Billboard Alternative Airplay #1's

[CoJoFan]

All the #1's of Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart listed. This chart was formerly known as the Alternative Songs and Modern Rock Tracks chart. So far only 4 artists have had 10 plus #1's. The chart started the week of September 10, 1988.

Most Number #1's

1. Red Hot Chili Peppers - 15

2. Green Day - 13

3. Linkin Park - 12

4. Foo Fighters - 12

5. Cage The Elephant - 11
6. Twenty One Pilots - 10

1988

1. "Peek-a-Boo" - Siouxsie And The Banshees

2. "Just Play Music" - Big Audio Dynamite

3. "All That Money Wants" - The Psychadelic Furs

4. "Desire" - U2

5. "Orange Crush" - R.E.M.

1989

1. "Charlotte Anne" - Julian Cope

2. "Stand" - R.E.M.

3. "Dirty Blvd." - Lou Reed

4. "I'll Be You" - The Replacements

5. "Veronica" - Elvis Costello

6. "Mayor Of Simpleton" - XTC

7. "Fascination Street" - The Cure

8. "So Alive" - Love And Rockets

9. "Disappointed" - Public Image Ltd.

10. "Channel Z" - The B-52's

11. "Come Anytime" - Hoodoo Gurus

12. "Love Shack" - The B-52's

13. "Sowing The Seeds Of Love" - Tears For Fears

14. "Pictures Of Matchstick Men" - Camper Van Beethoven

15. "Proud To Fall" - Ian McCulloch

16. "Love And Anger" - Kate Bush

17. "Blues From A Gun" - The Jesus And Mary Chain

1990

1. "House" - The Psychadelic Furs

2. "Cuts You Up" - Peter Murphy

3. "Nothing Compares 2 U" - Sinead O' Connor

4. "Blue Sky Mine" - Midnight Oil

5. "Metropolis" - The Church

6. "Enjoy The Silence" - Depeche Mode

7. "The Emperor's Clothes" - Sinead O' Connor

8. "Forgotten Years" - Midnight Oil

9. "Here's Where The Story Ends" - The Sundays

10. "Policy Of Truth" - Depeche Mode

11. "Way Down Now" - World Party

12. "Joey" - Concrete Blonde

13. "Jealous" - Gene Loves Jezebel

14. "I'll Be Your Chauffeur" - David J

15. "Stop!" - Jane's Addiction

16. "Suicide Blonde" - INXS

17. "Never Enough" - The Cure

18. "Merry Go Round" - The Replacements

19. "Been Caught Stealing" - Jane's Addiction

20. "More" - The Sisters Of Mercy

1991

1. "Kinky Afro" - Happy Mondays

2. "All This Time" - Sting

3. "Right Here, Right Now" - Jesus Jones

4. "Losing My Religion" - R.E.M.

5. "See The Lights" - Simple Minds

6. "The Other Side Of Summer" - Elvis Costello

7. "Get The Message" - Electronic

8. "Kiss Them For Me" - Siouxsie And The Banshees

9. "Rush" - Big Audio Dynamite II

10. "Until She Comes" - The Psychadelic Furs

11. "So You Think You're In Love" - Robyn Hitchcock And The Egyptians

12. "Give It Away" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

13. "The Fly" - U2

14. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana

15. "Mysterious Ways" - U2

1992

1. "Sax And Violins" - Talking Heads

2. "What's Good" - Lou Reed

3. "Hit" - The Sugarcubes

4. "One" - U2

5. "High" - The Cure

6. "Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)" - Cracker

7. "Weirdo" - The Charlatans

8. "The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead" - XTC

9. "Friday I'm In Love" - The Cure

10. "Good Stuff" - The B-52's

11. "Midlife Crisis" - Faith No More

12. "Tomorrow" - Morrissey

13. "Digging In The Dirt" - Peter Gabriel

14. "Blood Makes Noise" - Suzanne Vega

15. "Drive" - R.E.M.

