2008 Modern Rock 500

WOXY

The most important songs in Modern Rock, as determined by WOXY staff in 2008.

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1 Radiohead - Creep
2 Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart
3 Violent Femmes - Blister in the Sun
4 Smiths - How Soon is Now
5 REM - Radio Free Europe
6 Pixies - Where Is My Mind
7 Clash - London Calling
8 Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
9 Radiohead - Paranoid Android
10 U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
11 Sex Pistols - God Save the Queen
12 Elvis Costello - Radio Radio
13 Replacements - Alex Chilton
14 Cure - Boys Dont Cry
15 Beck - Loser
16 Fugazi - Waiting Room
17 Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated
18 Talking Heads - Psycho Killer
19 Television - Marquee Moon
20 David Bowie - Space Oddity
21 My Bloody Valentine - Only Shallow
22 Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus
23 New Order - Blue Monday
24 Janes Addiction - Jane Says
25 Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven
26 Sonic Youth - Teenage Riot
27 Clash - Rock the Casbah
28 Sex Pistols - Anarchy in the UK
29 Talking Heads - Burning Down the House
30 Jesus and Mary Chain - Just Like Honey
31 Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side
32 Radiohead - Karma Police
33 Cure - Just Like Heaven
34 Nirvana - Come As You Are
35 Patti Smith - Gloria
36 U2 - New Years Day
37 Breeders - Cannonball
38 David Bowie - Changes
39 REM - Its the End of the World
40 Janes Addiction - Been Caught Stealing
41 Jeff Buckley - Last Goodbye
42 James - Laid
43 Beastie Boys - Sabotage
44 Clash - Should I Stay or Should I Go
45 Elvis Costello - Whats So Funny Bout
46 Police - Message in a Bottle
47 Bjork - Human Behaviour
48 Nirvana - All Apologies
49 REM - Losing My Religion
50 Kate Bush - Running Up That Hill
51 New Order - Bizarre Love Triangle
52 Pavement - Cut Your Hair
53 Hüsker Dü - Makes No Sense At All
54 Police - Roxanne
55 Iggy Pop - Lust for Life
56 Pixies - Here Comes Your Man
57 U2 - Pride In the Name of Love
58 Pearl Jam - Jeremy
59 Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees
60 Bauhaus - Bela Lugosis Dead
61 B52s - Rock Lobster
62 Beastie Boys - Fight For Your Right
63 Blur - Song 2
64 Violent Femmes - Kiss Off
65 Beck - Where Its At
66 Echo and The Bunnymen - Lips Like Sugar
67 Clash - Train in Vain
68 White Stripes - Seven Nation Army
69 Nirvana - In Bloom
70 Modest Mouse - Float On
71 Stone Roses - I Wanna be Adored
72 Cure - Love Song
73 Joy Division - Shes Lost Control
74 Stooges - I Wanna Be Your Dog
75 Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes
76 Radiohead - Just
77 XTC - Dear God
78 Pearl Jam - Alive
79 Pixies - Gigantic
80 Camper Van Beethoven - Take the Skinheads Bowling
81 Replacements - Ledge
82 White Stripes - Fell in Love With a Girl
83 Franz Ferdinand - Take Me Out
84 Blondie - Rapture
85 Postal Service - Such Great Heights
86 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Cities in Dust
87 Shins - New Slang
88 Depeche Mode - People are People
89 Blondie - Heart of Glass
90 Jam - Town Called Malice
91 REM - Pretty Persuasion
92 Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen in Love
93 David Bowie - Suffragette City
94 Oasis - Wonderwall
95 Interpol - PDA
96 Dead Milkmen - Bitchin Camaro
97 Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop
98 Nine Inch Nails - Head Like a Hole
99 Portishead - Sour Times
100 Weezer - Undone the Sweater Song
101 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under the Bridge
102 Flaming Lips - Do You Realize
