RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2019

Eight radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2019: 91X, CD101, 102.7 WEQX, 88.3 The Sting, ALT 104.5, WBER, X96 and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2019 is “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish, which appeared on seven of the eight countdowns and was voted number one by two of them. Eight different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Low/Hi” by The Black Keys, “Still Feel” by Half Alive, “Mariners Apartment Complex” by Lana Del Rey, “Maybe I'm Afraid” by Lovelytheband and “Bad Guy” by The Interrupters and others. Billie Eilish was the year’s most-charted artist, with seven different songs placing 25 times across the countdowns.

8countdowns
394songs charted
8different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2019

All 394 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2019 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Bad Guy Billie Eilish
622		 7 #1 2
2 Longshot Catfish and the Bottlemen
502		 7 #6 –
3 Ready to Let Go Cage The Elephant
492		 6 #2 –
4 Gloria Lumineers
480		 6 #5 –
5 Harmony Hall Vampire Weekend
433		 6 #1 1
6 Missed Connection The Head and the Heart
431		 6 #10 –
7 Doin' Time Lana Del Rey
410		 6 #4 –
8 Social Cues Cage The Elephant
398		 6 #8 –
9 Trampoline SHAED
390		 5 #2 –
10 Running Up That Hill Meg Myers
385		 6 #9 –
11 Bury A Friend Billie Eilish
368		 6 #23 –
12 The Hype Twenty One Pilots
366		 5 #7 –
13 Cringe Matt Maeson
365		 6 #3 –
14 Father of All.. Green Day
354		 6 #5 –
15 Lo/Hi The Black Keys
342		 6 #20 –
16 3 Nights Dominic Fike
340		 5 #6 –
17 Superposition Young the Giant
324		 4 #4 –
18 Alligator Of Monsters And Men
319		 5 #6 –
19 Fear Inoculum Tool
312		 4 #2 –
20 When Am I Gonna Lose You Local Natives
306		 5 #9 –
21 Still Feel Half Alive
293		 5 #1 1
22 Hurt Oliver Tree
271		 5 #9 –
23 This Life Vampire Weekend
262		 5 #24 –
24 Hey Look Ma, I Made It Panic! at the Disco
262		 3 #2 –
25 Go The Black Keys
254		 5 #12 –
26 100 Bad Days Ajr
243		 3 #1 1
27 Chlorine Twenty One Pilots
241		 4 #4 –
28 Might Be Right White Reaper
234		 4 #3 –
29 My Blood Twenty One Pilots
232		 3 #12 –
30 Dissolve Absofacto
209		 4 #6 –
31 All the Good Girls Go to Hell Billie Eilish
205		 5 #18 –
32 Blame It On My Youth blink-182
197		 4 #31 –
33 Orphans Coldplay
193		 4 #25 –
34 Choke I Don't Know How But They Found Me
190		 3 #2 –
35 Rebel Girl Angels & Airwaves
188		 3 #11 –
36 Home Morgxn
178		 3 #5 –
37 Beloved Mumford & Sons
178		 5 #27 –
38 High Hopes Panic! at the Disco
175		 2 #1 1
39 Gave You Everything The Interrupters
174		 2 #7 –
40 Good Things Fall Apart Illenium
174		 3 #19 –
41 Overexcited Guster
174		 2 #5 –
42 Exits Foals
171		 3 #21 –
43 The End Of The Game Weezer
168		 3 #6 –
44 Change The Revivalists
164		 4 #15 –
45 Dear Winter Ajr
152		 2 #3 –
46 Guiding Light Mumford & Sons
152		 2 #20 –
47 Movement Hozier
149		 2 #21 –
48 Northern Lights Death Cab for Cutie
148		 3 #15 –
