RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2018

Two radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2018: 91X and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2018 is “You Should See Me In A Crown” by Billie Eilish, which appeared on two of the two countdowns. Two different songs were voted number one somewhere: “If You Want It” by Slightly Stoopid and “Confidence” by Ocean Alley. Ocean Alley was the year’s most-charted artist, with four different songs placing 4 times across the countdowns.

2countdowns
185songs charted
2different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2018

All 185 songs →

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

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 You Should See Me In A Crown Billie Eilish
128		 2 #26 –
2 Saturday Sun Vance Joy
116		 2 #29 –
3 If You Want It Slightly Stoopid
100		 1 #1 1
4 Confidence Ocean Alley
100		 1 #1 1
5 Losing It Fisher
99		 1 #2 –
6 Sit Next To Me Foster The People
99		 1 #2 –
7 Sicko Mode Travis Scott
98		 1 #3 –
8 Run For Cover The Killers
98		 1 #3 –
9 This is America Childish Gambino
97		 1 #4 –
10 Broken LovelyTheBand
97		 1 #4 –
11 Four Out Of Five Arctic Monkeys
96		 2 #10 –
12 I Said Hi Amy Shark
96		 1 #5 –
13 She's Kerosene The Interrupters
96		 1 #5 –
14 Be Alright Dean Lewis
95		 1 #6 –
15 The Night We Met Lord Huron
95		 1 #6 –
16 Groceries Mallrat
94		 1 #7 –
17 Hunger Florence And The Machine
94		 2 #24 –
18 House On Fire Rise Against
93		 1 #7 –
19 when the party's over Billie Eilish
93		 1 #8 –
20 Live In The Moment The Man
92		 1 #8 –
21 Dinosaurs Ruby Fields
92		 1 #9 –
22 Natural Imagine Dragons
91		 1 #9 –
23 Knees Ocean Alley
91		 1 #10 –
24 Up in the Clouds Skegss
90		 1 #11 –
25 Jumpsuit Twenty One Pilots
89		 1 #11 –
26 Turn Wombats
89		 1 #12 –
27 Praise the Lord (Da Shine) A$AP Rocky
88		 1 #13 –
28 High Hopes Panic! at the Disco
88		 1 #12 –
29 I'm Good Wafia
87		 1 #14 –
30 Thought Contagion Muse
87		 1 #13 –
31 1950 King Princess
87		 2 #34 –
32 Just Friends Hayden James
86		 1 #15 –
33 My Blood Twenty One Pilots
86		 1 #14 –
34 Baby Come Back (Like a Version) Ocean Alley
85		 1 #16 –
35 The Sky Is A Neighborhood Foo Fighters
85		 1 #15 –
36 Lovely Billie Eilish & Khalid
84		 1 #17 –
37 Gold Rush Death Cab for Cutie
84		 1 #16 –
38 Join the Club Hockey Dad
83		 1 #18 –
39 Say Amen (Saturday Night) Panic! at the Disco
82		 1 #17 –
40 Peach Broods
82		 1 #19 –
41 Happier Bastille
81		 1 #18 –
42 Miracle CHVRCHES
81		 2 #40 –
43 Waiting Kian
81		 1 #20 –
44 Body Talks The Struts
80		 1 #19 –
45 Never Ever The Rubens
80		 1 #21 –
46 Creature Comfort The Arcade Fire
79		 1 #20 –
47 Underwater Rüfüs Du Sol
79		 1 #22 –
48 Colors Beck
78		 1 #21 –
49 Treat You Better Rüfüs Du Sol
78		 1 #23 –
50 Leave Me Lonely Hilltop Hoods
77		 1 #24 –
51 I Feel Like I'm Drowning Two Feet
77		 1 #22 –
52 I Miss You Thundamentals
76		 1 #25 –
53 You Worry Me Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
76		 1 #23 –
54 All the Pretty Girls Vera Blue
75		 1 #26 –
55 Sunflower Post Malone & Swae Lee
74		 1 #27 –
56 Guiding Light Mumford & Sons
74		 1 #25 –
57 All The Stars Kendrick Lamar & SZA
73		 1 #28 –
58 Fire Peking Duk
72		 1 #29 –
59 Whatever It Takes Imagine Dragons
71		 1 #27 –
60 Sometimes Cub Sport
71		 1 #30 –
61 You're Somebody Else Flora Cash
70		 1 #28 –
62 Church Alison Wonderland
70		 1 #31 –
63 God Forgot The Rubens
69		 1 #32 –
64 Africa Weezer
68		 1 #30 –
65 Better Now Post Malone
68		 1 #33 –
66 No Roots Alice Merton
67		 1 #31 –
67 Ladders Mac Miller
66		 1 #35 –
68 & Run Sir Sly
66		 1 #32 –
69 All Loved Up Amy Shark
65		 1 #36 –
70 Quarter Past Midnight Bastille
65		 1 #33 –
71 Love Me Now Ziggy Alberts
64		 1 #37 –
72 Doubt Joywave
64		 1 #34 –
73 About You G Flip
63		 1 #38 –
74 Something Human Muse
63		 1 #35 –
75 The Perfect Life Does Not Exist Ball Park Music
62		 1 #39 –
76 The Gold Manchester Orchestra
62		 1 #36 –
77 Nice for What Drake
61		 1 #40 –
78 All My Friends The Revivalists
60		 1 #37 –
79 In the Air DMA's
60		 1 #41 –
80 Love It If We Made It 1975
59		 1 #38 –
81 Laps Around the Sun Ziggy Alberts
59		 1 #42 –
82 When The Curtain Falls Greta Van Fleet
58		 1 #39 –
83 God's Plan Drake
58		 1 #43 –
84 Clark Griswold Hilltop Hoods
57		 1 #44 –
85 Pain The War On Drugs
56		 1 #41 –
86 Mantra Bring Me the Horizon
56		 1 #45 –
87 Northern Lights Death Cab for Cutie
55		 1 #42 –
88 Like People DZ Deathrays
54		 1 #47 –
89 Where's My Love Syml
54		 1 #43 –
90 When I Dream San Cisco
53		 1 #48 –
91 Pressure Muse
53		 1 #44 –
92 Missing Me Angie McMahon
52		 1 #49 –
93 Silver Lining Joy
52		 1 #45 –
94 No Place Rüfüs Du Sol
51		 1 #50 –
95 Give Yourself A Try 1975
51		 1 #46 –
96 Mr La Di Da Di Baker Boy
50		 1 #51 –
97 I Only Lie When I Love You Royal Blood
49		 1 #47 –
98 Better Khalid
49		 1 #52 –
99 World Gone Mad Bastille
48		 1 #48 –
100 We're Going Home Vance Joy
48		 1 #53 –

Every station’s number one of 2018

StationNumber one songCountdown
91X If You Want It Slightly Stoopid 91X Top 91 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 two 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.