RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2020

Three radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2020: 91X, CD101 and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2020 is “Lost In Yesterday” by Tame Impala, which appeared on three of the three countdowns. Three different songs were voted number one somewhere: “It Might Be Time” by Tame Impala, “Level Of Concern” by TWENTY ONE PILOTS and “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals. Tame Impala was the year’s most-charted artist, with five different songs placing 8 times across the countdowns.

3countdowns
242songs charted
3different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2020

All 242 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2020 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Lost In Yesterday Tame Impala
280		 3 #5 –
2 Level Of Concern Twenty One Pilots
193		 2 #1 1
3 Hallucinogenics Matt Maeson
190		 2 #3 –
4 Running Up That Hill Meg Myers
187		 2 #5 –
5 Bad Decisions The Strokes
183		 2 #2 –
6 Black Madonna Cage The Elephant
182		 2 #6 –
7 Everything I Wanted Billie Eilish
174		 2 #2 –
8 Caution The Killers
165		 2 #13 –
9 Honeybee The Head and the Heart
164		 2 #17 –
10 Is It True Tame Impala
163		 2 #17 –
11 Might Be Right White Reaper
162		 2 #18 –
12 Hero Weezer
160		 2 #17 –
13 Fire For You Cannons
159		 2 #14 –
14 Your Love (Déjà Vu) Glass Animals
154		 3 #44 –
15 My Own Soul's Warning The Killers
147		 2 #8 –
16 When Am I Gonna Lose You Local Natives
145		 2 #4 –
17 Hell N Back Bakar
145		 2 #14 –
18 Oh Yeah! Green Day
141		 2 #21 –
19 Deleter Grouplove
141		 2 #25 –
20 Shine A Little Light The Black Keys
140		 2 #23 –
21 Can I Call You Tonight? Dayglow
140		 2 #28 –
22 Novocaine Unlikely Candidates
140		 2 #6 –
23 Are You Bored Yet? WALLOWS
136		 2 #27 –
24 Social Cues Cage The Elephant
135		 2 #24 –
25 How Will I Rest In Peace If I'm Buried By A Highway? Kenny Hoopla
133		 2 #27 –
26 Cringe Matt Maeson
110		 2 #40 –
27 Life In The City Lumineers
106		 2 #29 –
28 Loneliness For Love LovelyTheBand
105		 2 #36 –
29 Heat Waves Glass Animals
103		 2 #1 1
30 Doin' Time Lana Del Rey
103		 2 #26 –
31 It Might Be Time Tame Impala
100		 1 #1 1
32 Booster Seat Spacey Jane
99		 1 #2 –
33 Therefore I Am Billie Eilish
99		 2 #10 –
34 Orphans Coldplay
99		 2 #38 –
35 The Difference Flume and Toro y Moi
98		 1 #3 –
36 Dissolve Absofacto
98		 1 #3 –
37 Cherub Ball Park Music
97		 1 #4 –
38 Bang! Ajr
97		 1 #4 –
39 Trampoline SHAED
96		 1 #5 –
40 Tangerine Glass Animals
95		 2 #18 –
41 WAP Cardi B
95		 1 #6 –
42 Hyperfine G Flip
94		 1 #7 –
43 Sending Me Ur Loving The Jungle Giants
93		 1 #8 –
44 2all Catfish and the Bottlemen
92		 2 #49 –
45 I'm Good? Hilltop Hoods
92		 1 #9 –
46 Swim Good Switchfoot
91		 1 #9 –
47 Monsters f/blackbear All Time Low
90		 1 #10 –
48 On Our Own Lime Cordiale
90		 1 #11 –
49 Coffee For Your Head POWFU
89		 1 #11 –
50 Someone Else Rezz & Grabbitz
89		 2 #48 –
51 Warning Pepper
89		 1 #11 –
52 Get on the Beers Mashd N Kutcher
89		 1 #12 –
53 The Hype Twenty One Pilots
88		 1 #12 –
54 Rockstar Mallrat
88		 1 #13 –
55 Leave Me Alone I Don't Know How But…
88		 1 #12 –
56 Tombstone Ocean Alley
87		 1 #14 –
57 Skin Spacey Jane
86		 1 #15 –
58 Screw Loose Lime Cordiale
85		 1 #16 –
59 Marbles SNARLS
85		 1 #15 –
60 Dance Of The Clairvoyants Pearl Jam
85		 1 #15 –
61 Shame Shame Foo Fighters
84		 1 #16 –
62 You Should Be Sad Halsey
82		 1 #19 –
63 Addicted to the Sunshine Lime Cordiale
81		 1 #20 –
64 Broken LovelyTheBand
81		 1 #19 –
65 Energy Stace Cadet and KLP
80		 1 #21 –
66 Cradles SUB URBAN
80		 1 #20 –
67 Complicated Eves Karydas
79		 1 #22 –
68 Good News Mac Miller
78		 1 #23 –
69 If You're Too Shy (Let Me Know) 1975
78		 2 #30 –
70 Blue World Mac Miller
77		 1 #24 –
71 Dark Days Local Natives
77		 1 #22 –
72 Used To Like Neon Trees
76		 1 #23 –
73 Reality Check Please Lime Cordiale
76		 1 #25 –
74 No Plans to Make Plans Lime Cordiale
75		 1 #26 –
75 Under the Thunder Skegss
74		 1 #27 –
76 Skin And Bones Cage The Elephant
74		 1 #25 –
77 Straightfaced Spacey Jane
73		 1 #28 –
78 Dribble Sycco
72		 1 #29 –
79 Bagi-la-m Bargan Birdz
71		 1 #30 –
80 Fear Inoculum Tool
70		 1 #28 –
81 Reasons San Cisco
70		 1 #31 –
82 Criminals DMA's
69		 1 #32 –
83 Sit Next To Me Foster The People
69		 1 #30 –
84 Breathe Deeper Tame Impala
68		 1 #33 –
85 The Best AWOLNATION
68		 1 #31 –
86 Everybody Rise Amy Shark
67		 1 #34 –
87 Feel It Still Portugal. The Man
67		 1 #32 –
88 Running Red Lights The Avalanches
66		 1 #35 –
89 Trouble's Coming Royal Blood
66		 1 #32 –
90 Psycho in the Furnace BRAT CURSE
66		 1 #33 –
91 Forget Me Too Machine Gun Kelly
65		 1 #36 –
92 All That's Left Is Love Angels & Airwaves
65		 1 #33 –
93 So Done The Kid Laroi
64		 1 #37 –
94 Parasite Eve Bring Me the Horizon
63		 1 #38 –
95 Patience Tame Impala
63		 1 #35 –
96 Righteous Juice Wrld
62		 1 #39 –
97 Choke I Don't Know How But…
62		 1 #36 –
98 Come & Go Juice Wrld and Marshmello
61		 1 #40 –
99 Monsters All Time Low
60		 1 #37 –
100 I Still Dream About You The Smith Street Band
60		 1 #41 –

Every station’s number one of 2020

StationNumber one songCountdown
91X It Might Be Time Tame Impala 91X Top 91 Songs of 2020
CD101 Level Of Concern TWENTY ONE PILOTS CD101 Top 93 Songs of 2020
Triple J Heat Waves Glass Animals Triple J Hottest 100 of 2020

All 2020 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2020 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 2020 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.