16. "These Are Days" - 10,000 Maniacs

17. "Somebody To Shove" - Soul Asylum

18. "Steam" - Peter Gabriel

1993

1. "Not Sleeping Around" - Ned's Atomic Dustbin

2. "The Devil You Know" - Jesus Jones

3. "Feed The Tree" - Belly

4. "I Feel You" - Depeche Mode

5. "Regret" - New Order

6. "Walking In My Shoes" - Depeche Mode

7. "Pets" - Porno For Pyros

8. "Break It Down Again" - Tears For Fears

9. "Soul To Squeeze" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

10. "My Sister" - The Juliana Hatfield Three

11. "No Rain" - Blind Melon

12. "Heart-Shaped Box" - Nirvana

13. "Into Your Arms" - The Lemonheads

1994

1. "Daughter" - Pearl Jam

2. "Found Out About You" - Gin Blossoms

3. "All Apologies" - Nirvana

4. "Loser" - Beck

5. "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" - Crash Test Dummies

6. "God" - Tori Amos

7. "The More You Ignore Me, The Closer I Get" - Morrissey

8. "Selling The Drama" - Live

9. "Longview" - Green Day

10. "Fall Down" - Toad The Wet Sprocket

11. "Come Out And Play" - The Offspring

12. "Einstein On The Beach (For An Eggman)" - Counting Crows

13. "Basket Case" - Green Day

14. "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" - R.E.M.

15. "Zombie" - The Cranberries

16. "About A Girl" - Nirvana

17. "Bang And Blame" - R.E.M.

1995

1. "When I Come Around" - Green Day

2. "Lightning Crashes" - Live

3. "Good" - Better Than Ezra

4. "Misery" - Soul Asylum

5. "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" - U2

6. "You Oughta Know" - Alanis Morissette

7. "J.A.R." - Green Day

8. "Tomoorw" - Silverchair

9. "Comedown" - Bush

10. "Name" - Goo Goo Dolls

11. "Hand In My Pocket" - Alanis Morissette

12. "Lump" - The Presidents Of The United States Of America

13. "My Friends" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

14. "Glycerine" - Bush

15. "Wonderwall" - Oasis

1996

1. "1979" - The Smashing Pumpkins

2. "Ironic" - Alanis Morissette

3. "Champagne Supernova" - Oasis

4. "Salvation" - The Cranberris

5. "Mother Mother" - Tracy Bonham

6. "Counting Blue Cars" - Dishwalla

7. "Pepper" - Butthole Surfers

8. "Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth With Money In My Hand" - Primitive Radio Gods

9. "Who You Are" - Pearl Jam

10. "Down" - 311

11. "Novocaine For The Soul" - Eels

12. "What I Got" - Sublime

13. "Swallowed" - Bush

1997

1. "#1 Crush" - Garbage

2. "Discotheque" - U2

3. "Lakini's Juice" - Live

4. "One Headlight" - The Wallflowers

5. "Staring At The Sun" - U2

6. "The Freshmen" - The Verve Pipe

7. "Semi-Charmed Life" - Third Eye Blind

8. "The Impression I Get" - The Mighty Mighty Bosstones

9. "Push" - Matchbox Twenty

10. "Fly" - Sugar Ray

11. "Walkin' On The Sun" - Smash Mouth

12. "Tubthumping" - Chumawamba

13. "Everything To Everyone" - Everclear

14. "Sex And Candy" - Marcy Playground

1998

1. "The Way" - Fastball

2. "Closing Time" - Semisonic

3. "Iris" - Goo Goo Dolls

4. "Inside Out" - Eve 6

5. "One Week" - Barenaked Ladies

6. "Celebrity Skin" - Hole

7. "Slide" - Goo Goo Dolls

8. "Fly Away" - Lenny Kravitz

9. "Never There" - Cake

10. What It's Like" - Everlast

1999

1. "Every Morning" - Sugar Ray

2. "My Own Worst Enemy" - Lit

3. "Scar Tissue" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

4. "Higher" - Creed

5. "The Chemicals Between Us" - Bush

6. "Learn To Fly" - Foo Fighters

7. "Re-Arranged" - Limp Bizkit

8. "All The Small Things" - Blink-182

2000

1. "Otherside" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

2. "Kryptonite" - 3 Doors Down

3. "Last Resort" - Papa Roach

4. "Californication" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

5. "Minority" - Green Day

6. "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" - Fuel

2001

1. "Hanging By A Moment" - Lifehouse

2. "Butterfly" - Crazy Town

3. "Drive" - Incubus

4. "It's Been Awhile" - Staind

5. "Fat Lip" - Sum 41

6. "Smooth Criminal" - Alien Ant Farm

7. "How You Remind Me" - Nickelback

8. "In The End" - Linkin Park

2002

1. "Blurry" - Puddle Of Mudd

2. "Youth Of The Nation" - P.O.D.

