RockLists.com

Year-end consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 14 countdowns combined

The best alternative rock songs of 2006

14 radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2006: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, Q101, WFNX, 107.7 The End, 89X, CD101, Y100, CFNY 102.1 The Edge, The Buzz, Studio Brussel, Triple J and Radio & Records. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2006 is “Dani California” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, which appeared on 14 of the 14 countdowns and was voted number one by five of them. Nine different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Dani California” by Red Hot Chili Peppers (5 stations), “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance (2 stations), “Dare” by Gorillaz, “The Denial Twist” by The White Stripes and “Miss Murder” by AFI and others. Red Hot Chili Peppers was the year’s most-charted artist, with five different songs placing 38 times across the countdowns.

14countdowns
454songs charted
9different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2006

All 454 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2006 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Dani California Red Hot Chili Peppers
1,272		 14 #1 5
2 When You Were Young The Killers
1,224		 14 #2 –
3 Crazy Gnarls Barkley
1,196		 13 #1 1
4 Miss Murder AFI
1,149		 13 #1 1
5 Steady, As She Goes The Raconteurs
1,148		 12 #2 –
6 Welcome to the Black Parade My Chemical Romance
1,051		 14 #1 2
7 Vicarious Tool
1,045		 14 #4 –
8 Chasing Cars Snow Patrol
997		 13 #5 –
9 Tell Me Baby Red Hot Chili Peppers
947		 13 #8 –
10 The Adventure Angels & Airwaves
932		 12 #6 –
11 World Wide Suicide Pearl Jam
892		 13 #4 –
12 I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor Arctic Monkeys
882		 12 #5 –
13 Woman Wolfmother
854		 11 #6 –
14 Knights of Cydonia Muse
821		 11 #6 –
15 Every Day is Exactly the Same Nine Inch Nails
813		 12 #12 –
16 Talk Coldplay
810		 11 #7 –
17 I Write Sins Not Tragedies Panic! at the Disco
796		 11 #9 –
18 Gold Lion Yeah Yeah Yeahs
770		 12 #12 –
19 Perfect Situation Weezer
733		 10 #7 –
20 Tear You Apart She Wants Revenge
715		 11 #14 –
21 Is It Any Wonder? Keane
705		 12 #16 –
22 Dare Gorillaz
698		 9 #1 1
23 Hate Me Blue October
665		 10 #3 –
24 MakeDamnSure Taking Back Sunday
644		 10 #11 –
25 No Way Back Foo Fighters
629		 12 #12 –
26 Nausea Beck
620		 12 #8 –
27 DOA Foo Fighters
609		 8 #9 –
28 Crooked Teeth Death Cab for Cutie
608		 10 #13 –
29 The Pot Tool
604		 12 #13 –
30 The Kill 30 Seconds to Mars
603		 8 #3 –
31 Here It Goes Again OK Go
595		 11 #14 –
32 Hypnotize System of a Down
583		 8 #10 –
33 I Will Follow You Into the Dark Death Cab for Cutie
575		 9 #1 1
34 Animal I Have Become Three Days Grace
542		 7 #2 –
35 Anna Molly Incubus
541		 10 #11 –
36 Call Me When You're Sober Evanescence
535		 8 #18 –
37 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Jet
531		 13 #14 –
38 King Without a Crown Matisyahu
522		 8 #11 –
39 Lonely Day System of a Down
516		 9 #14 –
40 Dance, Dance Fall Out Boy
511		 7 #9 –
41 Original Fire Audioslave
498		 11 #21 –
42 Upside Down Jack Johnson
492		 9 #20 –
43 Starlight Muse
475		 10 #3 –
44 Soul Meets Body Death Cab for Cutie
464		 7 #9 –
45 The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage Panic! at the Disco
463		 7 #4 –
46 Love Like Winter AFI
447		 11 #17 –
47 Paralyzed Rock Kills Kid
437		 11 #27 –
48 How to Save a Life The Fray
431		 7 #10 –
49 Only Nine Inch Nails
430		 6 #21 –
50 Through Glass Stone Sour
428		 7 #13 –
51 The Denial Twist The White Stripes
420		 8 #1 1
52 These Things She Wants Revenge
416		 9 #9 –
53 Precious Depeche Mode
