# List of Billboard Modern Rock Tracks number ones of the 1990s

Alternative Airplay is a record chart published by the music industry magazine Billboard that ranks the most-played songs on American modern rock radio stations. Introduced by Billboard in September 1988 and named Modern Rock Tracks until June 2009, it was initially compiled based on weighted reports from several national rock radio stations. Starting with the chart dated June 12, 1993, radio airplay data compiled by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems – which electronically monitors various radio stations on a daily basis – was introduced as a factor in determining chart rankings. Modern Rock Tracks later became solely based on Nielsen data, a change that took effect with the chart dated January 22, 1994.
145 songs topped the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the 1990s; the first of these was "Blues from a Gun" by The Jesus and Mary Chain, which spent three weeks at number one from December 1989 to January 1990. The modern rock radio format experienced a substantial growth in popularity during the decade, with the success of Nirvana's 1991 song "Smells Like Teen Spirit" marking a "return of the crossover rock hit". Speaking to Billboard in 1994, chart analyst Max Tolkoff remarked that in previous years, "people didn't care what was a hit on modern rock. Now everybody wants to be involved." The first formal number one debut on the Modern Rock Tracks chart also occurred during the 1990s, with "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by R.E.M. entering at number one on the chart for the issue dated September 24, 1994.
The Irish band U2 scored the most number-one hits on Modern Rock Tracks during the decade, with six of their songs topping the chart: "The Fly", "Mysterious Ways", "One", "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me", "Discothèque" and "Staring at the Sun". "Scar Tissue" by the American band Red Hot Chili Peppers topped the chart for sixteen consecutive weeks in 1999, the longest time spent at number one by any song during the 1990s. The band themselves spent a record twenty-seven weeks at number one on Modern Rock Tracks during the decade with four chart-toppers: "Give It Away", "Soul to Squeeze", "My Friends" and "Scar Tissue". "All the Small Things" by Blink-182 was the final Modern Rock Tracks number-one hit of the decade.

## Number-one songs
### Key

    † – Billboard year-end number-one song
    ↑ – Return of a song to number one
| Song | Artist | Reached number one | Weeks at number one |
| "Blues from a Gun" | The Jesus and Mary Chain | December 30, 1989 | 3 |
| "House" | The Psychedelic Furs | January 20, 1990 | 3 |
| "Cuts You Up" † | Peter Murphy | February 10, 1990 | 7 |
| "Nothing Compares 2 U" | Sinéad O'Connor | March 31, 1990 | 1 |
| "Blue Sky Mine" | Midnight Oil | April 7, 1990 | 1 |
| "Metropolis" | The Church | April 14, 1990 | 1 |
| "Enjoy the Silence" | Depeche Mode | April 21, 1990 | 3 |
| "The Emperor's New Clothes" | Sinéad O'Connor | May 12, 1990 | 1 |