3. "The Middle" - Jimmy Eat World

4. "Seein' Red" - Unwritten Law

5. "Hero" - Chad Kroeger feat. Josey Scott

6. "By The Way" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

7. "Aerials" - System Of A Down

8. "You Know You're Right" - Nirvana

9. "All My Life" - Foo Foghters

2003

1. "Always" - Saliva

2. "No One Knows" - Queens Of The Stone Age

3. "Can't Stop" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

4. "Bring Me To Life" - Evanescence

5. "Somewhere I Belong" - Linkin Park

6. "Like A Stone" - Audioslave

7. "Headstrong" - Trapt

8. "Send The Pain Below" - Chevelle

9. "Seven Nation Army" - The White Stripes

10. "Just Because" - Jane's Addiction

11. "Faint" - Linkin Park

12. "So Far Away" - Staind

13. "Weak And Powerless" - A Perfect Circle

14. "Numb" - Linkin Park

2004

1. "Hit That" - The Offspring

2. "Megalomaniac" - Incubus

3. "I Miss You" - Blink-182

4. "The Reason" - Hoobastank

5. "Last Train Home" - Lostprophets

6. "Love Song" - 311

7. "Cold Hard Bitch" - Jet

8. "Lying From You" - Linkin Park

9. "Ch-Check It Out" - Beastie Boys

10. "Slither" - Velvet Revolver

11. "Float On" - Modest Mouse

12. "Just Like You" - Three Days Grace

13. "Breaking The Habit" - Linkin Park

14. "American Idiot" - Green Day

15. "Vertigo" - U2

16. "Pain" - Jimmy Eat World

17. "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" - Green Day

2005

1. "E-Pro" - Beck

2. "Be Yourself" - Audioslave

3. "Holiday" - Green Day

4. "The Hand That Feeds" - Nine Inch Nails

5. "Beverly Hills" - Weezer

6. "Best Of You" - Foo Fighters

7. "Feel Good Inc." - Gorillaz

8. "Only" - Nine Inch Nails

9. "DOA" - Foo Fighters

2006

1. Hypnotize" - System Of A Down

2. "Perfect Situation" - Weezer

3. "Wasteland" - 10 Years

4. "Every Day Is Exactly The Same" - Nine Inch Nails

5. "World Wide Suicide" - Pearl Jam

6. "Dani California" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

7. "Steady As She Goes" - The Raconteurs

8. "Miss Murder" - AFI

9. "Animal I Have Become" - Three Day Grace

10. "Tell Me Baby" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

11. "When You Were Young" - The Killers

12. "Welcome To The Black Parade" - My Chemical Romance

13. "Anna Molly" - Incubus

2007

1. "Snow (Hey Oh)" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

2. "Pain" - Three Days Grace

3. "From Yesterday" - Thirty Seconds To Mars

4. "Sirvivalism" - Nine Inch Nails

5. "What I've Done" - Linkin Park

6. "Icky Thump" - The White Stripes

7. "Paralyzer" - Finger Eleven

8. "The Pretender" - Foo Fighters

2008

1. "Fake It" - Seether

2. "Long Road To Ruin" - Foo Fighters

3. "Psycho" - Puddle Of Mudd

4. "Rise Above This" - Seether

5. "Pork And Beans" - Weezer

6. "Let It Die" - Foo Fighters

7. "Viva la Vida" - Coldplay

8. "Believe" - Staind

9. "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid" - The Offspring

10. "Sex On Fire" - Kings Of Leon

2009

1. "Second Chance" - Shinedown

2. "Love Hurts" - Incubus

3. "Brother" - Pearl Jam

4. "Use Somebody" - Kings Of Leon

5. "Feel Good Drag" - Anberlin

6. "Know Your Enemy" - Green Day

7. "New Divide" - Linkin Park

8. "Panic Switch" - Silversun Pickups

9. "Notion" - Kings Of Leon

10. "Uprising" - Muse

11. "Check My Brain" - Alice In Chains

2010

1. "Kings And Queens" - Thirty Seconds To Mars

2. "1901" - Phoenix

3. "Back Against The Wall" - Cage The Elephant

4. "Resistance" - Muse

5. "Mountain Man" - Crash Kings

6. "Between The Lines" - Stone Temple Pilots

7. "Lay Me Down" - Dirty Heads ft. Rome Ramirez

8. "This Is War" - Thirty Seconds To Mars

9. "In One Ear" - Cage The Elephant

10. "The Catalyst" - Linkin Park

11. "Animal" - Neon Trees

12. "Little Lion Man" - Mumford & Sons

13. "Radioactive" - Kings Of Leon

14. "Tighten Up" - The Black Keys

2011

1. "Waiting For The End" - Linkin Park

2. "Shake Me Down" - Cage The Elephant

3. "Rope" - Foo Fighters

4. "Pumped Up Kicks" - Foster The People

5. "You Are A Tourist" - Death Cab For Cutie

6. "Walk" - Foo Fighters

7. "The Adventures Of Raindance Maggie" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

