RockLists.com

Year-end consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 15 countdowns combined

The best alternative rock songs of 2013

15 radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2013: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, CD101, The Buzz, 102.7 WEQX, 88.3 The Sting, 94.3 WCYY, 94.5 The Buzz, 97X, ALT 104.5, Impact 89FM, Studio Brussel, WBER and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2013 is “Do I Wanna Know” by Arctic Monkeys, which appeared on 13 of the 15 countdowns and was voted number one by one of them. Twelve different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons (3 stations), “Pompeii” by Bastille (2 stations), “Royals” by Lorde, “Out Of My League” by Fitz & The Tantrums and “Berzerk” by Eminem and others. Imagine Dragons was the year’s most-charted artist, with four different songs placing 25 times across the countdowns.

15countdowns
582songs charted
12different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2013

All 582 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2013 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Do I Wanna Know Arctic Monkeys
1,026		 13 #1 1
2 Royals Lorde
1,025		 12 #1 2
3 Pompeii Bastille
976		 12 #1 3
4 Safe and Sound Capital Cities
973		 11 #1 1
5 Sweater Weather Neighbourhood
935		 10 #2 –
6 Radioactive Imagine Dragons
857		 9 #1 4
7 Out of my League Fitz and the Tantrums
855		 10 #1 1
8 Harlem New Politics
809		 11 #5 –
9 Get Lucky Daft Punk
756		 10 #3 –
10 Demons Imagine Dragons
739		 9 #4 –
11 Trojans Atlas Genius
711		 9 #3 –
12 Ways to Go Grouplove
686		 11 #14 –
13 Diane Young Vampire Weekend
674		 11 #6 –
14 Come A Little Closer Cage The Elephant
674		 9 #9 –
15 Reflektor The Arcade Fire
640		 11 #5 –
16 Mountain Sound Of Monsters And Men
594		 7 #3 –
17 Super Soaker Kings of Leon
550		 11 #3 –
18 Lover of the Light Mumford & Sons
543		 12 #9 –
19 Panic Station Muse
529		 8 #9 –
20 Sirens Pearl Jam
508		 9 #6 –
21 Breezeblocks Alt J
508		 8 #2 –
22 My Songs Know What you Did in the Dark (Light Em Up) Fall Out Boy
468		 6 #7 –
23 Up in the Air 30 Seconds to Mars
463		 9 #11 –
24 My Number Foals
459		 8 #5 –
25 Team Lorde
457		 9 #15 –
26 Elephant Tame Impala
455		 8 #6 –
27 Hurricane Ms Mr
453		 8 #8 –
28 If So Atlas Genius
452		 9 #4 –
29 Madness Muse
417		 6 #7 –
30 I sat by the Ocean Queens of the Stone Age
403		 9 #17 –
31 My God is the Sun Queens of the Stone Age
402		 10 #13 –
32 Unbelievers Vampire Weekend
397		 8 #7 –
33 Carry On fun.
392		 7 #12 –
34 Stubborn Love Lumineers
392		 8 #13 –
35 Afraid Neighbourhood
379		 10 #27 –
36 San Francisco Mowgli's
373		 5 #7 –
37 Little Black Submarines The Black Keys
371		 5 #3 –
38 Shot At The Night The Killers
363		 6 #4 –
39 Came Back Haunted Nine Inch Nails
360		 7 #11 –
40 I Will Wait Mumford & Sons
358		 6 #9 –
41 Ho Hey Lumineers
348		 6 #8 –
42 Recovery Frank Turner
346		 5 #6 –
43 The Pit Silversun Pickups
345		 6 #6 –
44 Wake Me Up Avicii
336		 6 #9 –
45 Trying to be Cool Phoenix
330		 7 #19 –
46 Miss Jackson Panic! at the Disco
322		 7 #19 –
47 Miracle Mile Cold War Kids
310		 6 #3 –
48 Cabin by the Sea Dirty Heads
310		 5 #22 –
49 Holding On To You Twenty One Pilots
309		 5 #3 –
50 City of Angels 30 Seconds to Mars
300		 6 #33 –
51 Babel Mumford & Sons
290		 5 #27 –
52 Tessellate Alt J
287		 6 #12 –
53 Carried Away Passion Pit
282		 5 #14 –
54 Thrift Shop Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