| "Forgotten Years" | Midnight Oil | May 19, 1990 | 1 |
| "Here's Where the Story Ends" | The Sundays | May 26, 1990 | 1 |
| "Policy of Truth" | Depeche Mode | June 2, 1990 | 1 |
| "Way Down Now" | World Party | June 9, 1990 | 5 |
| "Joey" | Concrete Blonde | July 14, 1990 | 4 |
| "Jealous" | Gene Loves Jezebel | August 11, 1990 | 1 |
| "I'll Be Your Chauffeur" | David J | August 18, 1990 | 1 |
| "Jealous" ↑ | Gene Loves Jezebel | August 25, 1990 | 1 |
| "Stop!" | Jane's Addiction | September 1, 1990 | 1 |
| "Every Beat of the Heart" | The Railway Children | September 8, 1990 | 1 |
| "Stop!" ↑ | Jane's Addiction | September 15, 1990 | 1 |
| "Suicide Blonde" | INXS | September 22, 1990 | 1 |
| "Never Enough" | The Cure | September 29, 1990 | 2 |
| "Merry Go Round" | The Replacements | October 13, 1990 | 1 |
| "Never Enough" ↑ | The Cure | October 20, 1990 | 1 |
| "Been Caught Stealing" | Jane's Addiction | October 27, 1990 | 1 |
| "Merry Go Round" ↑ | The Replacements | November 3, 1990 | 3 |
| "Been Caught Stealing" ↑ | Jane's Addiction | November 24, 1990 | 3 |
| "More" | The Sisters of Mercy | December 15, 1990 | 5 |
| "Kinky Afro" | Happy Mondays | January 19, 1991 | 1 |
| "All This Time" | Sting | January 26, 1991 | 2 |
| "Right Here, Right Now" | Jesus Jones | February 9, 1991 | 5 |
| "Losing My Religion" | R.E.M. | March 16, 1991 | 8 |
| "See the Lights" | Simple Minds | May 11, 1991 | 2 |
| "The Other Side of Summer" | Elvis Costello | May 25, 1991 | 4 |
| "Get the Message" | Electronic | June 22, 1991 | 2 |
| "Kiss Them for Me" | Siouxsie and the Banshees | July 6, 1991 | 5 |
| "Rush" † | Big Audio Dynamite II | August 10, 1991 | 4 |
| "Until She Comes" | The Psychedelic Furs | September 7, 1991 | 2 |
| "So You Think You're in Love" | Robyn Hitchcock and the Egyptians | September 21, 1991 | 5 |
| "Give It Away" | Red Hot Chili Peppers | October 26, 1991 | 2 |
| "The Fly" | U2 | November 9, 1991 | 2 |
| "Smells Like Teen Spirit" | Nirvana | November 23, 1991 | 1 |
| "Mysterious Ways" | U2 | November 30, 1991 | 9 |
| "Sax and Violins" | Talking Heads | February 1, 1992 | 1 |
| "What's Good" | Lou Reed | February 8, 1992 | 3 |
| "Hit" | The Sugarcubes | February 29, 1992 | 5 |
| "One" † | U2 | April 4, 1992 | 1 |
| "High" | The Cure | April 11, 1992 | 4 |
| "Teen Angst (What the World Needs Now)" | Cracker | May 9, 1992 | 2 |
| "Weirdo" | The Charlatans | May 23, 1992 | 1 |
| "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" | XTC | May 30, 1992 | 2 |
| "Friday I'm in Love" | The Cure | June 13, 1992 | 4 |
| "Good Stuff" | The B-52's | July 11, 1992 | 4 |
| "Midlife Crisis" | Faith No More | August 8, 1992 | 1 |
| "Tomorrow" | Morrissey | August 15, 1992 | 6 |
| "Digging in the Dirt" | Peter Gabriel | September 26, 1992 | 2 |
| "Blood Makes Noise" | Suzanne Vega | October 10, 1992 | 1 |
| "Drive" | R.E.M. | October 17, 1992 | 5 |
| "These Are Days" | 10,000 Maniacs | November 21, 1992 | 2 |
| "Somebody to Shove" | Soul Asylum | December 5, 1992 | 1 |
| "Steam" | Peter Gabriel | December 12, 1992 | 5 |