415		 7 #5 –
54 Level The Raconteurs
411		 10 #29 –
55 Ready to Fall Rise Against
385		 7 #14 –
56 Juicebox The Strokes
374		 6 #12 –
57 Hands Open Snow Patrol
361		 8 #6 –
58 The Diary of Jane Breaking Benjamin
359		 6 #11 –
59 Cash Machine Hard-Fi
350		 9 #41 –
60 Bones The Killers
342		 8 #31 –
61 Lights and Sounds Yellowcard
340		 8 #24 –
62 Life Wasted Pearl Jam
334		 7 #17 –
63 You Only Live Once The Strokes
316		 6 #14 –
64 When Your Heart Stops Beating +44
309		 7 #17 –
65 Gone Daddy Gone Gnarls Barkley
301		 8 #13 –
66 Saying Sorry Hawthorne Heights
300		 7 #44 –
67 Snow (Hey Oh) Red Hot Chili Peppers
298		 7 #34 –
68 Feel Good Inc. Gorillaz
297		 5 #18 –
69 Infra-Red Placebo
294		 5 #8 –
70 Black Swan Thom Yorke
275		 7 #29 –
71 Cheated Hearts Yeah Yeah Yeahs
274		 4 #10 –
72 Face Down The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
271		 7 #27 –
73 Lazy Eye Silversun Pickups
266		 5 #18 –
74 To Be Loved Papa Roach
261		 7 #44 –
75 The Hand That Feeds Nine Inch Nails
258		 4 #12 –
76 Bat Country Avenged Sevenfold
258		 6 #21 –
77 Youth Matisyahu
252		 6 #37 –
78 Rip Out the Wings of a Butterfly HIM
249		 4 #16 –
79 Heart in a Cage The Strokes
249		 8 #24 –
80 Hole in the Earth Deftones
248		 8 #36 –
81 Don't Wait Dashboard Confessional
248		 8 #37 –
82 Land of Confusion Disturbed
247		 4 #16 –
83 Wasteland 10 Years
240		 4 #7 –
84 Where'd You Go Fort Minor
227		 4 #24 –
85 Le Disko Shiny Toy Guns
217		 5 #20 –
86 Hate (I Really Don't Like You) Plain White T's
216		 5 #34 –
87 Lips of an Angel Hinder
216		 5 #27 –
88 Rock & Roll Queen The Subways
199		 6 #44 –
89 Munich Editors
195		 4 #24 –
90 Best of You Foo Fighters
194		 3 #23 –
91 Out Here All Night Damone
189		 3 #25 –
92 The Grace Neverending White Lights
188		 2 #6 –
93 The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song The Flaming Lips
187		 3 #11 –
94 For Us Pete Yorn
179		 4 #34 –
95 Jesus of Suburbia Green Day
179		 4 #17 –
96 Move Along The All-American Rejects
174		 3 #7 –
97 Animals Nickelback
174		 3 #22 –
98 Twisted Transistor Korn
165		 6 #32 –
99 Do It For Me Now Angels & Airwaves
164		 6 #55 –
100 Cold (But I'm Still Here) Evans Blue
160		 3 #28 –

Every station’s number one of 2006

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ Dani California Red Hot Chili Peppers KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2006
91X Welcome to the Black Parade My Chemical Romance 91X Top 91 Songs of 2006
Live 105 Dare Gorillaz Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2006
Q101 The Denial Twist The White Stripes Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2006
WFNX Welcome to the Black Parade My Chemical Romance WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2006
107.7 The End Dani California Red Hot Chili Peppers The End Top 107 Songs of 2006
89X Miss Murder AFI 89X Top 89 Songs of 2006
CD101 I Will Follow You Into the Dark Death Cab for Cutie CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2006
Y100 Crazy Gnarls Barkley Y100 Top 88.5 Songs of 2006
CFNY 102.1 The Edge Dani California Red Hot Chili Peppers CFNY Top 102 Songs of 2006
The Buzz Dani California Red Hot Chili Peppers The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2006
Studio Brussel Hammerhead A Brand Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2006
Triple J One Crowded Hour Augie March Triple J Hottest 100 of 2006
Radio & Records Dani California Red Hot Chili Peppers Radio & Records Top 100 Songs of 2006

All 2006 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2006 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 2006 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 14 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.