RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2014

Twelve radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2014: 91X, CD101, The Buzz, 102.7 WEQX, 88.3 The Sting, 94.3 WCYY, 96.5 The Buzz, ALT 104.5, Studio Brussel, WBER, X96 and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2014 is “Fever” by The Black Keys, which appeared on eleven of the twelve countdowns. Twelve different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Riptide” by Vance Joy, “Take It Or Leave It” by Cage The Elephant, “City of Sin” by Linus Young, “Take Me to Church” by Hozier and “Thunder Clatter” by Wild Cub and others. Arctic Monkeys was the year’s most-charted artist, with five different songs placing 18 times across the countdowns.

12countdowns
532songs charted
12different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2014

All 532 songs →

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

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Fever The Black Keys
863		 11 #4 –
2 Left Hand Free Alt J
802		 10 #2 –
3 Take Me To Church Hozier
759		 9 #1 2
4 Come With Me Now Kongos
720		 8 #2 –
5 Stolen Dance Milky Chance
707		 8 #4 –
6 Riptide Vance Joy
667		 7 #1 1
7 I Wanna Get Better Bleachers
652		 8 #3 –
8 Back To The Shack Weezer
639		 9 #4 –
9 Something From Nothing Foo Fighters
595		 10 #4 –
10 Bad Blood Bastille
561		 8 #10 –
11 Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? Arctic Monkeys
553		 7 #10 –
12 Lazaretto Jack White
548		 9 #1 1
13 Beware The Dog Griswolds
530		 8 #1 1
14 My Sweet Summer Dirty Heads
517		 8 #9 –
15 Dangerous Big Data
503		 7 #1 1
16 Fall In Love Phantogram
482		 7 #8 –
17 Cigarette Daydreams Cage The Elephant
449		 8 #4 –
18 Giants Bear Hands
444		 7 #3 –
19 A Sky Full Of Stars Coldplay
441		 8 #6 –
20 The Walker Fitz and the Tantrums
434		 6 #3 –
21 Yellow Flicker Beat Lorde
429		 8 #15 –
22 Beggin For Thread Banks
412		 8 #7 –
23 Gotta Get Away The Black Keys
402		 7 #17 –
24 Blue Moon Beck
398		 7 #6 –
25 Flaws Bastille
377		 6 #16 –
26 Do I Wanna Know Arctic Monkeys
367		 4 #1 2
27 Coming Of Age Foster The People
365		 8 #27 –
28 All The Rage Back Home Interpol
354		 6 #13 –
29 Do You Spoon
349		 6 #23 –
30 Gooey Glass Animals
348		 5 #2 –
31 Cecilia and the Satellite Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness
348		 7 #9 –
32 Happy Idiot TV on the Radio
338		 6 #13 –
33 West Coast Lana Del Rey
331		 5 #7 –
34 R U Mine? Arctic Monkeys
327		 5 #3 –
35 Weekend Priory
322		 6 #15 –
36 Budapest George Ezra
315		 6 #3 –
37 It's About Time Young the Giant
308		 5 #10 –
38 Centuries Fall Out Boy
304		 6 #10 –
39 Mind Over Matter Young the Giant
299		 4 #18 –
40 Take It Or Leave It Cage The Elephant
297		 5 #1 1
41 Sleeping With A Friend Neon Trees
288		 8 #17 –
42 Reverse Somekindawonderful
286		 4 #11 –
43 Best Friend Foster The People
286		 5 #17 –
44 Mother & Father Broods
284		 5 #19 –
45 Seasons (Waiting On You) Future Islands
282		 5 #18 –
46 Magic Coldplay
275		 6 #30 –
47 Rollercoaster Bleachers
273		 5 #15 –
48 Red Eyes The War On Drugs
267		 4 #11 –
49 Wait For Me Kings of Leon
243		 7 #30 –
50 Trainwreck 1979 Death From Above 1979