| "Not Sleeping Around" | Ned's Atomic Dustbin | January 16, 1993 | 1 |
| "The Devil You Know" | Jesus Jones | January 23, 1993 | 6 |
| "Feed the Tree" | Belly | March 6, 1993 | 3 |
| "I Feel You" | Depeche Mode | March 27, 1993 | 5 |
| "Regret" † | New Order | May 1, 1993 | 2 |
| "Walking in My Shoes" | Depeche Mode | May 15, 1993 | 1 |
| "Regret" ↑ † | New Order | May 22, 1993 | 4 |
| "Pets" | Porno for Pyros | June 19, 1993 | 5 |
| "Break It Down Again" | Tears for Fears | July 24, 1993 | 3 |
| "Soul to Squeeze" | Red Hot Chili Peppers | August 14, 1993 | 4 |
| "My Sister" | The Juliana Hatfield Three | September 11, 1993 | 1 |
| "No Rain" | Blind Melon | September 18, 1993 | 1 |
| "Soul to Squeeze" ↑ | Red Hot Chili Peppers | September 25, 1993 | 1 |
| "No Rain" ↑ | Blind Melon | October 2, 1993 | 2 |
| "Heart-Shaped Box" | Nirvana | October 16, 1993 | 3 |
| "Into Your Arms" | The Lemonheads | November 6, 1993 | 9 |
| "Daughter" | Pearl Jam | January 8, 1994 | 1 |
| "Found Out About You" | Gin Blossoms | January 15, 1994 | 1 |
| "All Apologies" | Nirvana | January 22, 1994 | 2 |
| "Loser" | Beck | February 5, 1994 | 5 |
| "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm" | Crash Test Dummies | March 12, 1994 | 1 |
| "God" | Tori Amos | March 19, 1994 | 2 |
| "The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get" | Morrissey | April 2, 1994 | 7 |
| "Selling the Drama" | Live | May 21, 1994 | 3 |
| "Longview" | Green Day | June 11, 1994 | 1 |
| "Fall Down" | Toad the Wet Sprocket | June 18, 1994 | 6 |
| "Come Out and Play" | The Offspring | July 30, 1994 | 2 |
| "Einstein on the Beach (For an Eggman)" | Counting Crows | August 13, 1994 | 1 |
| "Basket Case" | Green Day | August 20, 1994 | 5 |
| "What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" | R.E.M. | September 24, 1994 | 5 |
| "Zombie" | The Cranberries | October 29, 1994 | 6 |
| "About a Girl" | Nirvana | December 10, 1994 | 1 |
| "Bang and Blame" | R.E.M. | December 17, 1994 | 3 |
| "When I Come Around" | Green Day | January 7, 1995 | 7 |
| "Lightning Crashes" | Live | February 25, 1995 | 9 |
| "Good" | Better Than Ezra | April 29, 1995 | 5 |
| "Misery" | Soul Asylum | June 3, 1995 | 3 |
| "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" | U2 | June 24, 1995 | 4 |
| "You Oughta Know" | Alanis Morissette | July 22, 1995 | 5 |
| "J.A.R." | Green Day | August 26, 1995 | 1 |
| "Tomorrow" † | Silverchair | September 2, 1995 | 3 |
| "Comedown" | Bush | September 23, 1995 | 2 |
| "Name" | Goo Goo Dolls | October 7, 1995 | 1 |
| "Hand in My Pocket" | Alanis Morissette | October 14, 1995 | 1 |
| "Lump" | The Presidents of the United States of America | October 21, 1995 | 1 |
| "Name" ↑ | Goo Goo Dolls | October 28, 1995 | 3 |
| "My Friends" | Red Hot Chili Peppers | November 18, 1995 | 4 |
| "Glycerine" | Bush | December 16, 1995 | 2 |
| "Wonderwall" | Oasis | December 30, 1995 | 9 |
| "1979" | The Smashing Pumpkins | March 2, 1996 | 1 |
| "Wonderwall" ↑ | Oasis | March 9, 1996 | 1 |
| "Ironic" | Alanis Morissette | March 16, 1996 | 3 |
