Decade consensus · Alternative & Modern Rock · 14 year-end countdowns

The best alternative rock songs of the 2020s

This ranking of the 2020s combines 14 year-end countdowns from 2020 through 2029. The top song of the '20s is “Lost In Yesterday” by Tame Impala, which charted on 3 countdowns. The decade’s most-charted artists are Spacey Jane, Billie Eilish, Tame Impala, G Flip and Lime Cordiale.

1,020songs charted

14year-end countdowns

0decade countdowns

Top 100 songs of the '20s

Top 1000 →

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s	Year
1	Lost In Yesterday Tame Impala	280	3	#5	–	2020
2	Is It True Tame Impala	253	3	#10	–	2020
3	Missing Piece Vance Joy	253	3	#2	–	2021
4	Chaise Longue Wet Leg	240	3	#6	–	2021
5	Edging blink-182	206	3	#1	1	2022
6	Level Of Concern Twenty One Pilots	193	2	#1	1	2020
7	Wet Dream Wet Leg	192	2	#2	–	2022
8	Hallucinogenics Matt Maeson	190	2	#3	–	2020
9	Love Brand New Bob Moses	188	2	#2	–	2022
10	Running Up That Hill Meg Myers	187	2	#5	–	2020
11	Black Summer Red Hot Chili Peppers	187	3	#9	–	2022
12	Bad Decisions The Strokes	183	2	#2	–	2020
13	Black Madonna Cage The Elephant	182	2	#6	–	2020
14	Won't Stand Down Muse	180	2	#5	–	2022
15	Waiting On A War Foo Fighters	179	2	#3	–	2021
16	Taking Me Back Jack White	178	2	#3	–	2022
17	Heat Waves Glass Animals	177	3	#1	1	2020
18	Shame Shame Foo Fighters	177	2	#7	–	2021
19	Seventeen Going Under Sam Fender	176	2	#9	–	2022
20	The Angel of 8th Ave. Gang of Youths	174	2	#6	–	2021
21	Everything I Wanted Billie Eilish	174	2	#2	–	2020
22	We Are Between Modest Mouse	173	2	#4	–	2021
23	I Don't Live Here Anymore The War On Drugs	167	3	#33	–	2021
24	Can I Call You Tonight? Dayglow	167	3	#28	–	2020
25	Caution The Killers	165	2	#13	–	2020
26	All Comes Crashing Metric	165	2	#1	1	2022
27	Honeybee The Head and the Heart	164	2	#17	–	2020
28	Might Be Right White Reaper	162	2	#18	–	2019
29	Hero Weezer	160	2	#17	–	2020
30	Fire For You Cannons	159	2	#14	–	2020
31	About Damn Time Lizzo	158	2	#7	–	2022
32	What You Say Cold War Kids	158	2	#6	–	2021
33	Your Love (Déjà Vu) Glass Animals	154	3	#44	–	2020
34	Skin And Bones Cage The Elephant	152	2	#21	–	2021
35	Boy The Killers	149	3	#17	–	2022
36	New Gold Gorillaz	148	2	#13	–	2022
37	My Own Soul's Warning The Killers	147	2	#8	–	2020
38	Cracker Island Gorillaz	147	2	#4	–	2022
39	Wild Child The Black Keys	146	2	#10	–	2022
40	When Am I Gonna Lose You Local Natives	145	2	#4	–	2019
41	Brightside Lumineers	145	3	#15	–	2021
42	Hell N Back Bakar	145	2	#14	–	2020
43	Freaks Surf Curse	143	2	#8	–	2021
44	Oh Yeah! Green Day	141	2	#21	–	2020
45	Deleter Grouplove	141	2	#25	–	2020
46	Trouble's Coming Royal Blood	141	2	#24	–	2021
47	Shine A Little Light The Black Keys	140	2	#23	–	2020
48	Novocaine Unlikely Candidates	140	2	#6	–	2020
49	Shy Away Twenty One Pilots	137	2	#2	–	2021
50	Are You Bored Yet? WALLOWS	136	2	#27	–	2020
51	My Love Florence + The Machine	135	2	#7	–	2022