8. "The Sound Of Winter" - Bush

9. "Paradise" - Coldplay

10. "Lonely Boy" - The Black Keys

2012

1. "Somebody That I Used To Know" - Gotye ft. Kimbra

2. "We Are Young" - Fun ft. Janelle Monae

3. "Gold On The Ceiling" - The Black Keys

4. "Tongue Tied" - Grouplove

5. "Little Talks" - Of Monsters And Men

6. "Burn It Down" - Linkin Park

7. "Some Nights" - Fun

8. "Too Close" - Alex Clare

9. "Ho Hey" - The Lumineers

10. "Madness" - Muse

11. "I Will Wait" - Mumford & Sons

2013

1. "Radioactive" - Imagine Dragons

2. "Sweater Weather" - The Neighbourhood

3. "Safe And Sound" - Capital Cities

4. "Royals" - Lorde

5. "Out Of My League" - Fitz & The Tantrums

6. "Pompeii" - Bastille

7. "Come A Little Closer" - Cage The Elephant

2014

1. "Do I Wanna Know?" - Arctic Monkeys

2. "Come With Me Now" - Kongos

3. "The Walker" - Fitz & The Tantrums

4. "Fever" - The Black Keys

5. "I Wanna Get Better" - Bleachers

6. "Dangerous" - Big Data ft. Joywave

7. "Riptide" - Vance Joy

8. "Stolen Dance" - Milky Chance

9. "Something From Nothing" - Foo Fighters

2015

1. "Cigarette Daydreams" - Cage The Elephant

2. "Shut Up And Dance" - Walk The Moon

3. "Lampshades On Fire" - Modest Mouse

4. "Believe" - Mumford & Sons

5. "Hollow Moon (Bad Wolf)" - Awolnation

6. "Dead Inside" - Muse

7. "Renegades" - X Ambassadors

8. "First" - Cold War Kids

9. "Ex's And Oh's" - Elle King

10. "Stressed Out" - Twenty One Pilots

2016

1. "Mess Around" - Cage The Elephant

2. "Adventure Of A Lifetime" - Coldplay

3. "Mountain At My Gates" - Foals

4. "Trip Switch" - Nothing But Thieves

5. "Ride" - Twenty One Pilots

6. "Spirits" - The Strumbellas

7. "Ophelia" - The Lumineers

8. "Bored To Death" - Blink-182

9. "Dark Necessities" - Red Hot Chili Peppers

10. "Way Down We Go" - Kaleo

11. "Trouble" - Cage The Elephant

12. "Heathens" - Twenty One Pilots

13. "Bang Bang" - Green Day

14. "Waste A Moment" - Kings Of Leon

15. "All We Ever Knew" - The Head And The Heart

2017

1. "Take It All Back" - Judah & The Lion

2. "Still Breathing" - Green Day

3. "Cleopatra" - The Lumineers

4. "Human" - Rag'n'Bone Man

5. "Believer" - Imagine Dragons

6. "Wish I Knew You" - The Revivalists

7. "Feel It Still" - Portugal. The Man

8. "Thunder" - Imagine Dragons

9. "Up All Night" - Beck

2018

1. "One Foot" - Walk The Moon

2. "No Roots" - Alice Merton

3. "Sober Up" - AJR ft. Rivers Cuomo

4. "Whatever It Takes" - Imagine Dragons

5. "Live In The Moment" - Portugal. The Man

6. "Broken" - Lovelytheband

7. "Thought Contagion" - Muse

8. "Say Amen (Saturday Night)" - Panic! At The Disco

9. "I Fell Like I'm Drowning" - Two Feet

10. "Jumpsuit" - Twenty One Pilots

11. "Africa" - Weezer

12. "Natural" - Imagine Dragons

13. "Happier" - Marshmello ft. Bastille

14. "High Hopes" - Panic! At The Disco

2019

1. "Guiding Light" - Mumford & Sons

2. "Ready To Let Go" - Cage The Elephant

3. "Chlorine" - Twenty One Pilots

4. "Lo/Hi" - The Black Keys