| "Champagne Supernova" | Oasis | April 6, 1996 | 5 |
| "Salvation" | The Cranberries | May 11, 1996 | 4 |
| "Mother Mother" | Tracy Bonham | June 8, 1996 | 3 |
| "Counting Blue Cars" | Dishwalla | June 29, 1996 | 1 |
| "Pepper" † | Butthole Surfers | July 6, 1996 | 3 |
| "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" | Primitive Radio Gods | July 27, 1996 | 6 |
| "Who You Are" | Pearl Jam | September 7, 1996 | 1 |
| "Down" | 311 | September 14, 1996 | 4 |
| "Novocaine for the Soul" | Eels | October 12, 1996 | 2 |
| "What I Got" | Sublime | October 26, 1996 | 3 |
| "Swallowed" | Bush | November 16, 1996 | 7 |
| "#1 Crush" | Garbage | January 4, 1997 | 4 |
| "Discothèque" | U2 | February 1, 1997 | 4 |
| "Lakini's Juice" | Live | March 1, 1997 | 1 |
| "One Headlight" | The Wallflowers | March 8, 1997 | 5 |
| "Staring at the Sun" | U2 | April 12, 1997 | 3 |
| "The Freshmen" | The Verve Pipe | May 3, 1997 | 3 |
| "Semi-Charmed Life" † | Third Eye Blind | May 24, 1997 | 5 |
| "The Impression That I Get" | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones | June 28, 1997 | 1 |
| "Semi-Charmed Life" ↑ † | Third Eye Blind | July 5, 1997 | 3 |
| "Push" | Matchbox Twenty | July 26, 1997 | 1 |
| "Fly" | Sugar Ray | August 2, 1997 | 8 |
| "Walkin' on the Sun" | Smash Mouth | September 27, 1997 | 5 |
| "Tubthumping" | Chumbawamba | November 1, 1997 | 7 |
| "Everything to Everyone" | Everclear | December 20, 1997 | 1 |
| "Sex and Candy" † | Marcy Playground | December 27, 1997 | 15 |
| "The Way" | Fastball | April 11, 1998 | 7 |
| "Closing Time" | Semisonic | May 30, 1998 | 5 |
| "Iris" | Goo Goo Dolls | July 4, 1998 | 5 |
| "Inside Out" | Eve 6 | August 8, 1998 | 2 |
| "One Week" | Barenaked Ladies | August 22, 1998 | 1 |
| "Inside Out" ↑ | Eve 6 | August 29, 1998 | 1 |
| "One Week" ↑ | Barenaked Ladies | September 5, 1998 | 4 |
| "Inside Out" ↑ | Eve 6 | October 3, 1998 | 1 |
| "Celebrity Skin" | Hole | October 10, 1998 | 3 |
| "Slide" | Goo Goo Dolls | October 31, 1998 | 1 |
| "Celebrity Skin" ↑ | Hole | November 7, 1998 | 1 |
| "Slide" ↑ | Goo Goo Dolls | November 14, 1998 | 1 |
| "Fly Away" | Lenny Kravitz | November 21, 1998 | 2 |
| "Never There" | Cake | December 5, 1998 | 3 |
| "What It's Like" | Everlast | December 26, 1998 | 8 |
| "Every Morning" | Sugar Ray | February 20, 1999 | 1 |
| "What It's Like" ↑ | Everlast | February 27, 1999 | 1 |
| "Every Morning" ↑ | Sugar Ray | March 6, 1999 | 5 |
| "My Own Worst Enemy" † | Lit | April 10, 1999 | 11 |
| "Scar Tissue" | Red Hot Chili Peppers | June 26, 1999 | 16 |
| "Higher" | Creed | October 16, 1999 | 1 |
| "The Chemicals Between Us" | Bush | October 23, 1999 | 2 |
| "Learn to Fly" | Foo Fighters | November 6, 1999 | 1 |
| "The Chemicals Between Us" ↑ | Bush | November 13, 1999 | 2 |
| "Higher" ↑ | Creed | November 27, 1999 | 1 |
| "The Chemicals Between Us" ↑ | Bush | December 4, 1999 | 1 |
| "Higher" ↑ | Creed | December 11, 1999 | 1 |
| "Re-Arranged" | Limp Bizkit | December 18, 1999 | 1 |
| "All the Small Things" | Blink-182 | December 25, 1999 | 8 |