RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2017

Three radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2017: 91X, CFNY 102.1 The Edge and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2017 is “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, which appeared on three of the three countdowns and was voted number one by one of them. Three different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Feel It Still” by Portugal. The Man, “Knocking at the Door” by Arkells and “Humble” by Kendrick Lamar. Gang of Youths was the year’s most-charted artist, with four different songs placing 4 times across the countdowns.

3countdowns
190songs charted
3different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2017

All 190 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2017 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Feel It Still Portugal. The Man
270		 3 #1 1
2 The Man The Killers
248		 3 #6 –
3 Lay it On Me Vance Joy
224		 3 #9 –
4 The Way You Used To Do Queens of the Stone Age
184		 3 #4 –
5 Green Light Lorde
151		 2 #6 –
6 The Violence Rise Against
140		 2 #10 –
7 Thunder Imagine Dragons
138		 2 #8 –
8 The Sky Is A Neighborhood Foo Fighters
134		 2 #9 –
9 Angela Lumineers
124		 2 #12 –
10 Knocking At The Door Arkells
120		 2 #1 1
11 Everything Now The Arcade Fire
111		 2 #24 –
12 Up All Night Beck
104		 2 #13 –
13 Walk On Water Thirty Seconds To Mars
102		 2 #14 –
14 HUMBLE. Kendrick Lamar
100		 1 #1 1
15 Let Me Down Easy Gang of Youths
99		 1 #2 –
16 Believer Imagine Dragons
99		 1 #2 –
17 Chateau Angus and Julia Stone
98		 1 #3 –
18 Wish I knew You The Revivalists
98		 1 #3 –
19 Ubu Methyl Ethel
97		 1 #4 –
20 Somebody Else 1975
97		 1 #4 –
21 The Deepest Sighs, the Frankest Shadows Gang of Youths
96		 1 #5 –
22 Kill For Candy DREAMCAR
96		 1 #5 –
23 Cold Cold Cold Cage The Elephant
95		 1 #6 –
24 Go Bang Pnau
94		 1 #7 –
25 Cleopatra Lumineers
93		 1 #7 –
26 Sally Thundamentals
93		 1 #8 –
27 Love Is Mystical Cold War Kids
92		 1 #8 –
28 What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out? Gang of Youths
91		 1 #10 –
29 Everything Is Alright The Glorious Sons
90		 1 #3 –
30 Sweet Brockhampton
90		 1 #11 –
31 Heavy Dirty Soul Twenty One Pilots
89		 1 #11 –
32 Fake Magic Peking Duk & AlunaGeorge
89		 1 #12 –
33 Young Dumb & Broke Khalid
88		 1 #13 –
34 High Enough K. Flay
88		 1 #12 –
35 Homemade Dynamite Lorde
87		 1 #14 –
36 Human Rag'N'Bone Man
87		 1 #13 –
37 Regular Touch Vera Blue
86		 1 #15 –
38 The Night We Met Lord Huron
86		 1 #14 –
39 Feel the Way I Do The Jungle Giants
85		 1 #16 –
40 Marryuna Baker Boy
84		 1 #17 –
41 Wild Horses Bishop Briggs
84		 1 #16 –
42 Exactly How You Are Ball Park Music
83		 1 #18 –
43 High Sir Sly
82		 1 #17 –
44 Still Breathing Green Day
81		 1 #18 –
45 Let You Down Peking Duk
81		 1 #20 –
46 Reverend Kings of Leon
80		 1 #19 –
47 Freeze Me Death from Above
80		 1 #5 –
48 Birthdays The Smith Street Band
80		 1 #21 –
49 Lemon to a Knife Fight Wombats
79		 1 #22 –
50 Dig Down Muse
78		 1 #21 –
51 Not Worth Hiding Alex the Astronaut
78		 1 #23 –
52 Rockstar Post Malone
77		 1 #24 –
53 Weekends Amy Shark
76		 1 #25 –
54 Blood In The Cut K. Flay
76		 1 #23 –
55 Be About You Winston Surfshirt
74		 1 #27 –
56 Mystik Tash Sultana
73		 1 #28 –
57 Mended Vera Blue
72		 1 #29 –
58 J-Boy Phoenix
71		 1 #27 –
59 Low Blows Meg Mac
71		 1 #30 –
60 Lights Out Royal Blood
70		 1 #28 –
61 Money The Beaches
70		 1 #7 –
62 Lay Down Touch Sensitive
70		 1 #31 –
63 Tearing Me Up Bob Moses
69		 1 #29 –
64 Numb Hayden James
69		 1 #32 –
65 Run Foo Fighters
68		 1 #30 –
66 Slow Mover Angie McMahon
68		 1 #33 –
67 DNA. Kendrick Lamar
67		 1 #34 –
68 Passionfruit Drake
66		 1 #35 –
69 Little One Highly Suspect
66		 1 #32 –
70 In Cold Blood Alt J
65		 2 #59 –
71 I Haven't Been Taking Care of Myself Alex Lahey
65		 1 #36 –
72 Down Marian Hill
65		 1 #33 –
73 Slide Calvin Harris
64		 1 #37 –
74 Bellyache Billie Eilish
63		 1 #38 –
75 Feels Like Summer Weezer
63		 1 #35 –
76 Got on My Skateboard Skegss
62		 1 #39 –
77 Middle Fingers Missio
62		 1 #36 –
78 True Lovers Holy Holy
61		 1 #40 –
79 Holding On The War On Drugs
60		 1 #37 –
80 Blood (Like a Version) Gang of Youths
60		 1 #41 –
81 My Name Is Human Highly Suspect
59		 1 #38 –
82 Cola CamelPhat and Elderbrook
59		 1 #42 –
83 Ahead of Myself X Ambassadors
58		 1 #39 –
84 Murder to the Mind Tash Sultana
58		 1 #43 –
85 Blame Bastille
57		 1 #40 –
86 In Motion Allday
57		 1 #44 –
87 Every Day's the Weekend Alex Lahey
56		 1 #45 –
88 Better Mallrat
55		 1 #46 –
89 Revolution Radio Green Day
55		 1 #42 –
90 Want You Back Haim
54		 1 #47 –
91 Don't Take The Money Bleachers
54		 1 #43 –
92 No Roots Alice Merton
54		 2 #16 –
93 The Comedown Ocean Alley
53		 1 #48 –
94 One of Us New Politics
53		 1 #44 –
95 Passiona The Smith Street Band
52		 1 #49 –
96 So Tied Up Cold War Kids
52		 1 #45 –
97 On Your Way Down The Jungle Giants
51		 1 #50 –
98 Name For You The Shins
51		 1 #46 –
99 Man's Not Hot Big Shaq
50		 1 #51 –
100 Hymn For The Weekend Coldplay
49		 1 #47 –

Every station’s number one of 2017

StationNumber one songCountdown
91X Feel It Still Portugal. The Man 91X Top 91 Songs of 2017
CFNY 102.1 The Edge Knocking at the Door Arkells 102.1 The Edge's Top 20 Songs of 2017
Triple J Humble Kendrick Lamar Triple J Hottest 100 of 2017

All 2017 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2017 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 2017 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 three 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.