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

The best alternative rock songs of 2013

Six radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2013: KROQ, 91X, Live 105, CD101, Studio Brussel and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2013 is “Get Lucky” by Daft Punk, which appeared on six of the six countdowns. Five different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons (2 stations), “Royals” by Lorde, “Out Of My League” by Fitz & The Tantrums, “Pompeii” by Bastille and “Riptide” by Vance Joy. Imagine Dragons was the year’s most-charted artist, with four different songs placing 10 times across the countdowns.

6countdowns
274songs charted
5different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2013

All 274 songs →

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

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Get Lucky Daft Punk
458		 6 #3 –
2 Royals Lorde
431		 5 #1 1
3 Do I Wanna Know Arctic Monkeys
410		 5 #2 –
4 Safe and Sound Capital Cities
372		 4 #2 –
5 Sweater Weather Neighbourhood
370		 4 #2 –
6 Radioactive Imagine Dragons
366		 4 #1 2
7 Out of my League Fitz and the Tantrums
361		 4 #1 1
8 Pompeii Bastille
288		 4 #1 1
9 Harlem New Politics
278		 4 #13 –
10 Ways to Go Grouplove
263		 4 #20 –
11 Trojans Atlas Genius
248		 3 #4 –
12 I sat by the Ocean Queens of the Stone Age
243		 5 #17 –
13 My Number Foals
235		 4 #5 –
14 Demons Imagine Dragons
234		 3 #8 –
15 Mountain Sound Of Monsters And Men
232		 3 #3 –
16 Panic Station Muse
229		 3 #12 –
17 Come A Little Closer Cage The Elephant
228		 3 #9 –
18 Unbelievers Vampire Weekend
228		 5 #18 –
19 Reflektor The Arcade Fire
221		 4 #16 –
20 Diane Young Vampire Weekend
216		 3 #9 –
21 Team Lorde
212		 3 #15 –
22 Madness Muse
194		 3 #8 –
23 Breezeblocks Alt J
181		 2 #2 –
24 Little Talks Of Monsters And Men
174		 3 #15 –
25 If So Atlas Genius
170		 3 #4 –
26 My God is the Sun Queens of the Stone Age
167		 4 #26 –
27 Super Soaker Kings of Leon
165		 3 #5 –
28 Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? Arctic Monkeys
165		 2 #6 –
29 I Will Wait Mumford & Sons
164		 3 #10 –
30 Hurricane Ms Mr
164		 2 #8 –
31 Elephant Tame Impala
155		 2 #6 –
32 Sail AWOLNATION
151		 3 #6 –
33 Trying to be Cool Phoenix
148		 3 #19 –
34 Miracle Mile Cold War Kids
146		 2 #3 –
35 Midnight City M83
135		 2 #10 –
36 Thrift Shop Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
134		 2 #16 –
37 Little Black Submarines The Black Keys
125		 2 #18 –
38 Take A Walk Passion Pit
121		 2 #24 –
39 Lover of the Light Mumford & Sons
121		 4 #33 –
40 My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark Fall Out Boy
117		 3 #15 –
41 Stubborn Love Lumineers
114		 3 #14 –
42 Don't Swallow The Cap The National
113		 2 #23 –
43 Sirens Pearl Jam
110		 3 #20 –
44 Recovery Frank Turner
110		 2 #25 –
45 It's Time Imagine Dragons
109		 2 #29 –
46 Sooth My Soul Depeche Mode
107		 2 #42 –
47 This Disorder The Features
101		 2 #10 –
48 Riptide Vance Joy
100		 1 #1 1
49 Wake Me Up Avicii
99		 2 #9 –
50 Right Action Franz Ferdinand
99		 2 #17 –
51 A Ton of Love Editors
98		 1 #2 –
52 Carried Away Passion Pit
96		 2 #16 –
53 Drop the Game Flume and Chet Faker
96		 1 #5 –
54 Broken Bones The Van Jets
95		 1 #3 –
55 Young and Beautiful Lana Del Rey
94		 1 #7 –
56 Resolution Matt Corby
93		 1 #8 –
57 Another Love Tom O'Dell
93		 1 #4 –
58 Is This How You Feel? The Preatures
92		 1 #9 –
59 Strong London Grammar
91		 1 #10 –
60 San Francisco Mowgli's
90		 1 #11 –
61 Tessellate Alt J
90		 2 #40 –
62 The Wire Haim
90		 1 #11 –
63 Tennis Court Lorde
89		 1 #12 –
64 Shot At The Night The Killers
88		 2 #37 –
65 Hero Family Of The Year
88		 1 #13 –
66 Retrograde James Blake
88		 1 #13 –
67 The Reeling Compact Disk Dummies
88		 1 #6 –
68 Covered in Chrome Violent Soho
87		 1 #14 –
69 High School Lover Cayucas
86		 1 #15 –
70 Don't Stop Slightly Stoopid
86		 1 #14 –
71 Anna Sun Walk the Moon
86		 2 #23 –
72 Afraid Neighbourhood
85		 3 #41 –
73 Alive Empire of the Sun
85		 2 #30 –
74 Too Many Friends Placebo
85		 1 #7 –
75 Follow Me Muse
85		 3 #31 –
76 Lose Yourself To Dance Daft Punk
84		 1 #17 –
77 Up in the Air Thirty Seconds To Mars
84		 3 #20 –
78 Gold On The Ceiling The Black Keys
84		 1 #16 –
79 A Tattered Line Of String The Postal Service
84		 1 #18 –
80 Arabella Arctic Monkeys
83		 1 #18 –
81 Keep Your Head Up Ben Howard
83		 1 #8 –
82 Given the Chance The Kite String Tangle
82		 1 #19 –
83 Lightning Bolt Jake Bugg
82		 2 #22 –
84 Carry On fun.
82		 2 #20 –
85 Black Skinhead Kanye West
81		 1 #20 –
86 Entertainment Phoenix
81		 1 #21 –
87 End of the Line Absynthe Minded
80		 1 #9 –
88 Take Me Rüfüs
80		 1 #21 –
89 Lanterns Birds of Tokyo
79		 1 #22 –
90 Harper Lee Little Green Cars
79		 1 #23 –
91 When a Fire Starts to Burn Disclosure
78		 1 #23 –
92 African Fire Soldier's Heart
78		 1 #10 –
93 Waiting All Night Rudimental
77		 1 #24 –
94 Your Body Is a Weapon Wombats
76		 1 #25 –
95 Back Around Iration
76		 1 #23 –
96 Do Not Claim Them Anymore Balthazar
75		 1 #11 –
97 Step Vampire Weekend
75		 1 #26 –
98 Evil Friends Portugal. The Man
75		 1 #27 –
99 Falling Haim
74		 1 #27 –
100 Graceless The National
74		 2 #64 –

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
Studio Brussel Pompeii Bastille Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 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 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.