RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2018

Seven radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2018: 91X, The Buzz, 102.7 WEQX, ALT 104.5, WBER, X96 and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2018 is “Broken” by LovelyTheBand, which appeared on four of the seven countdowns and was voted number one by one of them. Seven different songs were voted number one somewhere: “If You Want It” by Slightly Stoopid, “Every Step That I Take” by Tom Morello feat. Portugal. The Man, “She's Kerosene” by The Interrupters, “Sober Up” by AJR and “You Should See Me In A Crown” by Billie Eilish and others. Imagine Dragons was the year’s most-charted artist, with five different songs placing 11 times across the countdowns.

7countdowns
373songs charted
7different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2018

All 373 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2018 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Broken LovelyTheBand
389		 4 #1 1
2 She's Kerosene The Interrupters
387		 5 #1 1
3 Body Talks The Struts
371		 5 #16 –
4 Gold Rush Death Cab for Cutie
367		 6 #2 –
5 Say Amen (Saturday Night) Panic! at the Disco
358		 4 #5 –
6 Whatever It Takes Imagine Dragons
357		 4 #1 1
7 You Should See Me In A Crown Billie Eilish
356		 6 #1 1
8 Natural Imagine Dragons
343		 4 #8 –
9 High Hopes Panic! at the Disco
339		 4 #2 –
10 Guiding Light Mumford & Sons
333		 5 #21 –
11 Jumpsuit Twenty One Pilots
333		 4 #2 –
12 Saturday Sun Vance Joy
331		 6 #20 –
13 You're Somebody Else Flora Cash
331		 5 #4 –
14 Africa Weezer
330		 4 #4 –
15 You Worry Me Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
317		 4 #2 –
16 Hunger Florence And The Machine
316		 5 #3 –
17 My Blood Twenty One Pilots
313		 4 #8 –
18 Colors Beck
311		 5 #5 –
19 Sit Next To Me Foster The People
291		 3 #2 –
20 Quarter Past Midnight Bastille
281		 5 #11 –
21 Handyman AWOLNATION
270		 4 #9 –
22 Thought Contagion Muse
263		 4 #5 –
23 Run For Cover The Killers
244		 4 #3 –
24 I Feel Like I'm Drowning Two Feet
232		 4 #11 –
25 Live in the Moment Portugal. The Man
231		 3 #6 –
26 & Run Sir Sly
219		 4 #9 –
27 Kamikaze Walk the Moon
213		 4 #12 –
28 All My Friends The Revivalists
204		 4 #34 –
29 House On Fire Rise Against
191		 3 #7 –
30 Miracle CHVRCHES
184		 5 #29 –
31 Burn The House Down Ajr
184		 3 #9 –
32 Sober Up Ajr
178		 3 #1 1
33 Happier Bastille
177		 3 #6 –
34 Dangerous Night 30 Seconds to Mars
170		 2 #7 –
35 These Are My Friends LovelyTheBand
167		 3 #20 –
36 Far Away Truths Albert Hammond, Jr.
166		 3 #18 –
37 Four Out Of Five Arctic Monkeys
164		 4 #10 –
38 Two High Moon Taxi
162		 4 #26 –
39 Get Out CHVRCHES
156		 3 #9 –
40 Severed The Decemberists
155		 2 #4 –
41 One Foot Walk the Moon
154		 2 #11 –
42 Doubt Joywave
152		 4 #14 –
43 I Hope You're Happy Blue October
151		 3 #23 –
44 Everybody Wants To Be Famous Superorganism
148		 2 #25 –
45 The Sky Is A Neighborhood Foo Fighters
143		 2 #15 –
46 Lash Out Alice Merton
143		 3 #23 –
47 Turn Wombats
142		 3 #12 –
48 Something Human Muse
140		 3 #35 –
