RockLists.com

Year-end consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 16 countdowns combined

The best alternative rock songs of 2003

16 radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2003: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, Q101, WHFS, K-Rock, WFNX, 89X, CD101, Y100, CFNY 102.1 The Edge, The Buzz, Channel 104.9, John Peel (BBC Radio 1), Triple J and Radio & Records. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2003 is “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes, which appeared on 16 of the 16 countdowns and was voted number one by seven of them. Nine different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes (7 stations), “Headstrong” by Trapt (2 stations), “The Scientist” by Coldplay, “Like a Stone” by Audioslave and “Faint” by Linkin Park and others. Linkin Park was the year’s most-charted artist, with five different songs placing 41 times across the countdowns.

16countdowns
478songs charted
9different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2003

All 478 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2003 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Seven Nation Army The White Stripes
1,563		 16 #1 7
2 Like a Stone Audioslave
1,334		 14 #1 1
3 Somewhere I Belong Linkin Park
1,143		 13 #1 1
4 Faint Linkin Park
1,135		 13 #1 1
5 Bring Me to Life Evanescence
1,122		 12 #1 1
6 Headstrong Trapt
1,095		 12 #1 2
7 Times Like These Foo Fighters
1,085		 12 #3 –
8 The Hardest Button to Button The White Stripes
1,079		 15 #10 –
9 Weak and Powerless A Perfect Circle
1,068		 15 #10 –
10 Clocks Coldplay
1,056		 12 #2 –
11 Go With the Flow Queens of the Stone Age
1,031		 13 #9 –
12 Are You Gonna Be My Girl Jet
1,012		 15 #1 1
13 Just Because Jane's Addiction
1,009		 14 #7 –
14 Can't Stop Red Hot Chili Peppers
1,000		 11 #4 –
15 Send the Pain Below Chevelle
991		 11 #3 –
16 Hey Ya! Outkast
989		 13 #2 –
17 Girls Not Grey AFI
986		 13 #7 –
18 There There Radiohead
945		 14 #4 –
19 Show Me How to Live Audioslave
915		 12 #14 –
20 So Far Away Staind
904		 12 #10 –
21 Feeling This blink-182
887		 15 #5 –
22 No One Knows Queens of the Stone Age
844		 9 #2 –
23 12:51 The Strokes
835		 14 #8 –
24 Creatures (For a While) 311
831		 13 #16 –
25 Bandages Hot Hot Heat
825		 13 #3 –
26 Numb Linkin Park
806		 13 #12 –
27 Hands Down Dashboard Confessional
802		 13 #15 –
28 Going Under Evanescence
800		 13 #16 –
29 The Scientist Coldplay
795		 13 #1 1
30 When I'm Gone 3 Doors Down
719		 9 #12 –
31 Someday Nickelback
681		 11 #8 –
32 I Hate Everything About You Three Days Grace
659		 11 #4 –
33 The Red Chevelle
627		 9 #8 –
34 Still Waiting Sum 41
626		 9 #11 –
35 The Anthem Good Charlotte
625		 11 #5 –
36 Minerva Deftones
620		 12 #28 –
37 The Leaving Song Pt. II AFI
603		 11 #8 –
38 Fine Again Seether
587		 8 #16 –
39 Swing Swing The All-American Rejects
587		 9 #16 –
40 Fall Back Down Rancid
575		 13 #20 –
41 All My Life Foo Fighters
572		 7 #6 –
42 Price to Play Staind
569		 12 #27 –
43 Stupid Girl Cold
567		 10 #17 –
44 Bottom of a Bottle Smile Empty Soul
545		 8 #11 –
45 The Horizon Has Been Defeated Jack Johnson
535		 10 #22 –
46 Meant to Live Switchfoot
532		 11 #11 –
47 Straight Out of Line Godsmack
521		 9 #16 –
48 Dosed Red Hot Chili Peppers
488		 10 #19 –
49 Boys of Summer The Ataris
484		 6 #11 –
50 Hit That The Offspring
481		 13 #29 –
51 Always Saliva
473		 7 #15 –
52 Honestly Zwan
468		 12 #18 –
53 The Boys of Summer The Ataris
468		 6 #9 –
54 I Am the Highway Audioslave
460		 12 #29 –
55 Still Frame Trapt
457		 10 #22 –
56 Buried Myself Alive The Used