49 Love It If We Made It 1975
147		 2 #10 –
50 Doesn't Matter Why Silversun Pickups
145		 3 #11 –
51 Sunday Driver The Raconteurs
142		 2 #5 –
52 2all Catfish and the Bottlemen
139		 4 #28 –
53 Life In The City Lumineers
136		 4 #32 –
54 Joy Bastille
135		 3 #15 –
55 Complainer Cold War Kids
135		 2 #12 –
56 99 Barns Courtney
133		 2 #30 –
57 Pressure Muse
128		 2 #22 –
58 Dance Monkey Tones and I
124		 2 #4 –
59 Fast Talk Houses
124		 3 #14 –
60 Good Twin XL
122		 2 #10 –
61 Saw Lightning Beck
121		 2 #14 –
62 April In Houston Swmrs
119		 2 #39 –
63 Patience Tame Impala
119		 4 #52 –
64 Why Did You Run? JUDAH & THE LION
116		 3 #16 –
65 Uneventful Days Beck
113		 2 #29 –
66 New Comedown Plague Vendor
110		 2 #19 –
67 Everything I Wanted Billie Eilish
110		 3 #16 –
68 Borderline Tame Impala
106		 2 #18 –
69 Funny Business Alice Merton
105		 2 #20 –
70 Low/Hi The Black Keys
100		 1 #1 1
71 Mariners Apartment Complex Lana Del Rey
100		 1 #1 1
72 Rushing Back Flume
99		 1 #2 –
73 Remember When Bad Wolves
99		 1 #2 –
74 Charlie Mallrat
98		 1 #3 –
75 Bad Vibes K. Flay
98		 2 #28 –
76 Once In My Life The Decemberists
98		 1 #3 –
77 Boys In The Better Land Fontaines D.C.
97		 1 #4 –
78 Something For Your M.I.N.D. Superorganism
97		 1 #4 –
79 Almost Hozier
97		 1 #4 –
80 Bulls on Parade (Like a Version) Denzel Curry
96		 1 #5 –
81 Sawed Off Shotgun The Glorious Sons
95		 1 #5 –
82 Drink Too Much G Flip
95		 1 #6 –
83 High Steppin' Avett Brothers
94		 1 #6 –
84 Bad Liar Imagine Dragons
94		 1 #4 –
85 Robbery Lime Cordiale
94		 1 #7 –
86 Sit Next To Me Foster The People
93		 1 #7 –
87 Don't Be A Cyberbully MC Lars
93		 1 #7 –
88 It Might Be Time Tame Impala
93		 2 #43 –
89 Heavy Hearted The Jungle Giants
93		 1 #8 –
90 Choke iDKHOW
92		 1 #8 –
91 Sinking Ship Cake
92		 1 #8 –
92 Better in Blak Thelma Plum
92		 1 #9 –
93 Exit Sign Hilltop Hoods
91		 1 #10 –
94 Rocket Fuel DJ Shadow
91		 1 #9 –
95 Earfquake Tyler, the Creator
91		 2 #23 –
96 Not Big Thief
90		 1 #11 –
97 Circles Post Malone
90		 1 #11 –
98 Bird Brutus
90		 1 #10 –
99 Dear Future Self Fall Out Boy
90		 2 #27 –
100 Worst Nites Foster The People
89		 3 #26 –

Every station’s number one of 2019

StationNumber one songCountdown
91X Low/Hi The Black Keys 91X Top 91 Songs of 2019
CD101 Still Feel Half Alive CD101 Top 50 Songs of 2019
102.7 WEQX Mariners Apartment Complex Lana Del Rey WEQX Top 102.7 of 2019
88.3 The Sting Maybe I'm Afraid Lovelytheband 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2019
ALT 104.5 Bad Guy The Interrupters Radio 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2019
WBER Harmony Hall Vampire Weekend WBER Listener Countdown 2019
X96 I See You Missio X96 Top 50 Songs of 2019
Triple J Bad Guy Billie Eilish Triple J Hottest 100 of 2019

All 2019 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2019 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 2019 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 eight 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.