103 Smiths - Panic
104 New Order - True Faith
105 Devo - Whip It
106 Patti Smith Group - Dancing Barefoot
107 Elvis Costello - Pump It Up
108 U2 - I Will Follow
109 Bob Marley - Get Up Stand Up
110 Afghan Whigs - Rebirth of the Cool
111 Matthew Sweet - Girlfriend
112 Dead Kennedys - Holiday in Cambodia
113 Replacements - Bastards of Young
114 Church - Under the Milky Way
115 Velvet Underground - Rock and Roll
116 David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
117 Pulp - Common People
118 Cracker - Low
119 Smashing Pumpkins - Today
120 Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps
121 Elvis Costello - Alison
122 Modest Mouse - Polar Opposites
123 Verve - Bittersweet Symphony
124 Police - Every Breath You Take
125 Clash - Magnificent Seven
126 Dead Milkmen - Punk Rock Girl
127 Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime
128 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give it Away
129 Jesus and Mary Chain - Head On
130 Dandy Warhols - Bohemian Like You
131 Gang of Four - I Love a Man in a Uniform
132 Sonic Youth - Kool Thing
133 Massive Attack - Safe from Harm
134 Cure - Close to Me
135 Wilco - Heavy Metal Drummer
136 U2 - With or Without You
137 Arcade Fire - Neighborhood 3 Power Out
138 Nirvana - Heart Shaped Box
139 Shins - Caring Is Creepy
140 DJ Shadow - Midnight in a Perfect World
141 Pavement - Stereo
142 Stone Roses - Fools Goldedit
143 Boomtown Rats - I Dont Like Mondays
144 Squeeze - Tempted
145 XTC - Senses Working Overtime
146 Talking Heads - Life During Wartime
147 Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood
148 Sugarcubes - Birthday
149 Ramones - Do You Remember Rock N Roll
150 Depeche Mode - Enjoy the Silence
151 Public Image Limited - Rise
152 Talking Heads - Take Me to the River
153 REM - Orange Crush
154 Clash - This is Radio Clash
155 Nine Inch Nails - Closer
156 Gary Numan - Cars
157 Cracker - Teen Angst
158 PJ Harvey - Down By the Water
159 Afghan Whigs - Debonair
160 Dramarama - Anything Anything
161 Interpol - Obstacle 1
162 Folk Implosion - Natural One
163 Elvis Costello - Watching the Detectives
164 Psychedelic Furs - Love My Way
165 Flaming Lips - She Dont Use Jelly
166 Oasis - Live Forever
167 Cure - Pictures of You
168 XTC - Making Plans for Nigel
169 Jam - Going Underground
170 Ramones - Sheena is a Punk Rocker
171 Smiths - There Is a Light That Never
172 Shins - So Says I
173 Replacements - I Will Dare
174 Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams
175 Guided By Voices - Teenage FBI
176 Bob Marley - Jamming
177 Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
178 Pixies - Debaser
179 REM - Stand
180 Devo - I Cant Get No Satisfaction
181 Beastie Boys - So Whatcha Want
182 Screaming Trees - Nearly Lost You
183 Peter Murphy - Cuts You Up
184 Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
185 Spoon - Everything Hits At Once
186 Elliott Smith - Miss Misery
187 Nirvana - About a Girl
188 English Beat - Mirror in the Bathroom
189 Afghan Whigs - Gentlemen
190 Faith No More - Epic
191 Dinosaur Jr - Feel the Pain
192 Sonic Youth - 100
193 Jim Carroll Band - People Who Died
194 Roxy Music - Love is the Drug
195 Las - There She Goes
196 Arctic Monkeys - I Bet You Look Good
197 Violent Femmes - Gone Daddy Gone
198 Oasis - Supersonic
199 Veruca Salt - Seether
200 Blur - Girlsand Boys
201 U2 - One
202 White Stripes - Hardest Button to Button
203 Radiohead - Optimistic
204 Bob Mould - Sunspots Wishing Well
205 Love and Rockets - So Alive
206 Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin Beats
207 Concrete Blonde - God is a Bullet
208 Social Distortion - Ball and Chain