5. "Bury A Friend" - Billie Eilish

6. "Trampoline" - Shaed

7. "Gloria" - The Lumineers

8. "Missed Connection" - The Head And The Heart

9. "Bad Guy" - Billie Eilish

10. "Cringe" - Matt Maeson

11. "3 Nights" - Dominic Fike

12. "Doin' Time" - Lana Del Rey

13. "Social Cues" - Cage The Elephant

14. "The Hype" - Twenty One Pilots

15. "Orphans" - Coldplay

2020

1. "Dissolve" - Absofacto

2. "Running Up That Hill" - Meg Myers

3. "Might Be Right" - White Reaper

4. "Everything I Wanted" - Billie Eilish

5. "Novocaine" - The Unlikely Candidates

6. "Cradles" - Sub Urban

7. "Oh Yeah!" - Green Day

8. "Caution" - The Killers

9. "Level Of Concern" - Twenty One Pilots
10. "Honeybee" - The Head And The Heart
11. "Hero" - Weezer
12. "Hallucinogenics" - Matt Maeson
13. "Monsters" - All Time Low feat. blackbear
2021
1. "Leave Me Alone" - I Don't Know How But They Found Me
2. "Fire For You" - Cannons
3. "Therefore I Am" - Billie Eilish
4. Skin And Bones - Cage The Elephant
5. "My Ex's Best Friend" - Machine Gun Kelly feat. blackbear
6. "Heat Waves" - Glass Animals

7. "Follow You" - Imagine Dragons
8. "Shy Away" - Twenty One Pilots
9. "All My Favorite Songs" - Weezer
10. "We Are Between" - Modest Mouse
11. "Saturday" - Twenty One Pilots
12. “Beggin’” - Måneskin
13. "Brightside" - The Lumineers
2022
1. "The Outside" - Twenty One Pilots
2. "Enemy" - Imagine Dragons & JID
3. "Black Summer - Red Hot Chili Peppers
4. “Wild Child” - The Black Keys
5. “Love Brand New” - Bob Moses
6. “A Little Bit Of Love” - Weezer
7. “Toxic” - BoyWithUke
8. “Viva Las Vengeance” - Panic! At The Disco
9. “Supermodel” - Måneskin
10. "Boy" - The Killers
11. "Tippa My Tongue" - Red Hot Chili Peppers
12. “Here To Forever” - Death Cab For Cutie
13. "Sex, Drugs, Etc." - Beach Weather
14. "Edging" - Blink-182
2023
1. “This Is Why” - Paramore
2. “Sleepwalking” - All Time Low
3. “Records” - Weezer
4. "Love From The Other Side" - Fall Out Boy
5. “Lost” - Linkin Park
6. “Rescued” - Foo Fighters
7. “Emergency Contact” - Pierce The Veil
8. "Rescue Me" - Dirty Heads
9. “Just Pretend” - Bad Omens
10. "Dial Drunk" - Noah Kahan ft. Post Malone
11. “Under You” - Foo Fighters
12. “One More Time” -Blink-182
2024
1. "Landmines" - Sum 41
2. “Beautiful People (Stay High)” - The Black Keys
3. “Neon Pill” - Cage The Elephant
4. “Dilemma” - Green Day

[narp]

I want to add something to this. Only 3 of these songs have debuted at #1 in the history of this chart.

R.E.M. - “What’s the Frequency, Kenneth?”
September 24, 1994

Red Hot Chili Peppers - “Dani California”
April 22, 2006

Linkin Park - “What I’ve Done”
April 21, 2007

[CoJoFan]

Added The Head And The Heart's "Honeybee" to the list, their 3rd #1. 

[devinschrammeister]

This week, Weezer have topped Billboard with “Hero”, their 5th #1 overall & first since “Africa”.

[macattack]

Aug 17, 2020 16:35:28 GMT -5 devinschrammeister said:

This week, Weezer have topped Billboard with “Hero”, their 5th #1 overall & first since “Africa”.

