RockLists.com

Year-end consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 17 countdowns combined

The best alternative rock songs of 2006

17 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, 102.7 WEQX, 88.3 The Sting, Studio Brussel, WBER, 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 17 of the 17 countdowns and was voted number one by five of them. Eleven 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), “Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley (2 stations), “Dare” by Gorillaz and “The Denial Twist” by The White Stripes and others. Red Hot Chili Peppers was the year’s most-charted artist, with four different songs placing 45 times across the countdowns.

17countdowns
562songs charted
11different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2006

All 562 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
1,528		 17 #1 5
2 When You Were Young The Killers
1,486		 17 #2 –
3 Crazy Gnarls Barkley
1,460		 16 #1 2
4 Steady, As She Goes The Raconteurs
1,429		 15 #2 –
5 Miss Murder AFI
1,361		 16 #1 1
6 Chasing Cars Snow Patrol
1,186		 15 #3 –
7 Welcome to the Black Parade My Chemical Romance
1,152		 16 #1 2
8 Vicarious Tool
1,149		 16 #4 –
9 Tell Me Baby Red Hot Chili Peppers
1,084		 15 #2 –
10 I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor Arctic Monkeys
1,058		 14 #5 –
11 The Adventure Angels & Airwaves
1,048		 14 #6 –
12 World Wide Suicide Pearl Jam
1,014		 15 #4 –
13 Knights of Cydonia Muse
1,007		 13 #6 –
14 Woman Wolfmother
966		 14 #6 –
15 Every Day is Exactly the Same Nine Inch Nails
953		 14 #12 –
16 Talk Coldplay
950		 13 #7 –
17 Gold Lion Yeah Yeah Yeahs
924		 15 #12 –
18 I Write Sins Not Tragedies Panic! at the Disco
923		 13 #9 –
19 Crooked Teeth Death Cab for Cutie
870		 13 #11 –
20 Is It Any Wonder? Keane
869		 15 #16 –
21 The Kill 30 Seconds to Mars
863		 12 #2 –
22 Tear You Apart She Wants Revenge
843		 13 #14 –
23 Perfect Situation Weezer
811		 11 #7 –
24 MakeDamnSure Taking Back Sunday
802		 12 #11 –
25 Here It Goes Again OK Go
802		 14 #2 –
26 I Will Follow You Into the Dark Death Cab for Cutie
773		 11 #1 2
27 Nausea Beck
772		 15 #8 –
28 Hate Me Blue October
751		 11 #3 –
29 Dare Gorillaz
707		 10 #1 1
30 No Way Back Foo Fighters
702		 14 #12 –
31 Starlight Muse
658		 13 #3 –
32 Anna Molly Incubus
643		 12 #11 –
33 Hypnotize System of a Down
635		 9 #10 –
34 Upside Down Jack Johnson
626		 11 #20 –
35 Original Fire Audioslave
625		 15 #21 –
36 DOA Foo Fighters
623		 9 #9 –
37 Call Me When You're Sober Evanescence
622		 9 #12 –
38 The Pot Tool
604		 12 #13 –
39 Love Like Winter AFI
576		 13 #17 –
40 Lonely Day System of a Down
568		 10 #14 –
41 King Without a Crown Matisyahu
567		 9 #11 –
42 Animal I Have Become Three Days Grace
542		 7 #2 –
43 Dance, Dance Fall Out Boy
540		 8 #9 –
44 Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is Jet
531		 13 #14 –
45 Hands Open Snow Patrol
530		 10 #6 –
46 Snow (Hey Oh) Red Hot Chili Peppers
525		 11 #31 –
47 The Denial Twist The White Stripes
522		 10 #1 1
48 Ready to Fall Rise Against
515		 9 #9 –
49 How to Save a Life The Fray
506		 8 #10 –
50 Level The Raconteurs
493		 11 #20 –
51 Bones The Killers
473		 10 #25 –
52 Lights and Sounds Yellowcard
471		 11 #24 –
53 Soul Meets Body Death Cab for Cutie
464		 7 #9 –
54 The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is Press Coverage Panic! at the Disco
463		 7 #4 –
55 The Diary of Jane Breaking Benjamin
454		 7 #6 –
56 Paralyzed Rock Kills Kid
437		 11 #27 –
57 Only Nine Inch Nails
430		 6 #21 –
58 Infra-Red Placebo
429		 7 #8 –
59 Through Glass Stone Sour
428		 7 #13 –
60 These Things She Wants Revenge
425		 10 #9 –
61 You Only Live Once The Strokes
425		 8 #14 –
62 Precious Depeche Mode
415		 7 #5 –
63 Cheated Hearts Yeah Yeah Yeahs
415		 7 #10 –
64 Life Wasted Pearl Jam
410		 10 #17 –
65 Wings of a Butterfly HIM
393		 7 #16 –
66 Saying Sorry Hawthorne Heights
380		 8 #19 –
67 Juicebox The Strokes
374		 6 #12 –
68 Cash Machine Hard-Fi
373		 10 #41 –
69 Don't Wait Dashboard Confessional
369		 10 #18 –
70 Lazy Eye Silversun Pickups
359		 6 #9 –
71 Youth Matisyahu
349		 8 #37 –
72 Black Swan Thom Yorke
348		 8 #29 –
73 Face Down The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus
339		 8 #27 –
74 Hole in the Earth Deftones
325		 10 #36 –
75 Hate (I Really Don't Like You) Plain White T's
318		 8 #34 –
76 The Saints Are Coming U2/Green Day
315		 8 #39 –
77 When Your Heart Stops Beating +44
309		 7 #17 –
78 Le Disko Shiny Toy Guns
302		 7 #20 –
79 Gone Daddy Gone Gnarls Barkley
301		 8 #13 –
80 Feel Good Inc. Gorillaz
297		 5 #18 –
81 For Us Pete Yorn
295		 6 #18 –
82 To Be Loved Papa Roach
295		 8 #44 –
83 Heart in a Cage The Strokes
281		 10 #24 –
84 Rock & Roll Queen The Subways
270		 7 #33 –
85 Jesus of Suburbia Green Day
266		 5 #14 –
86 Out Here All Night Damone
264		 4 #25 –
87 One Man Wrecking Machine Guster
262		 4 #16 –
88 Munich Editors
262		 5 #24 –
89 The Hand That Feeds Nine Inch Nails
258		 4 #12 –
90 Bat Country Avenged Sevenfold
258		 6 #21 –
91 Land of Confusion Disturbed
247		 4 #16 –
92 Wasteland 10 Years
240		 4 #7 –
93 Alive With the Glory of Love Say Anything
229		 5 #5 –
94 Where'd You Go Fort Minor
227		 4 #24 –
95 Joker and the Thief Wolfmother
223		 6 #11 –
96 Move Along The All-American Rejects
216		 4 #7 –
97 Lips of an Angel Hinder
216		 5 #27 –
98 Rooftops (A Liberation Broadcast) Lostprophets
210		 5 #20 –
99 Liar (It Takes One to Know One) Taking Back Sunday
206		 6 #25 –
100 The Yeah Yeah Yeah Song The Flaming Lips
203		 4 #11 –

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
102.7 WEQX Crazy Gnarls Barkley WEQX Top 102.7 of 2006
88.3 The Sting The Ghost Of You My Chemical Romance 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2006
Studio Brussel Hammerhead A Brand Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2006
WBER Hide And Seek Imogen Heap WBER Listener Countdown 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 17 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.