209 Soul Coughing - Screenwriters Blues
210 Wall of Voodoo - Mexican Radio
211 Happy Mondays - Step On
212 Daft Punk - Da Funklongedit
213 English Beat - Save it for Later
214 Guided By Voices - I Am a Scientistsinglemix
215 Built to Spill - Big Dipper
216 Living Colour - Cult of Personality
217 Cult - She Sells Sanctuary
218 Romeo Void - Never Say Never
219 Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again
220 Jam - In the City
221 Beastie Boys - Intergalactic
222 Rapture - House of Jealous Lovers
223 Siouxsie and the Banshees - Peek a Boo
224 Public Enemy - Fight the Power
225 Charlatans UK - Only One I Know
226 Peter Gabriel - In Your Eyes
227 Tori Amos - Silent All These Years
228 Joe Jackson - Is She Really Going Out With
229 Belle and Sebastian - Your Covers Blown
230 Urge Overkill - Sister Havana
231 Strokes - Last Nite
232 Modest Mouse - Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
233 Clash - Lost in the Supermarket
234 Police - Cant Stand Losing You
235 Smiths - Girlfriend in a Coma
236 Talking Heads - Crosseyed and Painless
237 Wilco - Monday
238 Frank Black - Headache
239 Jeff Buckley - So Real
240 Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
241 Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer
242 Talk Talk - Its My Life
243 Pavement - Shady Lane
244 Pretenders - My City Was Gone
245 Silversun Pickups - Kissing Families
246 Arcade Fire - Wake Up
247 Tricky - Black Steel
248 Liz Phair - Supernova
249 Smiths - Stop Me If You Think Youve
250 Peter Bjorn and John - Young Folks
251 Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax
252 B52s - Private Idaho
253 David Bowie - Rebel Rebel
254 Modern English - I Melt With You
255 Replacements - Ill Be You
256 Yo La Tengo - Autumn Sweater
257 Depeche Mode - Policy of Truth
258 Psychedelic Furs - Pretty in Pink
259 Blur - Coffeeand TV
260 Bjork - Big Time Sensuality
261 Mission of Burma - Thats When I Reach For My Revolver
262 Pearl Jam - Even Flow
263 Juliana Hatfield - My Sister
264 Blondie - One Way or Another
265 Beck - New Pollution
266 Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds
267 Elastica - Connection
268 Suede - Metal Mickey
269 Built to Spill - Goin Against Your Mind
270 MC900FT Jesus - City Sleeps
271 Elliott Smith - Waltz 2
272 Peter Gabriel - Shock the Monkey
273 Walkmen - Rat
274 Depeche Mode - Route 66 Beatmastersmix
275 Nine Inch Nails - Down in It
276 Muse - Time Is Running Out
277 Jam - Start
278 !!! - Me and Giuliani Down By The
279 Public Enemy - Bring the Noise
280 Hives - Hate to Say I Told You So
281 Velvet Underground - What Goes On in the Heart
282 Eels - Mr Es Beautiful Blues
283 Ministry - Everyday is Halloween
284 Jon Spencer Blues Explosion - Talk About the Blues
285 U2 - Where the Streets Have No Name
286 Waterboys - Whole of the Moon
287 Primal Scream - Movin On Up
288 They Might Be Giants - Birdhouse in Your Soul
289 XTC - Mayor of Simpleton
290 Morphine - Cure for Pain
291 Social Distortion - Ring of Fire
292 Weezer - Buddy Holly
293 New Order - Regret
294 Stone Roses - Waterfall
295 Nirvana - Lithium
296 Interpol - Slow Hands
297 Doves - Catch the Sun
298 New Pornographers - Laws Have Changed
299 Sundays - Heres Where the Story Ends
300 Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved
301 Air - Sexy Boy
302 Tom Tom Club - Genius of Love
303 Blur - Theres No Other Way
304 Lemonheads - Into Your Arms
305 Supergrass - Caught By the Fuzz
306 Specials - A Message to You Rudy
307 Pogues - Fairytale of New York
308 They Might Be Giants - Dont Lets Start
309 Wilco - Im the Man Who Loves You