281		 4 #16 –
55 Mind Your Manners Pearl Jam
269		 9 #25 –
56 Take A Walk Passion Pit
268		 5 #24 –
57 Entertainment Phoenix
268		 6 #21 –
58 Purple, Yellow, Red, and Blue Portugal. The Man
266		 6 #23 –
59 It's Time Imagine Dragons
264		 4 #20 –
60 Little Talks Of Monsters And Men
258		 4 #15 –
61 Heavy Bells J. Roddy Walston and the Business
250		 5 #28 –
62 Hero Family Of The Year
246		 5 #13 –
63 Alive Empire of the Sun
245		 4 #13 –
64 The Mother we Share CHVRCHES
244		 8 #18 –
65 There's No Going Back Sick Puppies
244		 4 #19 –
66 Sail AWOLNATION
237		 4 #6 –
67 Instant Crush Daft Punk
234		 3 #2 –
68 This Disorder The Features
229		 4 #9 –
69 High School Lover Cayucas
217		 3 #15 –
70 Hearts Like Ours Naked and Famous
213		 5 #12 –
71 If You Didn't See Me (Then You Weren't On The Dancefloor) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr.
212		 3 #3 –
72 Inhaler Foals
208		 6 #46 –
73 Midnight City M83
206		 3 #10 –
74 The Phoenix Fall Out Boy
193		 4 #27 –
75 Now Paramore
192		 5 #22 –
76 Young and Beautiful Lana Del Rey
190		 2 #6 –
77 Red Hands Walk Off the Earth
188		 3 #23 –
78 Modern Jesus Portugal. The Man
187		 3 #4 –
79 Follow Me Muse
183		 6 #25 –
80 Hail to the King Avenged Sevenfold
182		 3 #21 –
81 Out Of Time Stone Temple Pilots
180		 4 #11 –
82 King and Lionheart Of Monsters And Men
172		 5 #47 –
83 All The Time The Strokes
170		 3 #22 –
84 Doin' It Right Daft Punk
169		 3 #8 –
85 Bleed Out Blue October
167		 3 #8 –
86 Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? Arctic Monkeys
165		 2 #6 –
87 The John Wayne Little Green Cars
161		 3 #29 –
88 Gun CHVRCHES
161		 2 #4 –
89 Recover CHVRCHES
160		 2 #18 –
90 Another is Waiting Avett Brothers
160		 2 #13 –
91 Timeless The Airborne Toxic Event
160		 5 #53 –
92 House of Gold Twenty One Pilots
159		 2 #8 –
93 Step Vampire Weekend
159		 2 #22 –
94 The Wire Haim
159		 3 #11 –
95 Awkward San Cisco
158		 3 #26 –
96 Falling Haim
157		 2 #16 –
97 Gold On The Ceiling The Black Keys
156		 2 #16 –
98 Heavy Feet Local Natives
154		 2 #11 –
99 Lightning Bolt Jake Bugg
153		 3 #22 –
100 Graceless The National
152		 3 #24 –

Every station’s number one of 2013

StationNumber one songCountdown
KROQ Radioactive Imagine Dragons KROQ Top 50 Songs of 2013
91X Radioactive Imagine Dragons 91X Top 91 Songs of 2013
Live 105 Royals Lorde Live 105 Top Songs of 2013
CD101 Out Of My League Fitz & The Tantrums CD101 Top 102.5 Songs of 2013
The Buzz Berzerk Eminem The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2013
102.7 WEQX Pompeii Bastille WEQX Top 102.7 of 2013
88.3 The Sting Little Games The Colourist 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2013
94.3 WCYY Radioactive Imagine Dragons WCYY Year End Top 50 of 2013
94.5 The Buzz Safe and Sound Capital Cities 94.5 The Buzz Top 94 of 2013
97X Atlas Coldplay 97X Top 97 of 2013
ALT 104.5 Entertainment Phoenix Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2013
Impact 89FM Twin Size Mattress The Front Bottoms Impact 89FM Top 89 Songs of 2013
Studio Brussel Pompeii Bastille Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2013
WBER Off To The Races Lana Del Rey WBER Listener Countdown 2013
Triple J Riptide Vance Joy Triple J Hottest 100 of 2013

All 2013 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2013 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 2013 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 15 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.