237		 7 #26 –
51 Every Other Freckle Alt J
236		 4 #11 –
52 Cannibal Silversun Pickups
234		 6 #34 –
53 Come A Little Closer Cage The Elephant
233		 3 #4 –
54 Take It As It Comes J. Roddy Walston and the Business
231		 4 #5 –
55 Bad Habit The Kooks
213		 4 #9 –
56 Unbelievers Vampire Weekend
213		 3 #7 –
57 Team Lorde
211		 4 #13 –
58 I Don't Want to Be Here Anymore Rise Against
208		 4 #18 –
59 Rude Magic!
207		 4 #1 1
60 Waves Sleeper Agent
205		 4 #8 –
61 Would You Fight For My Love? Jack White
203		 4 #10 –
62 Shark Attack Grouplove
202		 3 #12 –
63 I'm Only Joking Kongos
201		 5 #21 –
64 Shut Up & Dance Walk the Moon
200		 5 #4 –
65 Desire Meg Myers
199		 5 #14 –
66 Heavy Bells J. Roddy Walston and the Business
198		 3 #18 –
67 Top Notch Manchester Orchestra
196		 3 #21 –
68 I Bet My Life Imagine Dragons
194		 5 #23 –
69 Figure It Out Royal Blood
193		 4 #9 –
70 Agora Bear Hands
187		 3 #9 –
71 All This Could Be Yours Cold War Kids
183		 3 #15 –
72 Dirty Paws Of Monsters And Men
182		 3 #27 –
73 Thunder Clatter Wild Cub
182		 5 #2 –
74 Elevate St. Lucia
179		 3 #15 –
75 Light Will Keep Your Heart Beating In The Future Mike Doughty
178		 2 #5 –
76 Deadbolt Skaters
169		 3 #12 –
77 Gold Chet Faker
163		 3 #7 –
78 Afterlife The Arcade Fire
163		 4 #20 –
79 After The Disco Broken Bells
162		 3 #33 –
80 Hunger Of The Pine Alt J
157		 3 #26 –
81 Smooth Sailing Queens of the Stone Age
155		 4 #44 –
82 Tongues Joywave
152		 3 #34 –
83 One Minute More Capital Cities
146		 3 #25 –
84 The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone) U2
145		 3 #21 –
85 Until It's Gone Linkin Park
144		 3 #14 –
86 Step Vampire Weekend
141		 2 #15 –
87 Cardiac Arrest Bad Suns
140		 4 #17 –
88 This Is Gospel Panic! at the Disco
137		 3 #16 –
89 Out On The Street Spanish Gold
135		 2 #17 –
90 Afraid Neighbourhood
133		 2 #22 –
91 Words as Weapons Seether
132		 3 #25 –
92 The Writing's On The Wall OK Go
132		 2 #22 –
93 Car Radio Twenty One Pilots
129		 2 #8 –
94 Spinners Hold Steady
124		 3 #50 –
95 I sat by the Ocean Queens of the Stone Age
123		 2 #20 –
96 Take Out the Gunman Chevelle
121		 2 #13 –
97 On Top of the World Imagine Dragons
120		 2 #25 –
98 Glory And Gore Lorde
117		 4 #60 –
99 Bridges Broods
117		 3 #51 –
100 Cool Kid The Eeries
117		 5 #34 –

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
The Buzz City of Sin Linus Young The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2014
102.7 WEQX Take Me to Church Hozier WEQX Top 102.7 of 2014
88.3 The Sting Thunder Clatter Wild Cub 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2014
94.3 WCYY Cigarette Daydreams Cage The Elephant WCYY Top 50 CYY Songs of 2014
96.5 The Buzz Lazaretto Jack White 96.5 The Buzz Top 96 Songs of 2014
ALT 104.5 Reflections Misterwives Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2014
Studio Brussel Strange Entity Oscar and the Wolf Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2014
WBER Beware The Dog The Griswolds WBER Listener Countdown 2014
X96 Dangerous Big Data feat. Joywave X96 Top 50 Songs of 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 twelve 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.