RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2008

Six radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2008: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, CFNY 102.1 The Edge, Studio Brussel and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2008 is “Sex On Fire” by Kings of Leon, which appeared on six of the six countdowns and was voted number one by one of them. Six different songs were voted number one somewhere: “You're Gonna Go Far, Kid” by The Offspring, “2AM” by Slightly Stoopid, “Viva La Vida” by Coldplay, “Pork And Beans” by Weezer and “The architect” by dEUS and others. Linkin Park was the year’s most-charted artist, with six different songs placing 19 times across the countdowns.

6countdowns
327songs charted
6different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2008

All 327 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2008 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Sex On Fire Kings of Leon
500		 6 #1 1
2 Viva La Vida Coldplay
464		 5 #1 1
3 Pork And Beans Weezer
410		 5 #1 1
4 Hammerhead The Offspring
369		 4 #2 –
5 The Day That Never Comes Metallica
368		 6 #9 –
6 Believe The Bravery
366		 4 #3 –
7 Time To Pretend MGMT
362		 6 #18 –
8 You're Gonna Go Far, Kid The Offspring
361		 4 #1 1
9 Human The Killers
349		 6 #17 –
10 Let It Die Foo Fighters
335		 4 #2 –
11 Paper Planes M.I.A.
335		 4 #4 –
12 I Will Possess Your Heart Death Cab for Cutie
322		 5 #7 –
13 The Pretender Foo Fighters
314		 4 #2 –
14 Re-Education (Through Labor) Rise Against
314		 5 #8 –
15 Empty Walls Serj Tankian
311		 4 #10 –
16 Kids MGMT
305		 5 #5 –
17 Given Up Linkin Park
293		 4 #11 –
18 Shadow of the Day Linkin Park
287		 4 #9 –
19 The Good Left Undone Rise Against
285		 4 #7 –
20 Long Road to Ruin Foo Fighters
284		 4 #5 –
21 Electric Feel MGMT
274		 3 #2 –
22 Inside The Fire Disturbed
273		 4 #10 –
23 Salute Your Solution The Raconteurs
273		 4 #19 –
24 A-Punk Vampire Weekend
272		 5 #6 –
25 Never Too Late Three Days Grace
266		 4 #12 –
26 Troublemaker Weezer
263		 4 #21 –
27 Discipline Nine Inch Nails
259		 4 #4 –
28 Bodysnatchers Radiohead
254		 4 #9 –
29 Handlebars Flobots
248		 3 #7 –
30 Volet Hill Coldplay
247		 5 #12 –
31 If I Had Eyes Jack Johnson
243		 4 #27 –
32 Love Hurts Incubus
236		 3 #13 –
33 The Western World Pennywise
229		 3 #11 –
34 Wild International One Day As A Lion
227		 4 #28 –
35 Bleed It Out Linkin Park
222		 4 #5 –
36 Sky Is Over Serj Tankian
213		 4 #38 –
37 Shadowplay The Killers
203		 3 #8 –
38 Far Behind Social Distortion
197		 4 #30 –
39 Leave Out All The Rest Linkin Park
184		 3 #16 –
40 2AM Slightly Stoopid
183		 3 #1 1
41 Paralyzer Finger Eleven
183		 2 #6 –
42 Icky Thump The White Stripes
178		 3 #8 –
43 Lost! Coldplay
177		 4 #30 –
44 I'm Not Over Carolina Liar
170		 3 #32 –
45 Prayer of the Refugee Rise Against
162		 2 #18 –
46 Gamma Ray Beck
159		 4 #37 –
47 What I've Done Linkin Park
158		 3 #22 –
48 New Dark Ages Bad Religion
155		 2 #23 –
49 I Kissed A Girl Katy Perry
153		 2 #18 –
50 Never miss a beat Kaiser Chiefs
152		 2 #13 –
51 They Say Scars On Broadway
151		 3 #46 –
52 Starlight Muse
149		 3 #36 –
53 Decode Paramore
149		 3 #39 –
54 Mother Mary Foxboro Hot Tubs
147		 4 #50 –
55 Jigsaw Falling Into Place Radiohead
143		 3 #7 –
56 Stop! Against Me!
142		 3 #13 –
57 You Atmosphere
141		 3 #42 –
58 Always Where I Need to Be The Kooks
139		 3 #33 –
59 Falling Down Atreyu
130		 3 #15 –
60 Knights of Cydonia Muse
130		 2 #19 –
61 Rise Above This Seether
128		 3 #52 –
62 Believe Staind
124		 3 #44 –
63 Cath Death Cab for Cutie
124		 4 #43 –
64 Something Is Not Right With Me Cold War Kids
122		 4 #38 –
65 Undead Hollywood Undead
121		 3 #42 –
66 The Shock Of The Lightning Oasis
117		 2 #20 –
67 Love Me Dead Ludo
116		 3 #58 –
68 Big Casino Jimmy Eat World
116		 2 #41 –
69 That's Not My Name The Ting Tings
110		 2 #9 –
70 Help Me Alkaline Trio
105		 2 #45 –
71 Hope Jack Johnson
101		 3 #62 –
72 The architect dEUS
100		 1 #1 1
73 Make It Wit Chu Queens of the Stone Age
98		 1 #3 –
74 Tryer Motek
98		 1 #2 –
75 Use Somebody Kings of Leon
98		 1 #3 –
76 crushcrushcrush Paramore
97		 2 #27 –
77 Supermassive Black Hole Muse
97		 2 #47 –
78 Walking On A Dream Empire of the Sun
97		 1 #4 –
79 Them Kids Sam Roberts
95		 1 #6 –
80 Talk Like That The Presets
95		 1 #6 –
81 Where do we go now Freaky Age
94		 1 #4 –
82 The Festival Song Pez
94		 1 #7 –
83 Audience Of One Rise Against
93		 3 #50 –
84 This Boy's in Love The Presets
93		 1 #8 –
85 Requiem For A Dying Song Flogging Molly
93		 2 #43 –
86 Fake It Seether
92		 2 #22 –
87 No more running away Air Traffic
92		 1 #5 –
88 Hollow Point Sniper Hyperbole USS
91		 1 #10 –
89 Jimmy Recard Drapht
91		 1 #10 –
90 Time A Brand
90		 1 #6 –
91 My Delirium Ladyhawke
90		 1 #11 –
92 Love Is Noise The Verve
90		 3 #43 –
93 Embrace Pnau
89		 1 #12 –
94 The King Is Dead The Herd
88		 1 #13 –
95 No Sex for Ben The Rapture
87		 1 #14 –
96 Paralyzer Finger 11
87		 1 #15 –
97 Misery Business Paramore
86		 3 #50 –
98 St. Andrews Bedouin Soundclash
86		 1 #15 –
99 Time goes by Air Traffic
86		 1 #8 –
100 Lights and Music Cut Copy
86		 1 #15 –

Every station’s number one of 2008

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ You're Gonna Go Far, Kid The Offspring KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 2008
91X 2AM Slightly Stoopid 91X Top 91 Songs of 2008
Live 105 Viva La Vida Coldplay Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2008
CFNY 102.1 The Edge Pork And Beans Weezer 102.1 The Edge's Top 102 Songs of 2008
Studio Brussel The architect dEUS Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2008
Triple J Sex on Fire Kings of Leon Triple J Hottest 100 of 2008

All 2008 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2008 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 2008 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 six 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.