Assuming this holds, this will also be the first time in the Alternative chart's history that KROQ has not added the eventual Alternative #1 to their rotation (AFAIK, it's possible during the more random 1988-1992 period that KROQ missed one or two). I am not even sure if "Hero" even got curiosity spins from KROQ. Things have changed greatly in the industry since KROQ helped blow Weezer up in 1994 and this is a rather strong illustration of what's happened in the last few years, that Weezer cannot get spun by their heritage hometown station. 

[CoJoFan]

Added Weezer's 5th #1 "Hero" to the list.

[CoJoFan]

Added Matt Maeson's "Hallucinogenics" to the list.

[CoJoFan]

Added All Time Low & blackbear's "Monsters" to the list. 1st #1 for both.

[CoJoFan]

Added I Don't Know How But They Found Me's "Leave Me Alone" to the list. Their first #1.

[CoJoFan]

Cannons get their first #1 with “Fire For You”.

[DadJokes]

Has someone done this same list for Billboard's AAA? I'd be happy to compile and keep updated (give me something to contribute here as a newbie).

[CoJoFan]

Jan 26, 2021 15:00:28 GMT -5 DadJokes said:

Has someone done this same list for Billboard's AAA? I'd be happy to compile and keep updated (give me something to contribute here as a newbie).

I’m gonna be starting it tomorrow.

[DadJokes]

Jan 26, 2021 15:55:41 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

Jan 26, 2021 15:00:28 GMT -5 DadJokes said:

Has someone done this same list for Billboard's AAA? I'd be happy to compile and keep updated (give me something to contribute here as a newbie).

I’m gonna be starting it tomorrow.

 I noticed wikipedia only has the number ones listed from 2000 onward. I had started compiling the first four years earlier this week. Happy to PM it to you to save you some time  

[CoJoFan]

Billie Eilish gets her 4th #1 with “Therefore I Am”.

[Amnesiac]

Jan 26, 2021 16:16:37 GMT -5 DadJokes said:

Jan 26, 2021 15:55:41 GMT -5 CoJoFan said:

I’m gonna be starting it tomorrow.

 I noticed wikipedia only has the number ones listed from 2000 onward. I had started compiling the first four years earlier this week. Happy to PM it to you to save you some time  

A list of all the AAA #1s going back to the chart's launch in 1996 are included in Joel Whitburn's new Rock Tracks book. It's the only AAA content in the entire book, though.

[CoJoFan]

Feb 1, 2021 23:46:32 GMT -5 Amnesiac said:

Jan 26, 2021 16:16:37 GMT -5 DadJokes said:

 I noticed wikipedia only has the number ones listed from 2000 onward. I had started compiling the first four years earlier this week. Happy to PM it to you to save you some time  

A list of all the AAA #1s going back to the chart's launch in 1996 are included in Joel Whitburn's new Rock Tracks book. It's the only AAA content in the entire book, though.

The thread has been started already the mods moved it to another thread though for some reason.

[CoJoFan]

Cage the Elephant becomes the 5th artist to have 10 #1’s on Alternative Airplay as “Skin And Bones” reaches #1 this week. Will add them later today to the list.

[DadJokes]

Just some random observations and things that surprise me.

For all the influence grunge had on alternative music, the early 90s grunge (and grunge-adjacent) bands did not have many #1 radio hits.

Soundgarden - zero.

Alice in Chains - none with Layne. Their only #1 is Check My Brain from 2009

Pearl Jam has none from Ten. They didn't pick up their first #1 until Daughter (Vs. era), and of their four #1s, only two were in the 90s

Smashing Pumpkins' only #1 is for 1979, which was also their biggest mainstream pop hit. Nothing from their breakthrough Siamese Dream.

Nirvana has four non-post-humous #1s (very strong considering they ended in 1994), but surprisingly, Teen Spirit was the only #1 from Nevermind.


Of course, there are still those bands that killed it with #1s in the 90s - Red Hot Chili Peppers (6, counting the three in 2000), U2 (6) and REM (4).

I'm sure we could play the same game for influential bands from the early 2000s, too. No real point - just something that jumped out at me as I was looking at the list following Cage the Elephants' (well-deserved) tenth top hit and realizing how difficult that is - even for bands that many attribute to changing the very sound of radio for a decade. And even with Cage the Elephant, "Ain't No Rest For the Wicked" is not their first top hit. That honor goes to 2010's "Back Against the Wall."

