1996 rock radio charts
Every number one and the biggest songs on our Alternative and Mainstream rock charts in 1996: 11 number ones on the Alternative chart and 15 number ones on the Mainstream chart.
Alternative rock, 1996
Number ones
| Song | Artist | Weeks at #1 | First week at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glycerine | Bush | 3 | Jan 1, 1996 |
| 1979 | The Smashing Pumpkins | 9 | Jan 22, 1996 |
| In The Meantime | Spacehog | 2 | Mar 25, 1996 |
| Big Me | Foo Fighters | 3 | Apr 8, 1996 |
| Big Bang Baby | Stone Temple Pilots | 1 | Apr 29, 1996 |
| Salvation | The Cranberries | 7 | May 6, 1996 |
| Pretty Noose | Soundgarden | 2 | Jun 24, 1996 |
| Pepper | Butthole Surfers | 9 | Jul 8, 1996 |
| Down | 311 | 8 | Sep 9, 1996 |
| What I Got | Sublime | 2 | Nov 4, 1996 |
| Swallowed | Bush | 7 | Nov 18, 1996 |
Biggest songs of 1996
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 | Pepper | Butthole Surfers | #1 | 26 |
| 2 | In The Meantime | Spacehog | #1 | 23 |
| 3 | 1979 | The Smashing Pumpkins | #1 | 21 |
| 4 | Down | 311 | #1 | 25 |
| 5 | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart | Stone Temple Pilots | #2 | 23 |
| 6 | Machinehead | Bush | #2 | 25 |
| 7 | Santa Monica (Watch The World Die) | Everclear | #4 | 22 |
| 8 | Spiderwebs | No Doubt | #4 | 23 |
| 9 | Brain Stew/Jaded | Green Day | #2 | 21 |
| 10 | What I Got | Sublime | #1 | 16 |
| 11 | Burden In My Hand | Soundgarden | #2 | 22 |
| 12 | Ironic | Alanis Morissette | #2 | 16 |
| 13 | Big Me | Foo Fighters | #1 | 21 |
| 14 | Tonight, Tonight | The Smashing Pumpkins | #3 | 18 |
| 15 | Salvation | The Cranberries | #1 | 13 |
| 16 | Glycerine | Bush | #1 | 15 |
| 17 | Where It's At | Beck | #4 | 18 |
| 18 | Big Bang Baby | Stone Temple Pilots | #1 | 14 |
| 19 | Pretty Noose | Soundgarden | #1 | 13 |
| 20 | Standing Outside A Broken Phone Booth... | Primitive Radio Gods | #3 | 15 |
| 21 | The World I Know | Collective Soul | #4 | 16 |
| 22 | Cumbersome | Seven Mary Three | #5 | 17 |
| 23 | I Was Wrong | Social Distortion | #5 | 16 |
| 24 | Novocaine For The Soul | eels | #4 | 16 |
| 25 | Wonderwall | Oasis | #6 | 14 |
Mainstream rock, 1996
Number ones
| Song | Artist | Weeks at #1 | First week at #1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumbersome | Seven Mary Three | 5 | Jan 1, 1996 |
| The World I Know | Collective Soul | 4 | Feb 5, 1996 |
| 1979 | The Smashing Pumpkins | 4 | Mar 4, 1996 |
| In The Meantime | Spacehog | 6 | Apr 1, 1996 |
| Big Bang Baby | Stone Temple Pilots | 1 | May 13, 1996 |
| Where The River Flows | Collective Soul | 3 | May 20, 1996 |
| Machinehead | Bush | 1 | Jun 3, 1996 |
| Until It Sleeps | Metallica | 3 | Jun 17, 1996 |
| Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart | Stone Temple Pilots | 10 | Jul 8, 1996 |
| Burden In My Hand | Soundgarden | 3 | Sep 16, 1996 |
| Test For Echo | Rush | 5 | Oct 7, 1996 |
| Angels Of The Silences | Counting Crows | 4 | Nov 11, 1996 |
| Hero Of The Day | Metallica | 1 | Dec 9, 1996 |
| Swallowed | Bush | 2 | Dec 16, 1996 |
| Blow Up The Outside World | Soundgarden | 1 | Dec 30, 1996 |
Biggest songs of 1996
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 | In The Meantime | Spacehog | #1 | 30 |
| 2 | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart | Stone Temple Pilots | #1 | 26 |
| 3 | Santa Monica (Watch The World Die) | Everclear | #2 | 29 |
| 4 | Burden In My Hand | Soundgarden | #1 | 24 |
| 5 | Until It Sleeps | Metallica | #1 | 22 |
| 6 | Machinehead | Bush | #1 | 26 |
| 7 | Cumbersome | Seven Mary Three | #1 | 20 |
| 8 | 1979 | The Smashing Pumpkins | #1 | 22 |
| 9 | The World I Know | Collective Soul | #1 | 19 |
| 10 | Heaven Beside You | Alice In Chains | #3 | 23 |
| 11 | Open Up Your Eyes | Tonic | #4 | 22 |
| 12 | Where The River Flows | Collective Soul | #1 | 21 |
| 13 | Pretty Noose | Soundgarden | #2 | 21 |
| 14 | Sister | The Nixons | #5 | 25 |
| 15 | Again | Alice In Chains | #5 | 23 |
| 16 | Hero Of The Day | Metallica | #1 | 14 |
| 17 | I Got Id | Pearl Jam | #2 | 18 |
| 18 | Over Now | Alice In Chains | #3 | 20 |
| 19 | Counting Blue Cars | Dishwalla | #7 | 22 |
| 20 | Glycerine | Bush | #4 | 16 |
| 21 | Big Bang Baby | Stone Temple Pilots | #1 | 14 |
| 22 | Test For Echo | Rush | #1 | 12 |
| 23 | 6th Avenue Heartache | The Wallflowers | #7 | 18 |
| 24 | Brain Stew/Jaded | Green Day | #8 | 22 |
| 25 | Tonight, Tonight | The Smashing Pumpkins | #3 | 15 |
Week by week
Each week’s #1 song. Click one to open that week’s full top 25.
