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

The best alternative rock songs of 2010

Eight radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2010: KROQ, 91X, Q101, WFNX, CD101, CFNY 102.1 The Edge, Studio Brussel and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2010 is “Tighten Up” by The Black Keys, which appeared on seven of the eight countdowns. Seven different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Lay Me Down” by The Dirty Heads Featuring Rome (2 stations), “Lisztomania” by Phoenix, “Odd One” by Sick Puppies, “Little Lion Man” by Mumford and Sons and “Home” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and others. Muse was the year’s most-charted artist, with five different songs placing 22 times across the countdowns.

8countdowns
417songs charted
7different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2010

All 417 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2010 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Tighten Up The Black Keys
586		 7 #2 –
2 Resistance Muse
568		 7 #2 –
3 Animal Neon Trees
485		 6 #3 –
4 Lisztomania Phoenix
474		 5 #1 1
5 Little Lion Man Mumford & Sons
473		 6 #1 1
6 Ready to Start The Arcade Fire
452		 7 #4 –
7 Sweet Disposition The Temper Trap
435		 5 #6 –
8 Cousins Vampire Weekend
358		 5 #8 –
9 Radioactive Kings of Leon
355		 8 #17 –
10 My Best Theory Jimmy Eat World
354		 6 #15 –
11 In One Ear Cage The Elephant
350		 5 #5 –
12 Lay Me Down Dirty Heads
335		 5 #1 2
13 Gold, Guns, Girls Metric
325		 4 #6 –
14 Mountain Man Crash Kings
318		 4 #9 –
15 The Royal We Silversun Pickups
318		 4 #17 –
16 Back Against the Wall Cage The Elephant
309		 5 #11 –
17 Undisclosed Desires Muse
301		 6 #15 –
18 Bloodbuzz Ohio The National
284		 4 #15 –
19 Stylo Gorillaz
277		 5 #11 –
20 Crossfire Brandon Flowers
276		 5 #16 –
21 This is War 30 Seconds to Mars
271		 3 #2 –
22 Dog Days Are Over Florence And The Machine
265		 4 #5 –
23 Between The Lines Stone Temple Pilots
253		 5 #10 –
24 Uprising Muse
247		 3 #15 –
25 Waiting For The End Linkin Park
238		 4 #9 –
26 Just Breathe Pearl Jam
238		 5 #25 –
27 The Catalyst Linkin Park
233		 5 #14 –
28 The High Road Broken Bells
232		 4 #7 –
29 Kings & Queens 30 Seconds to Mars
230		 4 #9 –
30 Your Decision Alice In Chains
229		 3 #12 –
31 Giving Up The Gun Vampire Weekend
210		 3 #19 –
32 The Cave Mumford & Sons
199		 3 #3 –
33 The Sound Switchfoot
199		 3 #4 –
34 Home Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros
197		 3 #1 1
35 Substitution Silversun Pickups
196		 4 #18 –
36 I Was A Teenage Anarchist Against Me!
192		 4 #27 –
37 Diamond Eyes Deftones
189		 3 #25 –
38 Impossible Anberlin
187		 3 #10 –
39 New Fang Them Crooked Vultures
185		 5 #23 –
40 You And Your Heart Jack Johnson
185		 3 #12 –
41 The Good Life Three Days Grace
176		 2 #11 –
42 Freak The Smashing Pumpkins
174		 4 #31 –
43 Letters From The Sky Civil Twilight
167		 3 #10 –
44 Rhinestone Eyes Gorillaz
166		 2 #13 –
45 F You Cee-Lo Green
164		 2 #10 –
46 Living in a Dream Finger Eleven
161		 2 #13 –
47 Laredo Band of Horses
159		 2 #21 –
48 Audience Cold War Kids
159		 3 #12 –
49 Barricade Interpol
153		 4 #50 –
