‘Black Hole Sun,’ ‘Mr. Brightside,’ ‘Demons’ & More: The Top 30 Hits on the Alternative Songs Chart That Never Reached No. 1

As we celebrate the 30th anniversary of Billboard‘s Alternative Songs chart, we’re diving into the next-best of all time, i.e., the biggest hits that never reached No. 1 on the weekly survey.

With a No. 3 peak in 2009, Rise Against’s “Savior” ranks at No. 1 on the list below. The song holds the record for the most total weeks spent in the top 10 of the Alternative Songs chart (58). Plus, despite it missing the weekly chart’s summit, it places at No. 2 on Billboard‘s all-time top 300 Alternative Songs ranking, behind only Muse’s “Uprising.” (Why did “Savior” never hit No. 1, even for a week? It was blocked by “Uprising” for the most of its time in the top 10.)

“Savior” actually isn’t even Rise Against’s highest-charting hit on Alternative Songs. “Help Is on the Way” peaked at No. 2 in 2011, while “Re-Education (Through Labor)” ties “Savior,” as it also peaked at No. 3. Still, the top 10 longevity of “Savior” enabled its all-time No. 2 standing.

Other notable entries on the ranking include Camouflage’s “The Great Commandment” and Siouxsie & The Banshees’ “The Killing Jar,” the two oldest songs on the ranking and the only ones from the ’80s. “Commandment” logged impressive longevity for its time, spending 14 weeks in the top 10 (reaching No. 3), while “Jar” is the longest-charting (19 weeks) of Siouxsie & the Banshees’ hits, even though the group notched a pair of No. 1s. The track followed”Peek-a-Boo,” the first No. 1 when Alternative Songs began (then-named Modern Rock Tracks) on Sept. 10, 1988.

From No. 30 to No. 1, here are the biggest hits in the Alternative Songs chart’s 30-year history that never reached No. 1 but nevertheless remain format classics.

Rank, Title, Artist, Peak Position, Peak Date

30. “Live Forever,” Oasis, No. 2 (Feb. 25, 1995)

29. “Trippin’ on a Hole in a Paper Heart,” Stone Temple Pilots (No. 3, July 13, 1996)

28. “Connection,” Elastica (No. 2, May 6, 1995)

27. “Sail,” AWOLNATION (No. 5, Aug. 27, 2011)

26. “Cold,” Crossfade (No. 2, Jan. 8, 2005)

25. “Mr. Brightside,” The Killers (No. 3, Feb. 12, 2005)

24. “I Don’t Care,” Apocalyptica feat. Adam Gontier (No. 2, Dec. 27, 2008)

23. “The Killing Jar,” Siouxsie & The Banshees (No. 2, Nov. 19, 1988)

22. “In the Meantime,” Spacehog (No. 2, March 16, 1996)

21. “Black Hole Sun,” Soundgarden (No. 2, July 2, 1994)

20. “What’s My Age Again?,” Blink-182 (No. 2, July 24, 1999)

19. “Through Glass,” Stone Sour, No. 2 (Nov. 4, 2006)

18. “Crawling in the Dark,” Hoobastank, No. 3 (March 9, 2002)

17. “Mountain Sound,” Of Monsters and Men, No. 2 (March 9, 2013)

16. “Cannonball,” The Breeders, No. 2 (Oct. 16, 1993)

15. “Sit Next to Me,” Foster the People, No. 3 (March 31, 2018)

14. “The Diary of Jane,” Breaking Benjamin (No. 4, Nov. 11, 2006)

13. “(I Hate) Everything About You,” Three Days Grace (No. 2, Dec. 20, 2003)

12. “The Great Commandment,” Camouflage (No. 3, Dec. 3, 1988)

11. “Movin’ On Up,” Primal Scream (No. 2, Nov. 23, 1991)

10. “Everything Zen,” Bush (No. 2, March 4, 1995)

9. “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To,” Weezer (No. 2, Oct. 24, 2009)

8. “Little Black Submarines,” The Black Keys (No. 2, Jan. 12, 2013)

7. “Wish You Were Here,” Incubus (No. 2, Oct. 6, 2001)

6. “Interstate Love Song,” Stone Temple Pilots (No. 2, Oct. 1, 1994)

5. “Santa Monica (Watch the World Die),” Everclear (No. 5, Feb. 10, 1996)

4. “It’s Time,” Imagine Dragons (No. 4, June 30, 2012)

3. “Laid,” James (No. 3, Dec. 4, 1993)

2. “Demons,” Imagine Dragons (No. 2, Aug. 10, 2013)

1. “Savior,” Rise Against (No. 3, Nov. 28, 2009)