Decade consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 49 year-end countdowns + 3 decade countdowns

The best alternative rock songs of the 2010s

This ranking of the 2010s combines 49 year-end countdowns from 2010 through 2019 with three “songs of the decade” countdowns aired by 107.7 The End, CFNY 102.1 The Edge and Triple J. The top song of the '10s is “Little Talks” by Of Monsters And Men, which charted on 12 countdowns and reached number one one times. The decade’s most-charted artists are The Black Keys, Muse, Cage The Elephant, Mumford & Sons and Foo Fighters.

2,565songs charted

49year-end countdowns

3decade countdowns

Top 100 songs of the '10s

Top 1000 →

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Year
1	Little Talks Of Monsters And Men	927	12	#1	1	2012
2	Midnight City M83	872	13	#4	–	2011
3	Somebody That I Used To Know Gotye	868	12	#1	2	2012
4	I Will Wait Mumford & Sons	866	12	#1	2	2012
5	Tighten Up The Black Keys	774	10	#2	–	2010
6	Pumped up Kicks Foster The People	760	9	#1	3	2011
7	Lonely Boy The Black Keys	720	10	#2	–	2011
8	Madness Muse	716	11	#5	–	2012
9	Sail AWOLNATION	683	10	#2	–	2011
10	Do I Wanna Know Arctic Monkeys	664	8	#2	–	2013
11	Royals Lorde	613	7	#1	1	2013
12	Gold On The Ceiling The Black Keys	603	8	#2	–	2012
13	Tongue Tied Grouplove	597	9	#4	–	2012
14	Ho Hey Lumineers	576	9	#5	–	2012
15	Resistance Muse	568	7	#2	–	2010
16	Get Lucky Daft Punk	547	8	#3	–	2013
17	Stressed Out Twenty One Pilots	546	7	#1	1	2015
18	Walk Foo Fighters	527	7	#1	1	2011
19	Riptide Vance Joy	516	6	#1	2	2014
20	Rope Foo Fighters	515	7	#3	–	2011
21	Trojans Atlas Genius	506	8	#4	–	2012
22	Ready to Start The Arcade Fire	502	8	#4	–	2010
23	Renegades X Ambassadors	497	6	#1	1	2015
24	Little Lion Man Mumford & Sons	487	7	#1	1	2010
25	Paradise Coldplay	486	8	#8	–	2011
26	Animal Neon Trees	485	6	#3	–	2010
27	Radioactive Imagine Dragons	480	6	#1	2	2013
28	Lisztomania Phoenix	474	5	#1	1	2010
29	Sweater Weather Neighbourhood	473	6	#2	–	2013
30	Take A Walk Passion Pit	468	8	#3	–	2012
31	Radioactive Kings of Leon	462	10	#17	–	2010
32	It's Time Imagine Dragons	458	8	#14	–	2012
33	Feel It Still Portugal. The Man	457	5	#1	2	2017
34	First Cold War Kids	450	6	#2	–	2015
35	Mountain At My Gates Foals	443	5	#4	–	2015
36	Shake Me Down Cage The Elephant	443	8	#4	–	2011
37	The Less I Know the Better Tame Impala	440	5	#1	1	2015
38	Little Black Submarines The Black Keys	438	7	#11	–	2012
39	Sweet Disposition The Temper Trap	435	5	#6	–	2010
40	Howlin' for You The Black Keys	428	6	#1	1	2011
41	My Body Young the Giant	422	5	#12	–	2011
42	Young Blood Naked and Famous	413	6	#2	–	2011
43	Stolen Dance Milky Chance	410	6	#4	–	2014
44	Dreams Beck	403	6	#4	–	2015
45	Safe and Sound Capital Cities	400	6	#2	–	2013
46	Dead Inside Muse	389	5	#5	–	2015
47	We Used to Wait The Arcade Fire	388	5	#7	–	2011
48	R U Mine? Arctic Monkeys	384	6	#1	1	2012
49	The Cave Mumford & Sons	377	6	#3	–	2010