49 No Roots Alice Merton
140		 2 #15 –
50 Tidal Wave Portugal. The Man
139		 2 #10 –
51 I Only Lie When I Love You Royal Blood
133		 2 #17 –
52 The Moth Manchester Orchestra
130		 2 #5 –
53 Fever Pitch Rainbow Kitten Surprise
130		 3 #6 –
54 White Flag Bishop Briggs
130		 3 #24 –
55 Dark Saturday Metric
129		 2 #27 –
56 The Gold Manchester Orchestra
127		 2 #35 –
57 Peach Broods
127		 2 #19 –
58 Pressure Muse
123		 3 #33 –
59 Crossing A Line Mike Shinoda
120		 3 #25 –
60 1950 King Princess
119		 3 #34 –
61 Up All Night Beck
116		 2 #14 –
62 Can't Deny Me Pearl Jam
114		 3 #51 –
63 Connected By Love Jack White
111		 3 #53 –
64 Simplify Young the Giant
105		 3 #38 –
65 Hard Times Guster
101		 2 #14 –
66 If You Want It Slightly Stoopid
100		 1 #1 1
67 Confidence Ocean Alley
100		 1 #1 1
68 Losing It Fisher
99		 1 #2 –
69 Jeannie Becomes a Mom Caroline Rose
98		 1 #3 –
70 Sicko Mode Travis Scott
98		 1 #3 –
71 Highway Tune Greta Van Fleet
98		 1 #3 –
72 When The Curtain Falls Greta Van Fleet
98		 2 #39 –
73 This is America Childish Gambino
97		 1 #4 –
74 I Said Hi Amy Shark
96		 1 #5 –
75 Superposition Young the Giant
95		 2 #37 –
76 Be Alright Dean Lewis
95		 1 #6 –
77 The Night We Met Lord Huron
95		 1 #6 –
78 Can We Hang On? Cold War Kids
94		 2 #21 –
79 Almost Had to Start a Fight/In and Out of Patience Parquet Courts
94		 1 #7 –
80 Groceries Mallrat
94		 1 #7 –
81 Gardenia Iggy Pop
94		 1 #6 –
82 Lemonade Rubblebucket
93		 1 #8 –
83 when the party's over Billie Eilish
93		 1 #8 –
84 Day I Die The National
93		 1 #7 –
85 Dinosaurs Ruby Fields
92		 1 #9 –
86 No More (This Is The Last Time) Depeche Mode
92		 1 #8 –
87 Knees Ocean Alley
91		 1 #10 –
88 Mr. Tillman Father John Misty
90		 1 #11 –
89 We Fight Dashboard Confessional
90		 3 #49 –
90 Up in the Clouds Skegss
90		 1 #11 –
91 Mistake Middle Kids
89		 2 #50 –
92 You Know Me Better J. Roddy Walston and the Business
89		 1 #12 –
93 Nina Cried Power Hozier
89		 2 #29 –
94 Oh Baby LCD Soundsystem
89		 1 #10 –
95 Come Through The Regrettes
89		 2 #18 –
96 Can't You See FIDLAR
89		 2 #17 –
97 Favorite Color Is Blue Robert Delong
88		 1 #13 –
98 Praise the Lord (Da Shine) A$AP Rocky
88		 1 #13 –
99 Lead, SD Manchester Orchestra
88		 1 #11 –
100 Zombie Bad Wolves
88		 1 #13 –

Every station’s number one of 2018

StationNumber one songCountdown
91X If You Want It Slightly Stoopid 91X Top 91 Songs of 2018
The Buzz Every Step That I Take Tom Morello feat. Portugal. The Man The Buzz Top 99 Songs of 2018
102.7 WEQX She's Kerosene The Interrupters WEQX Top 102.7 of 2018
ALT 104.5 Sober Up AJR Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2018
WBER You Should See Me In A Crown Billie Eilish WBER Listener Countdown 2018
X96 Whatever It Takes Imagine Dragons X96 Top 50 Songs of 2018
Triple J Confidence Ocean Alley Triple J Hottest 100 of 2018

All 2018 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2018 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 2018 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 seven 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.