50 Heads Will Roll Yeah Yeah Yeahs
153		 2 #4 –
51 Die By The Drop The Dead Weather
150		 3 #15 –
52 Sick Of You Cake
146		 3 #33 –
53 Fader The Temper Trap
144		 3 #28 –
54 Break Three Days Grace
143		 2 #20 –
55 Holiday Vampire Weekend
141		 3 #21 –
56 Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever) Muse
139		 5 #20 –
57 Aint no Rest for the Wicked Cage The Elephant
135		 2 #32 –
58 You Got Me Crash Kings
134		 2 #34 –
59 We Used to Wait The Arcade Fire
130		 2 #11 –
60 Flash Delirium MGMT
129		 2 #31 –
61 Symphonies Dan Black
128		 2 #25 –
62 World So Cold Three Days Grace
120		 2 #24 –
63 Wait Up (Boots Of Danger) Tokyo Police Club
120		 2 #17 –
64 One Life Stand Hot Chip
119		 2 #33 –
65 On Melancholy Hill Gorillaz
118		 2 #42 –
66 1901 Phoenix
118		 3 #14 –
67 Sing My Chemical Romance
117		 3 #12 –
68 High Road Broken Bells
117		 2 #7 –
69 Wheels Foo Fighters
115		 2 #37 –
70 Black Rain Soundgarden
115		 2 #35 –
71 Written In Reverse Spoon
114		 2 #44 –
72 Another Way to Die Disturbed
112		 2 #22 –
73 I Can Talk Two Door Cinema Club
110		 2 #20 –
74 Lesson Learned Alice In Chains
110		 2 #28 –
75 Memories Weezer
107		 4 #48 –
76 Closer To The Edge 30 Seconds to Mars
105		 3 #38 –
77 Rise Up Cypress Hill
104		 2 #46 –
78 Amongst The Waves Pearl Jam
103		 3 #56 –
79 This Too Shall Pass OK Go
102		 3 #24 –
80 Crystalised The xx
101		 2 #12 –
81 Odd One Sick Puppies
100		 1 #1 1
82 The future The Van Jets
100		 1 #1 1
83 Big Jet Plane Angus and Julia Stone
100		 1 #1 1
84 Rock It Little Red
99		 1 #2 –
85 Jesus Stole My Girlfriend Violent Soho
99		 3 #67 –
86 Nightmare Avenged Sevenfold
98		 1 #3 –
87 Dance the Way I Feel Ou Est le Swimming Pool
98		 1 #3 –
88 The Ghost Inside Broken Bells
98		 2 #10 –
89 Dog Days Are Over Florence + The Machine
98		 2 #10 –
90 No sound but the wind (live @werchter) Editors
98		 1 #2 –
91 Plans Birds of Tokyo
97		 1 #4 –
92 The Devil In Stitches Bad Religion
97		 2 #24 –
93 I'm Your Daddy Weezer
97		 4 #63 –
94 Fall at Your Feet Boy & Bear
96		 1 #5 –
95 Letter From a Thief Chevelle
95		 1 #6 –
96 Words Goose
95		 1 #3 –
97 Teenage Crime Adrian Lux
95		 1 #6 –
98 Got Nuffin' Spoon
95		 1 #6 –
99 Fuck You Cee-Lo Green
94		 1 #7 –
100 Machine Gun Blues Social Distortion
94		 2 #17 –

Every station’s number one of 2010

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ Lisztomania Phoenix KROQ Top 30 Songs of 2010
91X Lay Me Down The Dirty Heads Featuring Rome 91X Top 91 Songs of 2010
Q101 Odd One Sick Puppies Q101 Top 101 Songs of 2010
WFNX Little Lion Man Mumford and Sons WFNX Top 101 Songs of 2010
CD101 Home Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros CD101 Top 101 Songs of 2010
CFNY 102.1 The Edge Lay Me Down The Dirty Heads 102.1 The Edge Top 102 Songs of 2010
Studio Brussel The future The Van Jets Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2010
Triple J Big Jet Plane Angus & Julia Stone Triple J Hottest 100 of 2010

All 2010 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2010 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 2010 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 eight 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.