RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2019

Three radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2019: 91X, CD101 and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2019 is “Longshot” by Catfish and the Bottlemen, which appeared on three of the three countdowns. Three different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Low/Hi” by The Black Keys, “Still Feel” by Half Alive and “Bad Guy” by Billie Eilish. Billie Eilish was the year’s most-charted artist, with six different songs placing 11 times across the countdowns.

3countdowns
205songs charted
3different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2019

All 205 songs →

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

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Longshot Catfish and the Bottlemen
245		 3 #6 –
2 Cringe Matt Maeson
191		 2 #3 –
3 Bad Guy Billie Eilish
189		 2 #1 1
4 Doin' Time Lana Del Rey
189		 3 #4 –
5 Superposition Young the Giant
181		 2 #4 –
6 Hurt Oliver Tree
161		 2 #9 –
7 Ready to Let Go Cage The Elephant
161		 2 #2 –
8 Still Feel Half Alive
157		 2 #1 1
9 3 Nights Dominic Fike
148		 2 #7 –
10 Social Cues Cage The Elephant
144		 2 #14 –
11 Missed Connection The Head and the Heart
140		 2 #18 –
12 Bury A Friend Billie Eilish
137		 2 #27 –
13 Gloria Lumineers
135		 2 #9 –
14 Go The Black Keys
124		 2 #12 –
15 Good Twin XL
122		 2 #10 –
16 Chlorine Twenty One Pilots
107		 2 #25 –
17 Exits Foals
106		 2 #21 –
18 Fast Talk Houses
105		 2 #14 –
19 When Am I Gonna Lose You Local Natives
101		 2 #29 –
20 Low/Hi The Black Keys
100		 1 #1 1
21 Rushing Back Flume
99		 1 #2 –
22 Father of All.. Green Day
98		 2 #17 –
23 Choke I Don't Know How But They Found Me
98		 1 #2 –
24 Charlie Mallrat
98		 1 #3 –
25 Fear Inoculum Tool
98		 1 #3 –
26 Dance Monkey Tones and I
97		 1 #4 –
27 Bulls on Parade (Like a Version) Denzel Curry
96		 1 #5 –
28 Sunday Driver The Raconteurs
96		 1 #5 –
29 Drink Too Much G Flip
95		 1 #6 –
30 Robbery Lime Cordiale
94		 1 #7 –
31 It Might Be Time Tame Impala
93		 2 #43 –
32 Heavy Hearted The Jungle Giants
93		 1 #8 –
33 Change The Revivalists
93		 2 #15 –
34 Choke iDKHOW
92		 1 #8 –
35 Home Morgxn
92		 1 #5 –
36 Better in Blak Thelma Plum
92		 1 #9 –
37 Exit Sign Hilltop Hoods
91		 1 #10 –
38 Love It If We Made It 1975
90		 1 #10 –
39 Circles Post Malone
90		 1 #11 –
40 By Myself FIDLAR
89		 1 #12 –
41 Everything I Wanted Billie Eilish
88		 2 #16 –
42 Inappropriate Behaviour Lime Cordiale
88		 1 #13 –
43 2all Catfish and the Bottlemen
88		 2 #36 –
44 Purple Hat Sofi Tukker
87		 1 #14 –
45 Dissolve Absofacto
86		 1 #8 –
46 Never Seen the Rain Tones and I
86		 1 #15 –
47 Northern Lights Death Cab for Cutie
85		 1 #15 –
48 I Touch Myself (Like a Version) Lime Cordiale
84		 1 #17 –
49 My Blood Twenty One Pilots
84		 1 #16 –
50 Borderline Tame Impala
83		 1 #18 –
51 Glitter Benee
82		 1 #19 –
52 Harmony Hall Vampire Weekend
81		 1 #18 –
53 Silver DMA's
81		 1 #20 –
54 Beloved Mumford & Sons
81		 2 #27 –
55 Gave You Everything The Interrupters
80		 1 #19 –
56 Doesn't Matter Why Silversun Pickups
80		 1 #11 –
57 Pub Feed The Chats
80		 1 #21 –
58 Guiding Light Mumford & Sons
79		 1 #20 –
59 Painkiller Ruel
79		 1 #22 –
60 Running Up That Hill Meg Myers
78		 1 #21 –
61 Trampoline SHAED
78		 1 #12 –
62 Earfquake Tyler, the Creator
78		 1 #23 –
63 Infinity Ocean Alley
77		 1 #24 –
64 Find an Island Benee
76		 1 #25 –
65 Warning Pepper
76		 1 #23 –
66 Johnny Run Away Tones and I
75		 1 #26 –
67 High Hopes Panic! at the Disco
75		 1 #24 –
68 All the Good Girls Go to Hell Billie Eilish
75		 3 #44 –
69 Vossi Bop Stormzy
74		 1 #27 –
70 Juice Lizzo
73		 1 #28 –
71 End of the Game Weezer
73		 1 #26 –
72 Piece of Your Heart Meduza
72		 1 #29 –
73 Friends Flume
71		 1 #30 –
74 Pressure Muse
70		 1 #28 –
75 Bad Guy Billie Elish
70		 1 #16 –
76 Save It for the Weekend Skegss
70		 1 #31 –
77 Might Be Right White Reaper
69		 2 #23 –
78 Money Lime Cordiale
69		 1 #32 –
79 99 Barns Courtney
68		 1 #30 –
80 Running Up That Hill Meg Meyers
68		 1 #17 –
81 San Frandisco Dom Dolla
68		 1 #33 –
82 Blame It On My Youth blink-182
67		 1 #31 –
83 Tokyo Drifting Glass Animals
67		 1 #34 –
84 Hype Twenty One Pilots
66		 1 #32 –
85 Solid Gold Pnau
65		 1 #36 –
86 Rebel Girl Angels & Airwaves
65		 1 #33 –
87 This Life Vampire Weekend
64		 2 #26 –
88 The Hype Twenty One Pilots
64		 1 #19 –
89 Red Light Green Light Duke Dumont
64		 1 #37 –
90 Alligator Of Monsters And Men
64		 1 #34 –
91 Face to Face Ruel
63		 1 #38 –
92 I Really Wish I Hated You blink-182
63		 1 #35 –
93 Graveyard Halsey
61		 1 #40 –
94 Highest in the Room Travis Scott
60		 1 #41 –
95 You Should See Me In A Crown Billie Eilish
59		 1 #38 –
96 Robbery Juice Wrld
59		 1 #42 –
97 It's Not Living (If It's Not With You) 1975
58		 1 #39 –
98 Cool as Hell Baker Boy
57		 1 #44 –
99 April In Houston Swmrs
56		 1 #41 –
100 RICKY Denzel Curry
56		 1 #45 –

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
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 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.