1992 rock radio charts
Every number one and the biggest songs on our Alternative and Mainstream rock charts in 1992: 16 number ones on the Alternative chart and 11 number ones on the Mainstream chart.
Alternative rock, 1992
Number ones
| Song | Artist | Weeks at #1 | First week at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smells Like Teen Spirit | Nirvana | 2 | Jan 6, 1992 |
| Mysterious Ways | U2 | 2 | Jan 20, 1992 |
| Sax And Violins | Talking Heads | 1 | Feb 3, 1992 |
| What's Good | Lou Reed | 4 | Feb 10, 1992 |
| Hit | The Sugarcubes | 4 | Mar 9, 1992 |
| One | U2 | 3 | Apr 6, 1992 |
| High | The Cure | 2 | Apr 27, 1992 |
| Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now) | Cracker | 2 | May 11, 1992 |
| Divine Thing | The Soup Dragons | 3 | May 25, 1992 |
| Friday I'm In Love | The Cure | 6 | Jun 15, 1992 |
| Midlife Crisis | Faith No More | 4 | Jul 27, 1992 |
| A Letter To Elise | The Cure | 2 | Aug 24, 1992 |
| Not Enough Time | INXS | 4 | Sep 7, 1992 |
| Drive | R.E.M. | 8 | Oct 5, 1992 |
| Somebody To Shove | Soul Asylum | 3 | Nov 30, 1992 |
| Steam | Peter Gabriel | 2 | Dec 21, 1992 |
Biggest songs of 1992
Ranked by points across the year’s charts: 25 points for a week at #1, down to 1 point for #25.
| # | Song | Artist | Peak | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One | U2 | #1 | 23 |
| 2 | Come As You Are | Nirvana | #2 | 18 |
| 3 | Friday I'm In Love | The Cure | #1 | 14 |
| 4 | Nearly Lost You | Screaming Trees | #2 | 17 |
| 5 | Under The Bridge | Red Hot Chili Peppers | #4 | 17 |
| 6 | Hit | The Sugarcubes | #1 | 14 |
| 7 | Weirdo | The Charlatans | #2 | 15 |
| 8 | Divine Thing | The Soup Dragons | #1 | 12 |
| 9 | Digging In The Dirt | Peter Gabriel | #2 | 14 |
| 10 | Not Enough Time | INXS | #1 | 12 |
| 11 | Drive | R.E.M. | #1 | 11 |
| 12 | Somebody To Shove | Soul Asylum | #1 | 12 |
| 13 | Dyslexic Heart | Paul Westerberg | #2 | 12 |
| 14 | Midlife Crisis | Faith No More | #1 | 12 |
| 15 | Even Better Than The Real Thing | U2 | #2 | 13 |
| 16 | Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now) | Cracker | #1 | 14 |
| 17 | Born Of Frustration | James | #3 | 15 |
| 18 | High | The Cure | #1 | 11 |
| 19 | Hunger Strike | Temple Of The Dog | #3 | 12 |
| 20 | The Ballad Of Peter Pumpkinhead | XTC | #2 | 11 |
| 21 | Far Gone And Out | The Jesus & Mary Chain | #4 | 13 |
| 22 | Seen The Doctor | Michael Penn | #4 | 13 |
| 23 | Bad Luck | Social Distortion | #2 | 12 |
| 24 | Jeremy | Pearl Jam | #2 | 11 |
| 25 | What's Good | Lou Reed | #1 | 10 |
Mainstream rock, 1992
Number ones
| Song | Artist | Weeks at #1 | First week at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mysterious Ways | U2 | 9 | Jan 6, 1992 |
| Again Tonight | John Mellencamp | 4 | Mar 9, 1992 |
| Come As You Are | Nirvana | 1 | Apr 6, 1992 |
| One | U2 | 6 | Apr 13, 1992 |
| Under The Bridge | Red Hot Chili Peppers | 8 | May 25, 1992 |
| Even Flow | Pearl Jam | 2 | Jul 20, 1992 |
| Even Better Than The Real Thing | U2 | 3 | Aug 3, 1992 |
| Little Miss Can't Be Wrong | Spin Doctors | 6 | Aug 24, 1992 |
| How About That | Bad Company | 3 | Oct 5, 1992 |
| Drive | R.E.M. | 9 | Oct 26, 1992 |
| Steam | Peter Gabriel | 1 | Dec 28, 1992 |
Biggest songs of 1992
Ranked by points across the year’s charts: 25 points for a week at #1, down to 1 point for #25.
| # | Song | Artist | Peak | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Little Miss Can't Be Wrong | Spin Doctors | #1 | 27 |
| 2 | Come As You Are | Nirvana | #1 | 22 |
| 3 | Even Flow | Pearl Jam | #1 | 22 |
| 4 | Mysterious Ways | U2 | #1 | 24 |
| 5 | One | U2 | #1 | 19 |
| 6 | Under The Bridge | Red Hot Chili Peppers | #1 | 18 |
| 7 | Remedy | The Black Crowes | #2 | 19 |
| 8 | Life Is A Highway | Tom Cochrane | #6 | 24 |
| 9 | Hunger Strike | Temple Of The Dog | #2 | 20 |
| 10 | Jeremy | Pearl Jam | #3 | 19 |
| 11 | Drive | R.E.M. | #1 | 13 |
| 12 | Mama, I'm Coming Home | Ozzy Osbourne | #4 | 23 |
| 13 | How About That | Bad Company | #1 | 16 |
| 14 | I Can't Dance | Genesis | #2 | 18 |
| 15 | Even Better Than The Real Thing | U2 | #1 | 16 |
| 16 | Everything About You | Ugly Kid Joe | #4 | 18 |
| 17 | What You Give | Tesla | #7 | 20 |
| 18 | Again Tonight | John Mellencamp | #1 | 15 |
| 19 | Rest In Peace | Extreme | #2 | 16 |
| 20 | Digging In The Dirt | Peter Gabriel | #2 | 15 |
| 21 | Ghost Of A Chance | Rush | #2 | 16 |
| 22 | Help Me Up | Eric Clapton | #4 | 16 |
| 23 | Girlfriend | Matthew Sweet | #5 | 17 |
| 24 | Now More Than Ever | John Mellencamp | #4 | 15 |
| 25 | Right Now | Van Halen | #4 | 17 |
Week by week
Each week’s #1 song. Click one to open that week’s full top 25.