310 Simple Minds - Dont You Forget About Me
311 Suicidal Tendencies - Institutionalized
312 Ministry - Stigmata
313 Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be
314 REM - Whats the Frequency Kenneth
315 Social Distortion - Bad Luck
316 Guided By Voices - Glad Girls
317 Royal Crescent Mob - Get on the Bus
318 Velvet Underground - White Light White Heat
319 Robyn Hitchcock - My Wife and My Dead Wife
320 Sebadoh - Skull
321 Cardigans - My Favourite Game
322 Catherine Wheel - Black Metallic
323 Tones on Tail - Go Club Mix
324 Mclusky - To Hell With Good Intentions
325 Wire - Strange
326 Black Flag - TV Party
327 Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground
328 Depeche Mode - Never Let Me Down Again
329 LCD Soundsystem - Daft Punk Is Playing
330 Hot Chip - Over and Over
331 Decemberists - Bachelor and the Bride
332 Radiohead - Street Spirit Fade Out
333 Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - Skin of My Yellow Country
334 Public Image Limited - Public Image
335 Faith No More - We Care a Lot
336 Dinosaur Jr - Start Choppin
337 Tegan and Sara - Walking With a Ghost
338 Bettie Serveert - Tom Boy
339 Massive Attack - Angel
340 Bright Eyes - Lover I Dont Have to Love
341 Manic Street Preachers - If You Tolerate This
342 Modest Mouse - Ocean Breathes Salty
343 Soul Coughing - Super Bon Bon
344 Jam - Thats Entertainment
345 Paul Westerberg - Dyslexic Heart
346 Dandy Warhols - Not If You Were the Last
347 Grandmaster Flash - Message
348 Buggles - Video Killed the Radio Star
349 Killing Joke - Eighties
350 PJ Harvey - Good Fortune
351 Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink
352 Grandaddy - Crystal Lake
353 TV On The Radio - Staring At the Sun
354 Breeders - Divine Hammer
355 Midnight Oil - Beds are Burning
356 Meat Puppets - Backwater
357 Shriekback - Nemesis
358 Yaz - Situation
359 Neds Atomic Dustbin - Grey Cell Green
360 My Morning Jacket - Off the Record
361 Pixies - Velouria
362 Superdrag - Sucked Out
363 L7 - Pretend Were Dead
364 Belle and Sebastian - Boy With the Arab Strap
365 Pulp - Disco 2000
366 Smashing Pumpkins - 1979
367 Rilo Kiley - Portions For Foxes
368 They Might Be Giants - Istanbul Not Constantinople
369 Black Keys - 10AM Automatic
370 REM - Driver 8
371 B52s - Love Shack
372 Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science
373 Cake - Never There
374 Undertones - Teenage Kicks
375 Smashing Pumpkins - Cherub Rock
376 Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
377 Charlatans UK - Weirdo
378 Hum - Stars
379 Blind Melon - No Rain
380 Fatboy Slim - Rockafeller Skank
381 Jesus and Mary Chain - Sometimes Always
382 Pixies - Alec Eiffel
383 Ted Leo Pharmacists - Where Have Rude Boys Gone
384 National - Secret Meeting
385 Weezer - Say it Aint So
386 Pretenders - Middle of the Road
387 Sinead OConnor - Emperors New Clothes
388 Art of Noise - Close to the Edit
389 Front 242 - Welcome to Paradise
390 Oingo Boingo - Dead Mans Party
391 Vapors - Turning Japanese
392 Bloc Party - Banquet
393 Forget Cassettes - Instruments of Action
394 Lou Reed - Dirty Blvd
395 Iggy Pop - Real Wild Child Wild One
396 Squeeze - Pulling Mussels from the Shell
397 Fishbone - Party at Ground Zero
398 Bears - Fear is Never Boring
399 Cake - Distance
400 Stereo MCs - Connected
401 Massive Attack - Protection
402 Cure - Fascination Street
403 TV On The Radio - Wolf Like Me
404 Doves - There Goes the Fear
405 Dada - Dizz Knee Land
406 G Love and Special Sauce - Cold Beverage
407 Joe Jackson - Sunday Papers
408 Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants to Rule The
409 Tori Amos - God
