun Pickups
1,748		 26 #1 3 2007
74 I Hate Everything About You Three Days Grace
1,737		 25 #3 – 2003
75 New Divide Linkin Park
1,735		 21 #4 – 2009
76 Sweetness Jimmy Eat World
1,731		 24 #2 – 2002
77 Breaking the Habit Linkin Park
1,718		 20 #4 – 2004
78 Californication Red Hot Chili Peppers
1,712		 21 #2 – 2000
79 The Red Chevelle
1,701		 26 #8 – 2002
80 Welcome to the Black Parade My Chemical Romance
1,700		 24 #1 2 2006
81 Otherside Red Hot Chili Peppers
1,693		 19 #1 3 2000
82 Maps Yeah Yeah Yeahs
1,689		 26 #4 – 2004
83 Last Resort Papa Roach
1,686		 19 #1 5 2000
84 Still Waiting Sum 41
1,681		 28 #2 – 2002
85 Knights of Cydonia Muse
1,679		 22 #1 1 2006
86 Snow (Hey Oh) Red Hot Chili Peppers
1,675		 28 #6 – 2006
87 Youth of the Nation P.O.D.
1,672		 24 #1 1 2002
88 Vindicated Dashboard Confessional
1,669		 23 #4 – 2004
89 Crawling in the Dark Hoobastank
1,666		 26 #2 – 2002
90 The Fixer Pearl Jam
1,659		 27 #4 – 2009
91 Savior Rise Against
1,652		 21 #1 2 2009
92 Crazy Gnarls Barkley
1,648		 19 #1 2 2006
93 Smooth Criminal Alien Ant Farm
1,645		 20 #4 – 2001
94 Pork And Beans Weezer
1,637		 25 #1 2 2008
95 Somewhere I Belong Linkin Park
1,623		 20 #1 1 2003
96 Steady, As She Goes The Raconteurs
1,622		 20 #2 – 2006
97 Time Is Running Out Muse
1,621		 26 #6 – 2004
98 Love Song 311
1,616		 22 #2 – 2004
99 Be Yourself Audioslave
1,616		 22 #4 – 2005
100 The Reason Hoobastank
1,607		 19 #5 – 2004

Station countdowns of the '00s

Listener-voted “best of the decade” countdowns as broadcast.

About this ranking

The 2000s ranking adds together two kinds of evidence: the year-end countdowns from each year of the decade, and the retrospective “songs of the decade” countdowns that stations aired afterwards. Year-end lists capture what listeners loved at the time; decade countdowns capture what lasted. Every appearance earns percentile-based points, and the totals are ranked. See the methodology for details.