52	Social Cues Cage The Elephant	135	2	#24	–	2019
53	How Will I Rest In Peace If I'm Buried By A Highway? Kenny Hoopla	133	2	#27	–	2020
54	The Adults Are Talking The Strokes	132	2	#1	1	2020
55	All My Favorite Songs Weezer	130	2	#10	–	2021
56	I'm In Love With You 1975	129	2	#14	–	2022
57	This Is Why Paramore	123	2	#31	–	2022
58	Solar Power Lorde	121	2	#26	–	2021
59	The Bandit Kings of Leon	120	2	#9	–	2021
60	TV Billie Eilish	117	2	#32	–	2022
61	Run Away To Mars Talk	115	2	#15	–	2022
62	In The Wake Of Your Leave Gang of Youths	114	2	#9	–	2022
63	Survivor Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats	114	2	#8	–	2021
64	Cringe Matt Maeson	110	2	#40	–	2019
65	I Don't Wanna Talk (I Just Wanna Dance) Glass Animals	109	2	#23	–	2021
66	Typhoons Royal Blood	108	2	#12	–	2021
67	Everything's Electric Liam Gallagher	107	3	#13	–	2022
68	Life In The City Lumineers	106	2	#29	–	2020
69	Loneliness For Love LovelyTheBand	105	2	#36	–	2020
70	Doin' Time Lana Del Rey	103	2	#26	–	2019
71	Chapstick Coin	101	2	#3	–	2022
72	Buzz Cut LovelyTheBand	100	2	#42	–	2020
73	It Might Be Time Tame Impala	100	1	#1	1	2020
74	Blow Up The Beaches	100	1	#1	1	2021
75	Blame Brett The Beaches	100	1	#1	1	2023
76	Good Luck Babe! Chappell Roan	100	1	#1	1	2024
77	Gone The Haunted Youth	100	1	#1	1	2022
78	Elephant (Like a Version) The Wiggles	100	1	#1	1	2021
79	Say Nothing Flume	100	1	#1	1	2022
80	Paint the Town Red Doja Cat	100	1	#1	1	2023
81	Man I Need Olivia Dean	100	1	#1	1	2025
82	There'd Better Be A Mirrorball Arctic Monkeys	99	2	#28	–	2022
83	Zeit Rammstein	99	1	#2	–	2022
84	Booster Seat Spacey Jane	99	1	#2	–	2020
85	Stay The Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber	99	1	#2	–	2021
86	B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All) Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal	99	1	#2	–	2022
87	The Worst Person Alive G Flip	99	1	#2	–	2023
88	Murder on the Dancefloor (Like a Version) Royel Otis	99	1	#2	–	2024
89	Dancing2 Keli Holiday	99	1	#2	–	2025
90	Therefore I Am Billie Eilish	99	2	#10	–	2020
91	Orphans Coldplay	99	2	#38	–	2020
92	L'Enfer Stromae	98	1	#3	–	2022
93	Dracula Tame Impala	98	1	#3	–	2025
94	BIRDS OF A FEATHER Billie Eilish	98	1	#3	–	2024
95	The Difference Flume and Toro y Moi	98	1	#3	–	2020
96	Lots of Nothing Spacey Jane	98	1	#3	–	2021
97	Hardlight Spacey Jane	98	1	#3	–	2022
98	Saving Up Dom Dolla	98	1	#3	–	2023
99	Dissolve Absofacto	98	1	#3	–	2020
100	Fire For You Canons	98	1	#3	–	2021

About this ranking

The 2020s ranking adds together two kinds of evidence: the year-end countdowns from each year of the decade, and the retrospective “songs of the decade” countdowns that stations aired afterwards. Year-end lists capture what listeners loved at the time; decade countdowns capture what lasted. Every appearance earns percentile-based points, and the totals are ranked. See the methodology for details.