| Week | Alternative #1 | Mainstream #1 |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 1, 1996 | GlycerineBush | CumbersomeSeven Mary Three |
| Jan 8, 1996 | GlycerineBush | CumbersomeSeven Mary Three |
| Jan 15, 1996 | GlycerineBush | CumbersomeSeven Mary Three |
| Jan 22, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | CumbersomeSeven Mary Three |
| Jan 29, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | CumbersomeSeven Mary Three |
| Feb 5, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | The World I KnowCollective Soul |
| Feb 12, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | The World I KnowCollective Soul |
| Feb 19, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | The World I KnowCollective Soul |
| Feb 26, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | The World I KnowCollective Soul |
| Mar 4, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Mar 11, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Mar 18, 1996 | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Mar 25, 1996 | In The MeantimeSpacehog | 1979The Smashing Pumpkins |
| Apr 1, 1996 | In The MeantimeSpacehog | In The MeantimeSpacehog |
| Apr 8, 1996 | Big MeFoo Fighters | In The MeantimeSpacehog |
| Apr 15, 1996 | Big MeFoo Fighters | In The MeantimeSpacehog |
| Apr 22, 1996 | Big MeFoo Fighters | In The MeantimeSpacehog |
| Apr 29, 1996 | Big Bang BabyStone Temple Pilots | In The MeantimeSpacehog |
| May 6, 1996 | SalvationThe Cranberries | In The MeantimeSpacehog |
| May 13, 1996 | SalvationThe Cranberries | Big Bang BabyStone Temple Pilots |
| May 20, 1996 | SalvationThe Cranberries | Where The River FlowsCollective Soul |
| May 27, 1996 | SalvationThe Cranberries | Where The River FlowsCollective Soul |
| Jun 3, 1996 | SalvationThe Cranberries | MachineheadBush |
| Jun 10, 1996 | SalvationThe Cranberries | Where The River FlowsCollective Soul |
| Jun 17, 1996 | SalvationThe Cranberries | Until It SleepsMetallica |
| Jun 24, 1996 | Pretty NooseSoundgarden | Until It SleepsMetallica |
| Jul 1, 1996 | Pretty NooseSoundgarden | Until It SleepsMetallica |
| Jul 8, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Jul 15, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Jul 22, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Jul 29, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Aug 5, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Aug 12, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Aug 19, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Aug 26, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Sep 2, 1996 | PepperButthole Surfers | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Sep 9, 1996 | Down311 | Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper HeartStone Temple Pilots |
| Sep 16, 1996 | Down311 | Burden In My HandSoundgarden |
| Sep 23, 1996 | Down311 | Burden In My HandSoundgarden |
| Sep 30, 1996 | Down311 | Burden In My HandSoundgarden |
| Oct 7, 1996 | Down311 | Test For EchoRush |
| Oct 14, 1996 | Down311 | Test For EchoRush |
| Oct 21, 1996 | Down311 | Test For EchoRush |
| Oct 28, 1996 | Down311 | Test For EchoRush |
| Nov 4, 1996 | What I GotSublime | Test For EchoRush |
| Nov 11, 1996 | What I GotSublime | Angels Of The SilencesCounting Crows |
| Nov 18, 1996 | SwallowedBush | Angels Of The SilencesCounting Crows |
| Nov 25, 1996 | SwallowedBush | Angels Of The SilencesCounting Crows |
| Dec 2, 1996 | SwallowedBush | Angels Of The SilencesCounting Crows |
| Dec 9, 1996 | SwallowedBush | Hero Of The DayMetallica |
| Dec 16, 1996 | SwallowedBush | SwallowedBush |
| Dec 23, 1996 | SwallowedBush | SwallowedBush |
| Dec 30, 1996 | SwallowedBush | Blow Up The Outside WorldSoundgarden |