RockLists.com

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

The best alternative rock songs of 2022

Ten radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 2022: 91X, CFNY 102.1 The Edge, 102.7 WEQX, 88.3 The Sting, ALT 104.5, Impact 89FM, Studio Brussel, WBER, X96 and Triple J. Combining every list, the top alternative rock song of 2022 is “Black Summer” by Red Hot Chili Peppers, which appeared on seven of the ten countdowns and was voted number one by one of them. Ten different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Edging” by Blink 182, “All Comes Crashing” by Metric, “Raised by Wolves” by The Interrupters, “Boyfriend” by Dove Cameron and “Black Summer” by Red Hot Chili Peppers and others. Muse was the year’s most-charted artist, with three different songs placing 11 times across the countdowns.

10countdowns
595songs charted
10different #1s

Top 100 songs of 2022

All 595 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 2022 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

# Song Strength Lists Best #1s
1 Black Summer Red Hot Chili Peppers
524		 7 #1 1
2 Wild Child The Black Keys
495		 7 #3 –
3 Edging blink-182
483		 6 #1 1
4 Here To Forever Death Cab for Cutie
452		 6 #5 –
5 Won't Stand Down Muse
422		 6 #5 –
6 My Love Florence And The Machine
421		 6 #7 –
7 This Is Why Paramore
403		 6 #6 –
8 Boy The Killers
399		 6 #5 –
9 Cracker Island Gorillaz
369		 5 #3 –
10 All Comes Crashing Metric
319		 4 #1 1
11 Run Away To Mars Talk
318		 6 #11 –
12 Love Brand New Bob Moses
315		 5 #2 –
13 What, Me Worry? Portugal. The Man
306		 5 #9 –
14 A Little Bit Of Love Weezer
291		 5 #2 –
15 Wild Spoon
289		 4 #6 –
16 Compliance Muse
288		 4 #12 –
17 Clarity Vance Joy
286		 4 #14 –
18 Supermodel Maneskin
261		 5 #1 1
19 Viva Las Vengeance Panic! at the Disco
258		 4 #5 –
20 Unconditional 1 (Lookout Kid) The Arcade Fire
253		 3 #9 –
21 Running Up That Hill Kate Bush
247		 3 #2 –
22 Wet Dream Wet Leg
246		 3 #2 –
23 Don't Let The Light Go Out Panic! at the Disco
239		 4 #18 –
24 I'm In Love With You 1975
239		 5 #14 –
25 The Outside Twenty One Pilots
229		 3 #10 –
26 The Lightning I + II The Arcade Fire
220		 3 #9 –
27 In The Mirror The Interrupters
217		 4 #19 –
28 Sex, Drugs, Etc. Beach Weather
212		 3 #12 –
29 Seventeen Going Under Sam Fender
201		 3 #9 –
30 Free Florence And The Machine
201		 4 #3 –
31 I'm On Your Side Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats
198		 3 #12 –
32 Spitting Off the Edge of the World Yeah Yeah Yeahs
191		 2 #1 1
33 Mystery Turnstile
179		 2 #7 –
34 As It Was Harry Styles
177		 3 #6 –
35 Chaise Longue Wet Leg
177		 3 #11 –
36 Enemy Imagine Dragons
176		 2 #1 1
37 Simulation Swarm Big Thief
176		 2 #2 –
38 Tonight Phoenix
169		 3 #12 –
39 Where We Are Lumineers
166		 3 #23 –
40 Burning Yeah Yeah Yeahs
165		 2 #13 –
41 Holiday Turnstile
165		 2 #2 –
42 Pages White Reaper
161		 2 #9 –
43 Records Weezer
161		 3 #12 –
44 Jackie Down The Line Fontaines D.C.
161		 2 #15 –
45 Sleepwalking All Time Low
159		 3 #19 –
46 About Damn Time Lizzo
158		 2 #7 –
47 Talk Beabadoobee
156		 2 #14 –
48 My Universe Coldplay X BTS
153		 2 #11 –
49 New Gold Gorillaz
148		 2 #13 –
50 On My Knees Rüfüs Du Sol