| Week | Alternative #1 | Mainstream #1 |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 6, 1992 | Smells Like Teen SpiritNirvana | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Jan 13, 1992 | Smells Like Teen SpiritNirvana | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Jan 20, 1992 | Mysterious WaysU2 | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Jan 27, 1992 | Mysterious WaysU2 | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Feb 3, 1992 | Sax And ViolinsTalking Heads | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Feb 10, 1992 | What's GoodLou Reed | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Feb 17, 1992 | What's GoodLou Reed | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Feb 24, 1992 | What's GoodLou Reed | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Mar 2, 1992 | What's GoodLou Reed | Mysterious WaysU2 |
| Mar 9, 1992 | HitThe Sugarcubes | Again TonightJohn Mellencamp |
| Mar 16, 1992 | HitThe Sugarcubes | Again TonightJohn Mellencamp |
| Mar 23, 1992 | HitThe Sugarcubes | Again TonightJohn Mellencamp |
| Mar 30, 1992 | HitThe Sugarcubes | Again TonightJohn Mellencamp |
| Apr 6, 1992 | OneU2 | Come As You AreNirvana |
| Apr 13, 1992 | OneU2 | OneU2 |
| Apr 20, 1992 | OneU2 | OneU2 |
| Apr 27, 1992 | HighThe Cure | OneU2 |
| May 4, 1992 | HighThe Cure | OneU2 |
| May 11, 1992 | Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)Cracker | OneU2 |
| May 18, 1992 | Teen Angst (What The World Needs Now)Cracker | OneU2 |
| May 25, 1992 | Divine ThingThe Soup Dragons | Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers |
| Jun 1, 1992 | Divine ThingThe Soup Dragons | Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers |
| Jun 8, 1992 | Divine ThingThe Soup Dragons | Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers |
| Jun 15, 1992 | Friday I'm In LoveThe Cure | Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers |
| Jun 22, 1992 | Friday I'm In LoveThe Cure | Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers |
| Jun 29, 1992 | Friday I'm In LoveThe Cure | Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers |
| Jul 6, 1992 | Friday I'm In LoveThe Cure | Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers |
| Jul 13, 1992 | Friday I'm In LoveThe Cure | Under The BridgeRed Hot Chili Peppers |
| Jul 20, 1992 | Friday I'm In LoveThe Cure | Even FlowPearl Jam |
| Jul 27, 1992 | Midlife CrisisFaith No More | Even FlowPearl Jam |
| Aug 3, 1992 | Midlife CrisisFaith No More | Even Better Than The Real ThingU2 |
| Aug 10, 1992 | Midlife CrisisFaith No More | Even Better Than The Real ThingU2 |
| Aug 17, 1992 | Midlife CrisisFaith No More | Even Better Than The Real ThingU2 |
| Aug 24, 1992 | A Letter To EliseThe Cure | Little Miss Can't Be WrongSpin Doctors |
| Aug 31, 1992 | A Letter To EliseThe Cure | Little Miss Can't Be WrongSpin Doctors |
| Sep 7, 1992 | Not Enough TimeINXS | Little Miss Can't Be WrongSpin Doctors |
| Sep 14, 1992 | Not Enough TimeINXS | Little Miss Can't Be WrongSpin Doctors |
| Sep 21, 1992 | Not Enough TimeINXS | Little Miss Can't Be WrongSpin Doctors |
| Sep 28, 1992 | Not Enough TimeINXS | Little Miss Can't Be WrongSpin Doctors |
| Oct 5, 1992 | DriveR.E.M. | How About ThatBad Company |
| Oct 12, 1992 | DriveR.E.M. | How About ThatBad Company |
| Oct 19, 1992 | DriveR.E.M. | How About ThatBad Company |
| Oct 26, 1992 | DriveR.E.M. | DriveR.E.M. |
| Nov 2, 1992 | DriveR.E.M. | DriveR.E.M. |
| Nov 9, 1992 | DriveR.E.M. | DriveR.E.M. |
| Nov 16, 1992 | DriveR.E.M. | DriveR.E.M. |
| Nov 23, 1992 | DriveR.E.M. | DriveR.E.M. |
| Nov 30, 1992 | Somebody To ShoveSoul Asylum | DriveR.E.M. |
| Dec 7, 1992 | Somebody To ShoveSoul Asylum | DriveR.E.M. |
| Dec 14, 1992 | Somebody To ShoveSoul Asylum | DriveR.E.M. |
| Dec 21, 1992 | SteamPeter Gabriel | DriveR.E.M. |
| Dec 28, 1992 | SteamPeter Gabriel | SteamPeter Gabriel |