451		 11 #36 –
57 Serenity Godsmack
445		 8 #9 –
58 Diamonds and Guns Transplants
443		 9 #25 –
59 Stacy's Mom Fountains of Wayne
427		 8 #3 –
60 The Seed (2.0) The Roots
416		 8 #4 –
61 Will You P.O.D.
411		 10 #40 –
62 Falls On Me Fuel
407		 9 #22 –
63 Away From Me Puddle of Mudd
392		 13 #50 –
64 Darling Nikki Foo Fighters
381		 7 #18 –
65 Hurt Johnny Cash
375		 6 #6 –
66 PDA Interpol
351		 7 #29 –
67 Fortune Faded Red Hot Chili Peppers
346		 10 #22 –
68 In This Diary The Ataris
342		 8 #33 –
69 It's My Life No Doubt
337		 5 #6 –
70 Remember Disturbed
322		 7 #35 –
71 St. Anger Metallica
318		 8 #27 –
72 What It Is to Burn Finch
317		 8 #46 –
73 Did My Time Korn
310		 7 #28 –
74 The Hell Song Sum 41
307		 8 #33 –
75 Moses Coldplay
306		 7 #25 –
76 Poem Taproot
285		 5 #22 –
77 Innervision System of a Down
281		 6 #38 –
78 Gravedigger Dave Matthews
280		 6 #33 –
79 The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows Brand New
272		 8 #27 –
80 Driven Under Seether
272		 7 #40 –
81 United States of Whatever Liam Lynch
268		 9 #5 –
82 I Believe in a Thing Called Love The Darkness
263		 8 #39 –
83 Prayer Disturbed
256		 4 #18 –
84 Cochise Audioslave
252		 6 #44 –
85 You Know You're Right Nirvana
251		 4 #21 –
86 Think Twice Eve 6
249		 5 #26 –
87 Take It Off The Donnas
248		 8 #37 –
88 Talk to Me, Dance With Me Hot Hot Heat
246		 5 #26 –
89 Right Now Korn
245		 7 #28 –
90 Blue and Yellow The Used
244		 7 #3 –
91 Low Foo Fighters
243		 10 #48 –
92 With My Own Two Hands Ben Harper
241		 6 #29 –
93 Let's Push Things Forward The Streets
238		 4 #6 –
94 Girls and Boys Good Charlotte
232		 4 #19 –
95 All That's Left Thrice
231		 8 #50 –
96 Shatterday Vendetta Red
228		 7 #49 –
97 Go to Sleep Radiohead
223		 6 #36 –
98 All In The Suit That You Wear Stone Temple Pilots
220		 7 #41 –
99 Taylor Jack Johnson
217		 4 #15 –
100 We Used To Be Friends The Dandy Warhols
212		 5 #13 –

Every station’s number one of 2003

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ Seven Nation Army The White Stripes KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2003
91X The Scientist Coldplay 91X Top 91 Songs of 2003
Live 105 Seven Nation Army The White Stripes Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2003
Q101 Seven Nation Army The White Stripes Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2003
WHFS Like a Stone Audioslave WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 2003
K-Rock Seven Nation Army The White Stripes K-Rock Top 92.3 Songs of 2003
WFNX Headstrong Trapt WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2003
89X Faint Linkin Park 89X Top 89 Songs of 2003
CD101 Seven Nation Army The White Stripes CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2003
Y100 Seven Nation Army The White Stripes Y100 Top 100 Songs of 2003
CFNY 102.1 The Edge Somewhere I Belong Linkin Park CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2003
The Buzz Seven Nation Army The White Stripes The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2003
Channel 104.9 Bring Me to Life Evanescence Channel 104.9 Top 104.9 Songs of 2003
John Peel (BBC Radio 1) Don't Touch That Dial Cinerama John Peel's Festive Fifty of 2003
Triple J Are You Gonna Be My Girl? Jet Triple J Hottest 100 of 2003
Radio & Records Headstrong Trapt Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2003

All 2003 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2003 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 2003 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 16 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.