[CoJoFan]

I've added the top 100 Mainstream Rock Songs All Time according to Joel Whitburn to the Mainstream Rock #1 thread. I'll have Alternative top 100 all time up shortly. After I make me some Google spreadsheets for both lists I'll add the stats Joel goes by.

[CoJoFan]

The top 100 all time list is added to the beginning of the thread. The only difference between the list I posted and Joel's in his new book is All Time Low's "Monsters" I added as it currently sits at #4 all time behind Foo Fighters' "The Pretender".  

[macattack]

Feb 10, 2021 16:11:58 GMT -5 DadJokes said:

Just some random observations and things that surprise me.

For all the influence grunge had on alternative music, the early 90s grunge (and grunge-adjacent) bands did not have many #1 radio hits.

Soundgarden - zero.

Alice in Chains - none with Layne. Their only #1 is Check My Brain from 2009

Pearl Jam has none from Ten. They didn't pick up their first #1 until Daughter (Vs. era), and of their four #1s, only two were in the 90s

Smashing Pumpkins' only #1 is for 1979, which was also their biggest mainstream pop hit. Nothing from their breakthrough Siamese Dream.

Nirvana has four non-post-humous #1s (very strong considering they ended in 1994), but surprisingly, Teen Spirit was the only #1 from Nevermind.


Of course, there are still those bands that killed it with #1s in the 90s - Red Hot Chili Peppers (6, counting the three in 2000), U2 (6) and REM (4).

I'm sure we could play the same game for influential bands from the early 2000s, too. No real point - just something that jumped out at me as I was looking at the list following Cage the Elephants' (well-deserved) tenth top hit and realizing how difficult that is - even for bands that many attribute to changing the very sound of radio for a decade. And even with Cage the Elephant, "Ain't No Rest For the Wicked" is not their first top hit. That honor goes to 2010's "Back Against the Wall."

Alternative radio desperately resisted grunge after "Smells Like Teen Spirit" exploded - the format pushed artists like Peter Gabriel, INXS, Midnight Oil, Crowded House, etc. for 1992 and most of 1993, playing just enough of the grunge material to keep the kids tuned in but not enough to give those artists the #1. Even after Alt kind of gave up they continued to push gentler artists like Seal, Better Than Ezra, Alanis Morissette, and Toad the Wet Sprocket over the grunge artists well into the 90's. I don't think Alt truly began treating the grunge artists as the legends they were until the late 90's after almost all of them had lost relevance or had disbanded, while many of the #1s from 1992-96 wound up being forgotten. 

Weirdly, Soundgarden got the year-end #1 for 1994 for "Black Hole Sun" despite it never reaching #1 - because of how long it stayed at #2. 

Grunge always did better on Mainstream Rock - for a format derided as staid back then (as it is now) the format proved surprisingly adept at adapting to the changed paradigm grunge represented. Yeah, #1s for aging artists like Tom Petty, Rush, and Van Halen still happened too, but a LOT of grunge shot straight to the top - and even Alanis got far on Mainstream Rock with "You Oughta Know". 

[macattack]

In case anyone thinks I'm kidding about Seal - he has two top 5 hits on Alternative.

Probably could have had more if Alternative wasn't an afterthought for Seal and his management tbh.

"Prayer For The Dying" got really close to the #1, and it did it in August 1994 - right when grunge and punk music was at its peak on the format (Offspring was #1 and STP was the #2 just to put an exclamation point on the feat). 

[CoJoFan]

Added Machine Gun Kelly & blackbear's "My Ex's Best Friend" to the list. MGK's 1st #1 and blackbear's 2nd #1. 

[CoJoFan]

Added Glass Animals "Heat Waves" to the list. Their 1st #1.

[CoJoFan]

Added Imagine Dragons “Follow You”. Their 6th #1.

[CoJoFan]

Added "Shy Away" by twenty one pilots to the list. Their 8th #1.

[CoJoFan]

Added Weezer's "All My Favorite Songs" to the list. Their 6th #1.

[CoJoFan]

Added Modest Mouse's "We Are Between" to the list. Their 3rd #1.

[CoJoFan]

Twenty One Pilots get their 9th #1 with “Saturday”. Will add them to the list after work.

[CoJoFan]

Måneskin get their 1st #1 with “Beggin’”. Will add to the the list later today.