147		 3 #16 –
51 Alpha Zulu Phoenix
144		 3 #24 –
52 Love Dies Young Foo Fighters
139		 2 #14 –
53 Expert in a Dying Field The Beths
138		 2 #4 –
54 I Won't Ajr
136		 2 #13 –
55 What's The Trick Jack White
135		 3 #23 –
56 Life's Been Good Dirty Heads
132		 2 #10 –
57 Crawl Idles
132		 2 #7 –
58 Brightside Lumineers
130		 2 #15 –
59 Raised By Wolves The Interrupters
130		 2 #1 1
60 Foundations Of Decay My Chemical Romance
129		 2 #7 –
61 Bones Imagine Dragons
119		 2 #11 –
62 Everything's Electric Liam Gallagher
118		 4 #13 –
63 The Hardest Cut Spoon
117		 2 #20 –
64 TV Billie Eilish
117		 2 #32 –
65 Giants Walk the Moon
116		 2 #25 –
66 stabilise Nilufer Yanya
114		 2 #27 –
67 In The Wake Of Your Leave Gang of Youths
114		 2 #9 –
68 Toxic Boywithuke
113		 2 #15 –
69 Say Nothing Flume
113		 2 #1 1
70 Ghost Stabbing Westward
106		 2 #32 –
71 Tek It Cafune
105		 3 #25 –
72 Something Loud Jimmy Eat World
105		 2 #25 –
73 Shut Off The Lights Bastille
105		 2 #18 –
74 I Don't Live Here Anymore The War On Drugs
105		 2 #33 –
75 Beautiful James Placebo
102		 2 #2 –
76 Runner Alex G
101		 2 #4 –
77 Gone The Haunted Youth
100		 1 #1 1
78 Good Will Hunting Black Country, New Road
100		 1 #1 1
79 There'd Better Be A Mirrorball Arctic Monkeys
99		 2 #28 –
80 Roman Holiday Fontaines D.C.
99		 3 #56 –
81 Zeit Rammstein
99		 1 #2 –
82 B.O.T.A. (Baddest of Them All) Eliza Rose and Interplanetary Criminal
99		 1 #2 –
83 Barely On My Mind The Regrettes
98		 2 #26 –
84 L'Enfer Stromae
98		 1 #3 –
85 Beggin' Maneskin
98		 1 #2 –
86 Hardlight Spacey Jane
98		 1 #3 –
87 Taking Me Back Jack White
98		 1 #3 –
88 Driponomics Soul Glo
98		 1 #3 –
89 All Cool All Fine High Hi
97		 1 #4 –
90 Bad Habit Steve Lacy
97		 1 #4 –
91 Leave Me Dry Ila
96		 1 #5 –
92 New Body Rhumba LCD Soundsystem
96		 1 #5 –
93 Enemy From League Of Legends Imagine Dragons
96		 1 #3 –
94 It's Been a Long Day Spacey Jane
96		 1 #5 –
95 Want Want Maggie Rogers
96		 2 #19 –
96 Pomeranian Spinster Alvvays
96		 1 #5 –
97 Life's Coming in Slow Nothing But Thieves
95		 1 #6 –
98 Try Better Next Time Placebo
95		 1 #6 –
99 Valentine Snail Mail
95		 2 #38 –
100 Hi-De-Ho Jack White
95		 1 #6 –

Every station’s number one of 2022

StationNumber one songCountdown
91X Edging Blink 182 91X Top 91 Songs of 2022
CFNY 102.1 The Edge All Comes Crashing Metric 102.1 The Edge The Top 22 of 2022
102.7 WEQX Raised by Wolves The Interrupters WEQX Top 102.7 of 2022
88.3 The Sting Boyfriend Dove Cameron 88.3 The Sting WBWC Top 88 Songs of 2022
ALT 104.5 Black Summer Red Hot Chili Peppers ALT 104.5 Top 50.5 Songs of 2022
Impact 89FM Good Will Hunting Black Country, New Road Impact 89FM Top 89 Songs of 2022
Studio Brussel Gone The Haunted Youth Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 2022
WBER Spitting Off The Edge of the World Yeah Yeah Yeahs WBER Listener Countdown 2022
X96 Enemy Imagine Dragons X96 Top 50 Songs of 2022
Triple J Say Nothing Flume featuring May-a Triple J Hottest 100 of 2022

All 2022 countdowns in this ranking

About the 2022 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 2022 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 ten 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.