The Best Alternative Songs

Alternative songs ranked by beer score, spanning post-punk, Britpop, indie and the stadium alternative of the 2000s.

Top 25 of 27 songs with at least 10 ratings. Ranked by average beer score on a 0 to 11 scale.

1. 1
   

   Seven Nation Army

   The White Stripes

   Now legally the property of every football stadium on earth.

   1.5beers35 ratings
2. 2
   

   The Less I Know The Better

   Tame Impala

   That bassline carries the entire song and knows it.

   1.8beers51 ratings
3. 3
   

   Feel Good Inc.

   Gorillaz

   The bassline plus that laugh. Nothing else required.

   1.9beers51 ratings
4. 4
   

   Are You Gonna Be My Girl

   Jet

   Iggy Pop would like a word about that bassline.

   2.2beers31 ratings
5. 5
   

   Zombie

   The Cranberries

   Dolores O'Riordan's voice does something no beer can improve.

   2.2beers33 ratings
6. 6
   

   The Pretender

   Foo Fighters

   Grohl screaming like his life depends on it, from the very first bar.

   2.3beers26 ratings
7. 7
   

   Loser

   Beck

   Soy un perdedor. Accidentally the anthem of a whole generation.

   2.3beers40 ratings
8. 8
   

   Mr. Brightside

   The Killers

   Never left the UK charts. Physically cannot be killed.

   2.3beers50 ratings
9. 9
   

   Do I Wanna Know?

   Arctic Monkeys

   The slowest, most confident riff of the 2010s.

   2.4beers14 ratings
10. 10
    

    Bitter Sweet Symphony

    The Verve

    The Rolling Stones took the royalties. The song won anyway.

    2.5beers28 ratings
11. 11
    

    Love Will Tear Us Apart

    Joy Division

    The saddest song ever written for a dancefloor.

    2.6beers28 ratings
12. 12
    

    Buddy Holly

    Weezer

    The Happy Days video was worth the entire budget.

    2.8beers38 ratings
13. 13
    

    Californication

    Red Hot Chili Peppers

    The intro riff is Frusciante's finest four bars.

    2.8beers13 ratings
14. 14
    

    Creep

    Radiohead

    They grew to hate it. You didn't.

    3.0beers54 ratings
15. 15
    

    Losing My Religion

    R.E.M.

    A mandolin got to number four. Genuinely unrepeatable.

    3.4beers42 ratings
16. 16
    

    Every Breath You Take

    The Police

    Everyone plays it at weddings. It is about stalking.

    3.4beers42 ratings
17. 17
    

    Last Nite

    The Strokes

    Recorded to sound like a worn-out cassette. Deliberately perfect.

    3.6beers11 ratings
18. 18
    

    Uprising

    Muse

    Glam-rock stomp for people who read conspiracy forums.

    3.7beers13 ratings
19. 19
    

    With or Without You

    U2

    The Edge's delay pedal, doing all of the emotional work.

    4.0beers40 ratings
20. 20
    

    Sweater Weather

    The Neighbourhood

    The definitive song of every teenage bedroom since 2013.

    4.2beers33 ratings
21. 21
    

    Common People

    Pulp

    The greatest class-war song in pop. Jarvis was furious and correct.

    4.4beers27 ratings
22. 22
    

    Heat Waves

    Glass Animals

    Took two years to crawl to number one. Patience paid.

    4.8beers29 ratings
23. 23
    

    Wonderwall

    Oasis

    The karaoke tax. Non-negotiable.

    5.0beers47 ratings
24. 24
    

    Clocks

    Coldplay

    That piano riff was almost thrown away. Imagine.

    5.0beers39 ratings
25. 25
    

    Chasing Cars

    Snow Patrol

    Every hospital scene on television, ever.

    5.1beers33 ratings