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

The best alternative rock songs of 2014

Four radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2014: 91X, CD101, Studio Brussel and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2014 is “Take Me To Church” by Hozier, which appeared on three of the four countdowns. Four different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Riptide” by Vance Joy, “Take It Or Leave It” by Cage The Elephant, “Strange Entity” by Oscar and the Wolf and “Talk Is Cheap” by Chet Faker. Alt J was the year’s most-charted artist, with three different songs placing 7 times across the countdowns.

4countdowns
269songs charted
4different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2014

All 269 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2014 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Take Me To Church Hozier
264		 3 #4 –
2 Stolen Dance Milky Chance
261		 3 #4 –
3 Left Hand Free Alt J
256		 3 #2 –
4 Bad Blood Bastille
239		 3 #10 –
5 Fever The Black Keys
199		 3 #11 –
6 Riptide Vance Joy
194		 2 #1 1
7 Yellow Flicker Beat Lorde
194		 3 #18 –
8 Red Eyes The War On Drugs
186		 3 #11 –
9 Fall In Love Phantogram
182		 2 #8 –
10 The Walker Fitz and the Tantrums
175		 2 #12 –
11 Seasons (Waiting On You) Future Islands
174		 3 #18 –
12 Lazaretto Jack White
172		 3 #24 –
13 Cigarette Daydreams Cage The Elephant
167		 2 #4 –
14 Giants Bear Hands
166		 2 #3 –
15 Take It Or Leave It Cage The Elephant
165		 2 #1 1
16 Beware The Dog Griswolds
162		 3 #28 –
17 All The Rage Back Home Interpol
161		 2 #13 –
18 Happy Idiot TV on the Radio
160		 3 #35 –
19 Gooey Glass Animals
159		 3 #12 –
20 Come With Me Now Kongos
154		 2 #9 –
21 Beggin For Thread Banks
154		 3 #27 –
22 I Wanna Get Better Bleachers
148		 2 #24 –
23 Best Friend Foster The People
147		 2 #20 –
24 Gotta Get Away The Black Keys
143		 2 #17 –
25 Figure It Out Royal Blood
139		 3 #9 –
26 Back To The Shack Weezer
134		 2 #15 –
27 Budapest George Ezra
132		 3 #19 –
28 West Coast Lana Del Rey
131		 2 #32 –
29 It's About Time Young the Giant
127		 2 #17 –
30 Coming Of Age Foster The People
124		 2 #37 –
31 Flaws Bastille
123		 2 #26 –
32 Do You Spoon
120		 2 #23 –
33 Take It As It Comes J. Roddy Walston and the Business
119		 2 #5 –
34 Afterlife The Arcade Fire
118		 2 #20 –
35 Trainwreck 1979 Death From Above 1979
115		 2 #40 –
36 Holding On For Life Broken Bells
106		 2 #46 –
37 New Dorp, New York SBTRKT
105		 2 #34 –
38 Something From Nothing Foo Fighters
105		 3 #14 –
39 Strange Entity Oscar and the Wolf
100		 1 #1 1
40 Talk Is Cheap Chet Faker
100		 1 #1 1
41 Gold Chet Faker
99		 2 #7 –
42 Thunder Clatter Wild Cub
99		 1 #2 –
43 High Peking Duk
99		 1 #2 –
44 Snap Out of It Arctic Monkeys
98		 1 #2 –
45 Cosby Sweater Hilltop Hoods
98		 1 #3 –
46 R U Mine? Arctic Monkeys
98		 1 #3 –
47 Dangerous Big Data
97		 1 #4 –
48 Home Dotan
96		 1 #3 –
49 Take Me Over Peking Duk
96		 1 #5 –
50 Agora Bear Hands
96		 2 #19 –
51 Blue Moon Beck
95		 1 #6 –
52 Every Other Freckle Alt J
95		 2 #14 –
53 Uptown Funk Mark Ronson
95		 1 #6 –
54 A Sky Full Of Stars Coldplay
95		 2 #22 –
55 Dangerous f/Joywave Big Data
95		 1 #6 –
56 Waves Sleeper Agent
93		 1 #8 –
57 1998 Chet Faker
93		 1 #8 –
58 Bad Habit The Kooks
92		 1 #9 –
59 Bright Life Amongster
92		 1 #5 –
60 Chandelier Sia
92		 1 #9 –
61 King and Cross Asgeir
91		 1 #10 –
62 Why'd You Only Call Me When… Arctic Monkeys
90		 1 #10 –
63 Princes Oscar and the Wolf
90		 1 #6 –
64 Faded Zhu
90		 1 #11 –
65 Mother & Father Broods
89		 2 #40 –
66 Perfect Match Triggerfinger
88		 1 #7 –
67 Mess Is Mine Vance Joy
88		 1 #13 –
68 Cannibal Silversun Pickups
88		 2 #50 –
69 Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? Arctic Monkeys
86		 1 #15 –
70 Tripper The Sore Losers
86		 1 #8 –
71 Arcadia The Kite String Tangle
86		 1 #15 –
72 I Need My Girl The National
85		 1 #16 –
73 Hunger Of The Pine Alt J
85		 2 #26 –
74 Tightrope Illy
84		 1 #17 –
75 Smooth Sailing Queens of the Stone Age
83		 2 #44 –
76 Electronic Cocaine Channel Zero
82		 1 #10 –
77 She Only Loves Me When I'm There Ball Park Music
82		 1 #19 –
78 My Sweet Summer Dirty Heads
81		 1 #18 –
79 Gold Snafu Sticky Fingers
81		 1 #20 –
80 Top Notch Manchester Orchestra
81		 1 #21 –
81 Under the Pressure The War On Drugs
80		 1 #11 –
82 (Lover) You Don't Treat Me No Good (Like a Version) Chet Faker
80		 1 #21 –
83 The Writing's On The Wall OK Go
80		 1 #22 –
84 Deadbolt Skaters
79		 2 #55 –
85 Pittsburgh The Amity Affliction
79		 1 #22 –
86 Shake The Head and the Heart
79		 1 #23 –
87 Breaking Away Admiral Freebee
78		 1 #12 –
88 Roll Up Your Sleeves Meg Mac
77		 1 #24 –
89 Modern Jesus Portugal. The Man
77		 1 #25 –
90 Doses & Mimosas Cherub
76		 2 #34 –
91 By Absence Of The Sun Triggerfinger
76		 1 #13 –
92 I'll Go Crazy Bluejuice
76		 1 #25 –
93 Islands Intergalactic Lovers
74		 1 #14 –
94 One Minute More Capital Cities
74		 1 #25 –
95 Wait For Me Kings of Leon
73		 2 #42 –
96 Mind Over Matter Young the Giant
73		 1 #29 –
97 Singing Man Magnus
72		 1 #15 –
98 Somebody's Talking The Preatures
72		 1 #29 –
99 Desire Meg Myers
72		 2 #62 –
100 Dirty Paws Of Monsters And Men
71		 1 #27 –

Every station’s number one of 2014

StationNumber one songCountdown
91X Riptide Vance Joy 91X Top 91 Songs of 2014
CD101 Take It Or Leave It Cage The Elephant CD101 Top 102.5 Songs of 2014
Studio Brussel Strange Entity Oscar and the Wolf Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2014
Triple J Talk Is Cheap Chet Faker Triple J Hottest 100 of 2014

All 2014 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2014 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 2014 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 four 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.