50	Waiting For The End Linkin Park	373	6	#9	–	2010
51	Rolling in the Deep Adele	369	6	#5	–	2011
52	Breezeblocks Alt J	368	4	#2	–	2013
53	Tear In My Heart Twenty One Pilots	368	4	#1	1	2015
54	Pompeii Bastille	365	5	#1	1	2013
55	Out of my League Fitz and the Tantrums	361	4	#1	1	2013
56	Gold, Guns, Girls Metric	360	5	#6	–	2010
57	Way Down We Go Kaleo	359	5	#12	–	2016
58	Cousins Vampire Weekend	358	5	#8	–	2010
59	My Best Theory Jimmy Eat World	354	6	#15	–	2010
60	In One Ear Cage The Elephant	350	5	#5	–	2010
61	Cough Syrup Young the Giant	347	5	#10	–	2011
62	Let It Happen Tame Impala	343	4	#5	–	2015
63	Mountain Sound Of Monsters And Men	340	8	#3	–	2012
64	Lay Me Down Dirty Heads	335	5	#1	2	2010
65	Ophelia Lumineers	333	4	#2	–	2016
66	We Are Young fun.	333	5	#1	1	2012
67	Dark Necessities Red Hot Chili Peppers	329	4	#5	–	2016
68	Undisclosed Desires Muse	327	7	#15	–	2010
69	Mess Around Cage The Elephant	326	4	#11	–	2016
70	Helena Beat Foster The People	325	4	#6	–	2011
71	Take Me To Church Hozier	325	4	#4	–	2014
72	Thrift Shop Macklemore & Ryan Lewis	323	5	#1	1	2013
73	Mountain Man Crash Kings	318	4	#9	–	2010
74	The Royal We Silversun Pickups	318	4	#17	–	2010
75	S.O.B. Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats	317	4	#9	–	2015
76	Bad Guy Billie Eilish	315	4	#1	1	2019
77	The Man The Killers	309	4	#6	–	2017
78	Back Against the Wall Cage The Elephant	309	5	#11	–	2010
79	Harlem New Politics	307	5	#13	–	2013
80	HandClap Fitz and the Tantrums	305	4	#5	–	2016
81	Lay it On Me Vance Joy	304	4	#9	–	2017
82	Anna Sun Walk the Moon	304	6	#2	–	2012
83	River Bishop Briggs	301	5	#4	–	2016
84	Left Hand Free Alt J	299	4	#2	–	2014
85	Uprising Muse	299	4	#15	–	2009
86	Mercy Muse	298	4	#1	1	2015
87	Lampshades On Fire Modest Mouse	296	6	#3	–	2015
88	Ex's & Oh's Elle King	295	4	#6	–	2015
89	You are a Tourist Death Cab for Cutie	293	4	#7	–	2011
90	The Catalyst Linkin Park	291	6	#14	–	2010
91	Shake It Out Florence + The Machine	288	6	#19	–	2012
92	Little Monster Royal Blood	287	4	#6	–	2015
93	Runaways The Killers	287	5	#5	–	2012
94	Too Close Alex Clare	286	5	#3	–	2012
95	Bloodbuzz Ohio The National	284	4	#15	–	2010
96	Elephant Tame Impala	284	4	#6	–	2013
97	Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? Arctic Monkeys	279	4	#6	–	2013
98	Don't Stop (Color On The Walls Foster The People	279	6	#20	–	2012
99	Stylo Gorillaz	277	5	#11	–	2010
100	These Days Foo Fighters	276	7	#12	–	2011

Station countdowns of the '10s

Listener-voted “best of the decade” countdowns as broadcast.

About this ranking

The 2010s ranking adds together two kinds of evidence: the year-end countdowns from each year of the decade, and the retrospective “songs of the decade” countdowns that stations aired afterwards. Year-end lists capture what listeners loved at the time; decade countdowns capture what lasted. Every appearance earns percentile-based points, and the totals are ranked. See the methodology for details.