410 Spiritualized - Come Together
411 Talking Heads - Stay Up Late
412 Eels - Novocaine For the Soul
413 Radiohead - No Surprises
414 Coldplay - Yellow
415 Pavement - Rattled By the Rush
416 White Stripes - My Doorbell
417 Beck - Devils Haircut
418 Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
419 Harvey Danger - Flagpole Sitta
420 Ryan Adams - To Be Young Is to Be Sad
421 Broken Social Scene - 74 Shoreline
422 Sleater Kinney - Youre No Rock N Roll Fun
423 World Party - Ship of Fools
424 Nails - 88 Lines About 44 Women
425 Belly - Feed the Tree
426 REM - Finest Worksong
427 Peter Gabriel - Games Without Frontiers
428 Bob Marley - Redemption Song
429 Split Enz - I Got You
430 Disposable Heroes Hiphoprisy - Television Drug of a Nation
431 Arcade Fire - Rebellion Lies
432 Sugarcubes - Hit
433 New York Dolls - Personality Crisis
434 Cloud Room - Hey Now Now
435 Echo and The Bunnymen - Bring on the Dancing Horses
436 Streets - Lets Push Things Forward
437 Decemberists - 16 Military Wives
438 Jonathan Richman Modern Lovers - Dodge Veg O Matic
439 Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - Red Right Hand
440 Guided By Voices - My Valuable Hunting Knife
441 Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
442 Papas Fritas - Way You Walk
443 Death Cab For Cutie - New Year
444 Stereolab - Miss Modular
445 Postal Service - District Sleeps Alone Toni
446 Band of Horses - Funeral
447 Ted Leo Pharmacists - Me and Mia
448 Radiohead - There There
449 Spoon - I Turn My Camera On
450 Modest Mouse - Dashboard
451 Verve - Lucky Man
452 National - Mistaken For Strangers
453 Concrete Blonde - Joey
454 Suzanne Vega - Luka
455 Sleater Kinney - Entertain
456 Firehose - Flyin the Flannel
457 X - 4th of July
458 LCD Soundsystem - Someone Great
459 Bjork - Joga
460 Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
461 Doves - Black and White Town
462 Julian Cope - World Shut Your Mouth
463 White Stripes - Dead Leaves and the Dirty
464 Smoking Popes - Need You Around
465 Wrens - Hopeless
466 Muse - New Born
467 Junior Boys - In the Morning
468 Afrika Bambaataa - Dont StopPlanet Rock
469 Cure - Lovecats
470 Roxy Music - More Than This
471 The - This is the Day
472 Portishead - All Mine
473 Arcade Fire - No Cars Go
474 Placebo - Pure Morning
475 Elbow - Forget Myself
476 Elvis Costello - Less Than Zero
477 Suzanne Vega - Toms Diner DNA mix
478 Tears For Fears - Shout
479 Rogue Wave - Endless Shovel
480 Lo Fidelity Allstars - Battle Flag
481 They Might Be Giants - Ana Ng
482 Pinback - Fortress
483 Morrissey - Suedehead
484 Tori Amos - Cornflake Girl
485 Buffalo Tom - Taillights Fade
486 Mojo Nixon and Skid Roper - Elvis is Everywhere
487 Ride - Vapour Trail
488 XRay Spex - Oh Bondage! Up Yours
489 Matthew Sweet - Sick of Myself
490 Sonic Youth - Incinerate
491 Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To
492 XTC - Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead
493 Cat Power - Cross Bones Style
494 Joe Jackson - Im the Man
495 Garbage - Only Happy When it Rains
496 Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
497 Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
498 Big Country - In a Big Country
499 Twilight Singers - Teenage Wristband
500 Feist - My Moon My Man
Other Modern Rock 500 countdowns by year

Note the station did not broadcast a Modern Rock 500 in 2004.

Credit to WOXY listener Craig Froehle for providing the underlying source materials for these yearly lists.

Combinations

Here is one massive combined countdown with all songs from every year of the countdown, ranked by average position (1394 songs in all).