RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2009

Six radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2009: 91X, Q101, WFNX, CFNY 102.1 The Edge, Studio Brussel and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2009 is “Uprising” by Muse, which appeared on six of the six countdowns. Five different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Use Somebody” by Kings Of Leon (2 stations), “Savior” by Rise Against, “Panic Switch” by Silversun Pickups, “Rex” by Customs and “Little Lion Man” by Mumford & Sons. Kings of Leon was the year’s most-charted artist, with four different songs placing 15 times across the countdowns.

6countdowns
333songs charted
5different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2009

All 333 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2009 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Uprising Muse
555		 6 #3 –
2 Use Somebody Kings of Leon
456		 5 #1 2
3 Panic Switch Silversun Pickups
396		 5 #1 1
4 The Fixer Pearl Jam
376		 5 #5 –
5 Help, Im Alive Metric
372		 5 #8 –
6 New Divide Linkin Park
356		 4 #7 –
7 Aint no Rest for the Wicked Cage The Elephant
355		 4 #3 –
8 21 Guns Green Day
352		 5 #8 –
9 1901 Phoenix
341		 4 #4 –
10 Notion Kings of Leon
319		 5 #14 –
11 Wrong Depeche Mode
317		 5 #5 –
12 Check My Brain Alice In Chains
317		 4 #10 –
13 Meet Me On The Equinox Death Cab for Cutie
313		 5 #14 –
14 Kids MGMT
297		 3 #2 –
15 Sometime Around Midnight The Airborne Toxic Event
296		 5 #22 –
16 No You Girls Franz Ferdinand
291		 4 #6 –
17 Know Your Enemy Green Day
290		 4 #20 –
18 You're Gonna Go Far, Kid The Offspring
290		 4 #9 –
19 Savior Rise Against
281		 3 #1 1
20 Sex On Fire Kings of Leon
270		 4 #13 –
21 Audience Of One Rise Against
251		 3 #7 –
22 Spaceman The Killers
241		 4 #9 –
23 (If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To Weezer
238		 3 #10 –
24 Medicate AFI
238		 4 #12 –
25 Zero Yeah Yeah Yeahs
231		 3 #16 –
26 Kings & Queens 30 Seconds to Mars
215		 4 #27 –
27 Wheels Foo Fighters
209		 5 #25 –
28 Brother Pearl Jam
193		 4 #36 –
29 Substitution Silversun Pickups
192		 4 #34 –
30 Heads Will Roll Yeah Yeah Yeahs
188		 3 #11 –
31 East Jesus Nowhere Green Day
187		 4 #43 –
32 She's a Genius Jet
182		 4 #40 –
33 Heavy cross The Gossip
182		 2 #2 –
34 Second Chance Shinedown
179		 2 #10 –
35 The '59 Sound The Gaslight Anthem
176		 3 #28 –
36 Sleepyhead Passion Pit
170		 2 #12 –
37 Love Hurts Incubus
164		 2 #14 –
38 Get on Your Boots U2
162		 3 #18 –
39 Break Three Days Grace
156		 3 #22 –
40 Ignorance Paramore
154		 3 #23 –
41 Last One to Die Rancid
153		 3 #44 –
42 Ulysses Franz Ferdinand
153		 3 #6 –
43 Say Hey (I Love You) Michael Franti & Spearhead
150		 2 #25 –
44 Back Against the Wall Cage The Elephant
149		 4 #26 –
45 I've Got Friends Manchester Orchestra
145		 3 #32 –
46 FireFlies Owl City
144		 2 #13 –
47 Black Heart Inertia Incubus
142		 2 #14 –
48 Troublemaker Weezer
140		 3 #31 –
49 Decode Paramore
140		 2 #23 –
50 Just Breathe Pearl Jam
134		 4 #29 –
51 Sink Into Me Taking Back Sunday
134		 3 #41 –
52 Feel Good Drag Anberlin
133		 2 #8 –
53 New Fang Them Crooked Vultures
132		 4 #30 –
54 Hey You 311
132		 3 #47 –
55 Magnificent U2
128		 2 #29 –
56 Breaking Anberlin
127		 2 #34 –
57 For What It's Worth Placebo
122		 2 #11 –
58 One Day Matisyahu
120		 3 #41 –
59 Undead Hollywood Undead
118		 2 #21 –
60 Pork And Beans Weezer
113		 4 #45 –
61 Kristy, Are You Doing Ok? The Offspring
111		 3 #53 –
62 Crawl Back In Dead By Sunrise
107		 3 #49 –
63 LifeLine Papa Roach
106		 2 #44 –
64 Electric Feel MGMT
106		 2 #33 –
65 Re-Education (Through Labor) Rise Against
105		 2 #21 –
66 Slow Poison The Bravery
104		 3 #46 –
67 Little Secrets Passion Pit
103		 2 #38 –
68 Little Lion Man Mumford & Sons
100		 1 #1 1
69 Rex Customs
100		 1 #1 1
70 Jars Chevelle
99		 2 #6 –
71 The Feel Good Drag Anberlin
99		 1 #2 –
72 Parlez Vous Francais? Art vs. Science
99		 1 #2 –
73 Dirt Room Blue October
98		 1 #3 –
74 Chase That Feeling Hilltop Hoods
98		 1 #3 –
75 Gimme Sympathy Metric
97		 1 #4 –
76 You're Going Down Sick Puppies
97		 1 #4 –
77 Lisztomania Phoenix
97		 1 #4 –
78 Broken Leg Bluejuice
96		 1 #5 –
79 Bulletproof La Roux
95		 1 #6 –
80 Pony Far
95		 1 #6 –
81 Rusted from the Rain Billy Talent
94		 1 #7 –
82 Coin Laundry Lisa Mitchell
94		 1 #7 –
83 Lost! Coldplay
94		 2 #18 –
84 I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight U2
94		 2 #39 –
85 Crying lightning Arctic Monkeys
94		 2 #17 –
86 Not Fair Lily Allen
93		 1 #8 –
87 Viva La Vida Coldplay
93		 3 #50 –
88 The Night Disturbed
92		 1 #9 –
89 Daylight Matt And Kim
91		 2 #41 –
90 Dog Days Are Over Florence And The Machine
91		 1 #10 –
91 Wishing Well The Airborne Toxic Event
91		 2 #46 –
92 Love Is a First The Tragically Hip
90		 1 #11 –
93 Future words The Hickey Underworld
90		 1 #4 –
94 Bonkers Dizzee Rascal & Armand van Helden
89		 1 #12 –
95 I Want You To Weezer
88		 1 #13 –
96 Blood On My Hands The Used
88		 1 #13 –
97 Sticks 'n' Stones Jamie T
87		 1 #14 –
98 I Will Not Bow Breaking Benjamin
86		 1 #15 –
99 Home Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
86		 1 #15 –
100 Wannabe in LA Eagles of Death Metal
86		 2 #18 –

Every station’s number one of 2009

StationNumber one songCountdown
91X Use Somebody Kings Of Leon 91X Top 91 Songs of 2009
Q101 Savior Rise Against Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2009
WFNX Use Somebody Kings of Leon WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2009
CFNY 102.1 The Edge Panic Switch Silversun Pickups 102.1 The Edge The Top 102 of 2009
Studio Brussel Rex Customs Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2009
Triple J Little Lion Man Mumford & Sons Triple J Hottest 100 of 2009

All 2009 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2009 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 2009 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.